Branch sat at the edge of the raft, listening to the song Hickory was singing, which was getting a little too personal for some reason- ... before glancing over at Poppy, who was steering the raft and looking slightly irritated yet sad... then to (Y/n), who was walking next to the raft, looking even more irritated then Poppy and scowling...
The survivalist flopped back onto the raft, taking his eyes off of you to stare at the gray sky.
Neither you nor Poppy were talking to each other after that argument about friendship... and Branch didn't know what to do. He felt he shouldn't stick his nose in your guy's business, but he also felt like he should try to mend the straining friendship between the two... but he had to agree with you that Poppy didn't entirely know what true friendship meant... even though he didn't want to admit it.
... He was the living example that Poppy didn't listen to her friends and just did whatever she wanted... she never listened to him... and she also didn't listen to you... and she didn't listen to Biggie either...
Actually, now that he's had time to think about it... she didn't listen to anyone but herself...
Hickory suddenly came over to him, interrupting his thoughts and blocking his view of the depressing sky.
"Somethin' tells me your heart ain't all in this mission, Branch." He pointed out, holding out a hand for him to grab from where he had flopped onto his back.
"What do you mean? I'm here, aren't I?" Branch was confused as he sat up, and it was obvious since Hickory continued.
"Yeah, you're on a mission, all right... but your heart is with Miss (Y/n)-"
"Hey, Hey, Hey! Shush! Shhhh!" Branch nearly jumped to his feet, his heart nearly dropping to his feet from how loud he thought Hickory was being.
He looked up to the person of topic...
.... You were in your own world. You didn't hear anything.
Oh thank God!
"Heheh. Have you told her yet?" Hickory asked, amused by his reaction, and sitting down next to him.
Branch sighed, glancing up at you again... before looking down at his reflection. "No..."
Hickory tilted his head. "Why not?"
"It's... it's just... I don't want to ruin our friendship if she's not interested- and it's hard to tell if she likes me like that or not... and she's a completely different species entirely, so there are so many things that could go wrong. Like how she's so big, and I'm so... small...... I-I just..." He trailed off as he looked at his hands... He wants to tell you. He really did. He wanted that possibility for something more... but the possibility of you rejecting him is always there to hold him back.
"You're scared..." Hickory finished for him, nodding in understanding when Branch gave a short nod of confirmation. "I understand that. But you shouldn't let that hold you back. One of these days you might not get 'nother chance like this to tell her everythin' you wanna tell her..."
What Hickory was saying made sense. Of course it did. This is something he's thought about in the silence of his bunker when he's alone with his thoughts. He's had so many arguments and discussions with himself about this...
One day you might not be here.
One day he might not be here.
One day you might be sent back to your world out of nowhere and Branch will be left all alone with the wish for a rewind to tell you everything before it's too late...
.... he's thought of it all....
He's not known as the village's local paranoid survivalist for nothing-
"If it helps any, from the time I've spent here on this trip with y'all, I think the feelin's are mutual." Hickory began, sending him a small smile.
"Nah, that can't-" Branch tried, only to be cut off.
"Now listen here, Branch." Hickory placed his hand on Branch's shoulder to really make sure he got through to him. "The two of you are like two peas in a pod. You're always 'round each other an' talkin' up a storm, like the rest of the world doesn't exist. The two of you are always jokin' with each other an' pokin' fun at each other. She defended you with tooth an' nail when you an' Poppy got in that little squabble- yeah, I noticed, you weren't exactly quiet." The country Troll sighed, before glancing up at you, who still looked very irritated. "From what I've seen, you two seem to think alike as well..."
Hickory turned back to look Branch in the eye.
"It don't matter if she's a different species or a Troll like us... love is love... an' although I might find her attractive, I know I don't stand a chance against you. But you... you stand a better chance than anyone, Branch." Hickory patted him on the shoulder, before letting go and going back to playing his guitar as background music, still sitting next to him.
".... Thank you..." Branch smiled, feeling a slight rush of confidence.
"Hey, uh, guys?! Does anyone else see that?!" Poppy suddenly exclaimed, staring slack jawed at something in the sky.
"Probably leftover acid in your syste- oH WHAT THE FUCK IS TH- ALIENS!" You uncrossed your arms and stared wide eyed at the sky as well.
... and when Branch and Hickory looked up, they seen what the two of you were so shocked by.
There was a levitating disk in the sky that was flashing rainbow lights... and then a weird bubble started floating down towards everyone and encased the entire raft.
Branch gasped as he shot up and snapped his head in your direction. "(Y/n)!" He shouted when he seen an even bigger bubble coming your way.
You only spared him a side glance as you began trying to dodge the bubble. "Worry about your own ass, buddy!" You warn him as you try to pop the bubble by clapping it between your hands...
And Branch could only watch helplessly as you went straight into the bubble and began to be absorbed by it-
*T H U N K !*
... well, that was until he was hit directly in the face by a guitar and hit the ground, vision spinning as he groaned.
But he got up pretty quick when he seen a bubble that looked like the one you got sucked into. "I GOT IT!" He yelled as he kicked at it...
... only to hit Hickory and knock them both down.
Resulting in getting absorbed by the bubble and floating towards the ship.
Not part of the plan!
He couldn't see you anywhere when being sucked into the ship! Where are you?! What happened?! Are you ok?!
He couldn't even focus on the strange Trolls, music, or the new scenery because he was too busy looking for yo-
"i'M GONNA FUCKIN' PUKE!"
That was all anyone heard before a bubble came zooming past everyone with someone spinning so fast in the bubble that it was rocketing it forward and no one could see who it was.
And although Branch couldn't see who it was... it sound like you? Who else talks like that?
But... why did you look... smaller than usual?
______________
You were so going to throw up your guts. Hopefully when you get out of this death bubble, because rapidly spinning in vomit will only make you even more sick.. and it's disgusting-
Just close your eyes and go to your happy place!
Go to your happy place! Don't think about puking! Don't think about anything! Just-!
The fucking bubble popped midair.
"FUCK MY LI-" You came crashing down on something sticking out of the ground, knocking out any will you had left to live as you wheezed for breath.
"Awhhhhh fuuuck- my tits." You wheeze as you slip off the now-personally-acquainted-gumdrop and onto the floor, holding your poor chest in your hands like it'd help with the pain of falling on them.
Holy fuck. If that didn't fuck up your tits for life, you'll honestly be surprised.
You lay sprawled out on the floor, trying to not think about how sensitive these fuckers are going to be after this... and you can't sleep it off either. It always feels worse in the morning-
The sound of screaming brought your attention away from your own suffering, and you looked up at the hole you came out of in time to see Poppy being gently floated down onto one of the gumdrops-
Ok, now that's fucking bullshit! You got dropped like a goddamn bag of moldy cheese, yet Poppy gets gently carried down like some fine ass china?!
I sMELL BULLSHIT!-
Branch and Hickory came crashing down and bounced off a gumdrop.
Ok, that's better.
Fuck special treatmen-
Wait. Why do they look so big?...
You didn't even bother to get up, continuing to lay sprawled out... still holding your painfully throbbing chest...
That is... until you made eye contact with Poppy...
.... you stared...
.... she stared back...
........ you blinked...
........ and she started screaming and pointing at you like you were one of her paralysis demons.
"Ok. Rude." Was all you got to say before a pointy stick was being pointed at you.
Heh. Jokes-
"Who are you and what did you do with (Y/n)?!" Branch interrogated, seeming to have gone into one of his weird survival modes again... which would be funny if he didn't look to be around the same size as you and threatening you with a stabby stick that could actually do some damage to you-
"Not talking, huh? Guess I'll have to-"
"Boi, you better put that stick away before I beat your ass."
He paused... before leaning away from you. "-Ok, never mind. It's (Y/n)." Branch was quick to put away the stick back in his hair as he dropped the interrogation act.
Good. Would've sucked if you had to kick his ass...
Why is he still staring? Why is everyone staring?- ooh wait, right, either they grew or you shrank.... and you're guessing your ass shrank.
"Dude. Stop staring." You groaned as you let go of your chest, which you might have briefly forgot you still had ahold of, and slowly stood up.
Cool. Still a tall bitch-
The tips of Branch's hair only came up to your shoulder... which goes for everyone else since they were all basically the same size...
Huh... you've never actually noticed that before- well, kind of hard to notice when everyone's so damn small you have to squint to see them when they aren't close to your face-
"Hoooly shit... dude. Buddy. Friendo. Amigo. Chum-" You closed the space between you and Branch while he was still processing the fact that you were in fact, not a giant anymore, and squished the sides of his face between your hands and started slightly shaking him. "I'm shook- no wait, I mean shrunk! And I didn't realize Trolls were fuzzy! It's like peach fuzz..."
Branch's brain nearly crashed when he felt you touch his face...... you're hands are on his face. Something he's never thought possible without severe injury or making it seem really weird.
He... he really didn't want to be creepy, but your hands felt nice. Not delicate or overly warm. More like calloused and kinda cool to the touch... and they were on his face... you were touching him-
"Uhhhh..." Was all he could say as his brain was still buffering and trying to reboot. "I-uh-"
"Holy molly on a Growl-Beast!" Poppy was suddenly there to take your attention off of Branch as she shoved herself between him and you, standing on her tippy-toes and shaking your shoulders with her hands. "Look at you! You're! You're!" Poppy couldn't even finish her sentence before she started squealing and hopping excitedly.
'Huh... guess we're talking to each other again.' You mentally shrugged, too busy watching Poppy hopping in place... and you nearly had the passing thought to catch her in the air... but that's too much work.
And neither you nor Poppy noticed Branch, who had his hands on his cheeks, where yours had been, a faint tinge of red on his face...
Well, except Hickory, who trotted over to Branch's side and gave him a knowing look... which caused Branch to quickly cross his arms and scoff, like his mind wasn't just blown by a single touch from his crush.
" 'Bout that size problem you were havin'..." Hickory teased, nudging him in the arm with his elbow, and Branch only groaned and looked away.
"AHHHH! I could just hug you!" Poppy suddenly gasped! "Oh my god! I can! I'm gonna hug you so hard!"
She suddenly flung her arms around your waist...
And began to squeeze the life outta you.
You wheezed as you keeled forward a bit. "My fuckin' ribs!" You tried to tap out by patting her back repeatedly... but she took that as a sign to squeeze tighter. "Safeword! Safeword!"
Son of bitch! It's like a goddamn anaconda got ahold of you! You're pretty sure you can feel your ribs creaking!
Welp, after everything you've been though in your life, you never expected your death to come in the form of a world-champion-weightlifter disguised as an innocent-piece-of-bubble-gum!
R.I.P you I guess-
"Woah woah woah! Poppy! Too much enthusiasm! She can't breathe!" Branch finally came to your rescue, rushing over to your side and trying to pull one of Poppy's arm off of you.
"Ooooh! We're going to have so much fun!" Poppy said, off in her own world, seeming to have not heard Branch.
Surprise, surprise...
"Get her off before I yeet her ass into the next dimension!" You breathlessly threatened, grabbing hold of Poppy's shoulders and tried to pull her off as Branch continued tugging on her arm.
"I'm trying!" The survivalist grunted as he dug his feet into the ground and pulled on Poppy's arm. But she didn't give an inch.
"You'll get to dance with everyone! Host a party! Have slumber parties! Bake a cake with everyone! Fully enjoy Hug-Time! And sing!- well, you could have always joined in on singing, but now it'll be even better!" She continued on, now beginning to bounce on her heels, which took you with her.
"What the fuck is she on?! Steroids?!" You wheezed, pushing harder to get away from Poppy, who was still rambling on about everything you could do now that you were Troll sized.
"I don't know what that is!" Branch exclaimed as he continued tugging. "But she gets like this every time she gets too excited!"
At this point, Hickory was joining in on trying to get you out of the Poppy-Death-Trap. "Queen Poppy! You gotta let go!" He tried... but was ignored as well.
You were getting sick of this.
"Poppy! Last warning! Get the fuck off or I'm gonna beat your ass!" You warned, already winding up your hand for the ultimate smack down of the century.
"(Y/n)!- wait no!"
"Now think about this for a second miss-!"
...... "Welcome to Vibe-Ci-... Uhhh... Are we interrupting something?"
Poppy suddenly released you and turned towards the voice and gasped, arms outstretched. "Cooper!"
"Fuckin' run dude!" You coughed as you held your sore ribs, crouching on the ground like it would ease your pain.
Poppy is a fucking beast!
"Are you ok? Do you need anything?" Branch frantically asked as he patted your shoulder and tilted his head to look at your face.
"A new pair of ribs." You groaned, apparently still in good enough health to make a stupid joke.
Branch gave you a deadpanned look. "I'm being serious."
"Yeah, well so am I. Pretty sure she broke them." You snorted, poking him in his ribs with your finger, which got a jump out of him as he distanced himself from you. ".... are you ticklish or something?"
"Uhhhh- no!" He replied... a bit too quickly~
An evil grin crawled it's way onto your face. "You're ticklish~"
"(Y/n), no!"
"(Y/n), yes!"
But before you could even move, someone cleared their throat.
..... oh yeah, there was other people around.
"You got lucky this time." You whispered to Branch, who released the breath he was holding and visibly slumped with relief.
"Uh, as I was saying! Meet the king and Queen of Funk!" The tall giraffe dude in a green hat said, standing next to two taller giraffes. One purple and one blue.
Dressed in drag- uh, i mean in very sparkly and eye catching clothes!
... wait, one of these giraffes are from Troll-Village...
How did he get here?
You probably would have known if you weren't fucking around with Branch, but eh, guess that's a piece of info you'll never know-
"King Quincy and Queen Essence!"
Annnnnnd, you're zoning out again....
...........
.................
.........
Oop- Poppy musta said something, everyone is either cringing or looking at her in disbelief.
Annnd, we're moving.
Branch suddenly lightly elbowed you in the arm, giving you one of his looks, like he knew you weren't paying attention again....
You raised your hands in mock surrender... but then had a light-bulb moment.
The evil grin was back.
"Sooooo," You began, the grin getting even wider when everyone walked further ahead of the two of you. "I'm about the same size as you now..."
Branch was already dreading what was about to come out of you mouth, his gut sending him warning signs.... and it only got worse when you wrapped an arm around his shoulders and pulled him closer.
Annnd, he was blushing.
"... Wanna cuddle?"
Branch went stiff and stopped moving, red from head to toe, and what sounded like a muffled scream coming from his throat.
Holy shit. You're pretty sure you broke him!
I mean, that's the most blunt cuddle joke you've ever said...
You could basically hear the windows 10 crashing noise coming from his mind. Oops.
The group was already at the spot they were going to, which was way further ahead.
So, with Branch rebooting his brain, you wrapped an arm around his waist and lifted him so he was dangling in your arm at your side, and you continued forward towards where everyone else was.
You set him down on his feet once you arrived... oh hey, another tooth-floss, just purple this time.
.... and Branch refused to look at you, still flustered.
..... maybe you shouldn't make jokes that blunt? Keep it toned down to just flustering him by asking how Trolls fuck?
Yeahhhhhh.
Nah!
_________________
Happy thanksgiving!~