Chapter Text
His insides churned as the damn hunk of metal rattled across a lumpy countryside road. Arms knotted and temple chilled against the window, Branch's vacant gaze found itself focused on a gaggle of preteen girls who took up the two seats in front of him. They chattered away in voices far too shrill for his current mood. One girl's panicked expression after accidentally making eye contact told him that his resting bitch face was as nasty as ever. Somewhere from the back of the bus, a baby wailed and he wondered if that was somehow his fault too. Wouldn't be surprised.
Branch disliked public transport, Branch disliked most things that contained the word 'Public'. Unfortunately on days like today, it couldn't be helped. College loomed nearer like an impending thunder storm and chipped away at his savings bit by bit. If he was ever getting a car, he sure as Hell wasn't getting one anytime soon.
They passed the iconic 'Welcome To Troll Town' sign, decorated with the most g-rated graffiti he had ever seen. At this point, spray painting that sign in particular was no longer considered vandalism. It was like the whole town's giant white board. Branch assumed he was the only local who had never bothered to contribute a silly doodle.
He shook his head despite himself as he stared at the town's mass of grassy hills because no Poppy, they do not look like scoops of pistachio ice cream. They look like grass and the last thing he needs right now is to have your dumb cute little metaphors and your dumb cute little face pop up in his thoughts every time he looks at these goddamn hills.
The bus came to a halt. Finally. Branch stepped off with a mumbled "Thanks" to the driver and promptly decided that he was in no mood for the ten minute walk home. However the idea of slamming his face into a nearby table somewhere spoke volumes to his soul.
He wound up doing just that, sliding into a booth of Mr. Dinkles Ice Cream Parlor and letting his head collapse into folded arms. If he had been a stranger to this town, he would probably be swamped by a mob of concerned faces but he was Branch and everyone who knew him would rather leave him be.
Everyone but one, that is.
He heard her before he saw her. Somehow he always managed to distinguish the sound of undoubtedly technicolor bangles rattling against her wrists. His theory was then confirmed by her unmistakable humming and driven home by a pair of knees bumping against his own.
"Not now." He said without looking up, words muffled against his sleeve.
"Aww c'mon! It's too early to shut me down, usually you give me a couple of seconds to talk."
Branch lifted his head, expression stony.
Poppy was smiling, one hand cupping her cheek, the other wriggling fingers in greeting. "Hey there, Grumpy bear!"
"Not now." He repeated, crashing his face down yet again.
"If you don't wrap up your pouting soon and dig in, your ice cream's gonna melt."
That caught his attention. Sitting up slightly, he only now noticed the extravagantly large and sugary caramel sundae along with a small simple cup of chocolate ice cream.
Poppy was fidgeting in her seat, gaze snapping between the two treats. "I dunno, I know you always say you like chocolate and it's what you always order when you come here but it just looks so small and plain compared to mine. Do you want me to go up and get you a bigger one? I mean I can--"
"It's fine." Branch fought to keep his lip from tugging upwards and pulled out his wallet. "How much?"
She blinked at him incredulously. "You're broke, Branch."
He opened his wallet and took a moment to stare into the empty abyss. "Wow, thanks for the reminder. Couldn't let me pretend...not even for a minute. You're great, really. Don't know what I'd do without you."
"Awwww that is the sweetest thing you've ever--"
"Sarcasm, Poppy. Sarcasm."
Her grin deflated and scrunched into what he assumed was a scowl. The problem was Poppy couldn't scowl to save her life. "Couldn't let me pretend...not even for a minute."
Branch snorted, shoveling a spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. "What do you want anyway?"
"Well I saw you when you came in and you just..-" She sprawled her arms across the surface with a huff, miming a dramatic flop. "You seemed a lot more gloom n' doom than usual. And that's saying something. And you wouldn't even let me say hi before you shut me down. I mean I guess the ice cream kinda brightened things up..."
Oh yeah. It was the crappy cup of ice cream that brightened things up and not the actual personification of sunshine sitting right in front of me.
No. He definitely couldn't say that to her, no matter how sarcastic it was.
"But what's up? Is there something wrong? I figured the ice cream would be a good ice breaker." Her eyes widened in realization. "Or y'know, an ice cream breaker." She dissolved into bubbling giggles. "Branch, Branch! Can you believe that? I just-I didn't even plan that, just walked right into it!" Throwing her head back, rich undiluted laughter filled the air. Funny how she could get so much joy out of something so stupid.
Branch allowed a few precious moments of gormless gaping before inhaling deeply in case he found himself with no breath the next time she expected him to speak. "That's terrible."
"I know," Poppy wheezed before sitting upright and attempting to compose herself. She flipped some loose bubblegum pink locks over her shoulder and began tucking into her own frozen delicacy. "Now do you wanna tell me what the problem is?"
"I'm tired." He replied automatically.
She prodded her spoon at him far too vigorously for his liking. "Ohhh no! Whenever something's wrong, you say you're tired. I'm not falling for it today. What's the matter, Branch?"
Sometimes he told her to get lost, sometimes he would actually converse with her. It all depended on his mood. Weirdly enough, today it was the combination of wishing to vent his frustration and the soft sweetness of ice cream on his tongue that got him to talk.
"I can't get accommodation." He blurted out, whipping out his phone and poking the gallery icon.
Poppy furrowed her brow in confusion. "For college?"
Branch nodded. "I mean, I can but...kinda. I just can't get good accommodation, I can get-...just...just look." At a loss for words, he shoved his phone towards her, scrolling through the photos he'd taken today. Images of run-down kitchens, leaky ceilings, moth eaten plush couches, every picture as uncomfortable looking as the last. Even Poppy, who managed to find the bright side of spoiled milk, didn't look impressed.
"I know Bergen Town's a dump but I didn't expect all the flats to be this bad." Branch grimaced as his finger stopped at a particularly prominent brown stain against a beige carpet. There had apparently been a rat infestation in that apartment and he didn't even want to think about whatever that stain was.
"They're not all like that." Poppy implored, scooching forward in her seat. "I already bought my place and it looks adorable. It's on West Street, have you tried looking on that side of--?"
"Poppy." He suddenly felt very tired. "I know not all the apartments are like that. But the only ones I can afford are the crappy ones. As you said, I'm broke. I'm not the mayor's kid. I don't have cash spilling out of my pockets. I'm not like you."
Well. That certainly wasn't supposed to sound as bitter as it did.
The glow in Poppy's glittering cheeks dimmed and she nodded. "O-oh, oh yeah...uhh..." She cleared her throat. "Yeah, you're right. I'm sorry."
"It's okay. It's not really all that bad. I'm just gonna have a kinda shit home." He shrugged. "But I'll live. Buy some thermal blankets. It'll be fine."
"Can't you stay in one of the dorms?"
He shook his head. "Roommates, Poppy. Roommates."
"Right, right..." Poppy muttered and swallowed another helping of gooey sprinkled caramel. They fell into a comfortable silence for several minutes before she all but screeched "Wait!"
"What?!" Branch hadn't meant to yelp. Although as long as he'd known Poppy, he had never grown accustomed to her startling outbursts. They made him jump to this day.
"You said thermal blankets...are these places not-...?" She squinted at him. "Branch, are you actually telling me that you're planning on staying in a flat in Bergen Town with no heating?"
Suddenly she was standing, hands on the hips, staring him down with an odd expression. The look seemed to aim for stern but there was always that slight softness that never fully faded. Poppy would make a great mom one day, he thought absentmindedly.
"It's not gonna be that much of a problem..."
"Branch! Bergen Town is like a glacier during the winter, you know that! All your toes are gonna fall off and ohhhh boy, if you think you're bad at dancing now--"
"I never said I was bad at dancing, I just don't like dancing!"
"Not to mention all the sniffles you're gonna get. I mean how are you gonna attend your classes if you're sick all throughout the winter?!"
"Hey, hey Little Miss Brightside. Consider the strong immunity I'll build up."
"And you're willing to go through all this just cause you're too much of a baby to tolerate rooming with somebody."
Branch exhaled, raising a hand to scrub his forehead. He should really take a nap when he gets home. "You know I wouldn't survive having to share my room with someone."
Clearly she did know that as she sighed, exasperation touching her features. He waited expectantly for her to lower and slump into her seat although she apparently wasn't done surprising him today.
"Okay, y'know what?!" Poppy snapped, slapping her palms against the tabletop and leaning down to lock her gaze with his. Their noses were inches apart.
Branch suddenly understood the feeling of a deer in the headlights, complete with a hammering heart and bedazzling yet paralyzing glow.
Poppy worried her bottom lip, though otherwise her expression was firm. "You're going to stay with me." She stated with as much finality as she could muster.
"Wh-...?"
Yeah, okay. He couldn't breathe. If the headlight could back the Hell up from the deer, that would be great.
Forcing out a cough to cover his weak attempt at speech, Branch reached out a palm and shoved her away by the forehead.
"How many times do we need to talk about personal space?" He gave her a level look as if she hadn't just caused his brain to malfunction for several seconds. "What do you mean by stay with you?"
Poppy looked eager. "I mean, stay in my flat with me. I didn't even bother bringing it up at first cause hey, when have you ever taken me up on an offer?"
Branch wriggled slightly in his seat, his thoughts flying to the stacks of rejected party invitations horded under his bed back home.
"But then I heard you have no heating so nope, I'm not even giving you the choice. I'm not letting you be miserable all through college. You're gonna move in with me. Sorry, buddy. It's final." She nodded sharply and crossed her arms, a smug little smile playing across her lips.
"Yeah, no."
"Wha-? No?"
Branch almost laughed at how quick the satisfied air evaporated and was replaced with the look of a pouting toddler.
"There is no way in Hell I'm living with you. Are you not seeing any flaws with this arrangement? None at all? Cause I'm thinking of a lot right now."
"Name one."
Where to start?
"You can't go a week without throwing a party and excuse me if I don't wanna sleep in a goddamn nightclub."
"Okay then. No parties."
"I mean I couldn't even-...wait, what?"
Poppy was looking as if she were in a business meeting as opposed to having a discussion over ice cream with a long time acquaintance/friend/occasional enemy. She shrugged "I can have parties anywhere. If I make friends--"
'If' she says. Talking like the entire population of Bergen Town isn't going to flock to her like moths to a flame.
"--then I'll be sure to tell them that my place is off limits for any kinds of parties. But I'm sure a lot of them will have flats of their own. Problem solved."
"Where would I even sleep? On the floor?"
"Well, the original plan was parties nonstop so I had a spare room for anyone who wanted to spend the night."
Branch studied her face, hoping to find the tiniest pinch of hesitance. Come on, where's that 'Wait a minute. Maybe I don't want a killjoy to ruin my college experience.' look. But he knew she didn't think like that. Poppy would never think like that. A part of him sometimes wished she did. Maybe avoid eye contact with him once in a while, pretend she didn't see him when she didn't want her day spoiled, give him that strained polite smile that wrote plain and simple that she wanted nothing to do with him. Hell, if she just acted like everyone else did with him, then maybe he wouldn't have to deal with her invading his mind at 3AM.
"I-I can't..." He was floundering now. " I can't afford it. I mean, you can't just be expecting me to hang around in your flat without pulling some kind of weight."
She was going to have a solution to all of his concerns, wasn't she? The dreaded thought settled in as Poppy's smile never once wavered. "I'll continue paying the rent until you've saved up enough to pay me back."
"Saved up from where?"
Poppy almost looked offended. "You're going to be getting a job, Branch. Don't think I don't know that. You hate having too much free time on your hands."
Attention to detail. A gift to her scrapbooking skills, a curse to his patience.
"Also," Her voice was meek. "Now that I think about, I really don't think I'm ready to live on my own" She gazed at him for a moment, eyes soft and the curl of her lips almost pleading.
Alright. Now, some senseless part of him wanted to say 'Yes' which meant that he needed to get the Hell out of here right now before he agreed to anything stupid.
"No." Branch realized he was spurting a series of "No, no, no." as he hastily wormed his body out of the booth. He hoped the buckling of his legs was unnoticeable under his jeans. He glanced at Poppy and was instantly stung by her hurt expression but kept his face neutral. "Thanks for the offer and the ice cream but no. I'll take my chances with the shitty flat. Okay, bye."
He was gone. He shot like a bullet towards the exit and walked at a brisk pace through the streets until he reached home.
Poppy made no attempt to follow him. The observation chewed at his mind and heart all throughout the night. No cry of "Branch, wait!", no strappy pink sandals slapping against the sidewalk in an attempt to keep up with his long strides. Maybe she had finally had it. Branch felt relieved at the thought. Finally, Poppy could forget about what was probably the most unpleasant aspect of her life. She wouldn't have to converse with the neighborhood grump anymore.
Branch was delighted to be rid of her. So delighted that he was already tugging out his box of party invitations from under his bed and would probably spend the night staring at them. Out of pure celebration, of course. Right...
It was going to be a long night.
He was halfway done admiring the craftsmanship of a slumber party invite that he had received at age fourteen when his phone buzzed.
Branch swiveled around in his desk chair and glanced at the name on the glowing screen. Poppy.
His stomach did a flip. Out of disappointment, of course.
Opening the text, he blinked at the image. Staring back at him were two small children, standing against a winter background. They wore bright toothy grins, the light in their eyes frozen by the flash of the camera. The girl, clad in a pink parka, was looking frazzled, a lump of snow crumbling down her woolly hat.
Branch snorted. Had this been taken after he dumped a snowball on Poppy's head?
His gaze traveled across the screen to examine his younger self. The boy looked absolutely thrilled despite resembling a pile of laundry. Wearing no less than four layers and a winter coat, Branch wondered how many times he got teased back then for waddling around like a penguin.
He noticed the three chat bubbles popping up and disappearing under the image and braced himself for whatever novel of nostalgia Poppy planned on sending him.
His phone buzzed again.
'Remember how grandma rosiepuff wouldnt let u leave the house until she was sure u wouldn't get cold?'
Branch was still. A lump built itself in the back of his throat and it felt like a rock had been dropped in the pit of his stomach.
He wanted to smash the phone against a wall, he wanted to take every individual invitation and rip them to shreds, he wanted to scream at Poppy that she should never open her huge fucking mouth ever again because good God, that was low.
His phone clattered against the desk and he took several deep breaths. One nagging thought surfaced to the forefront of his mind and he was forced to acknowledge it before he shattered the nearby porcelain mouse ornament Poppy bought him last Christmas.
She hadn't intended to use his grandma as a dirty tactic. Years later he could still see the admiration in her little four year old face as Rosiepuff taught her the basics of how to make cookies. Poppy respected his grandma and her wishes and she knew damn well that if Branch considered the old woman during their exchange at the ice cream parlor, they would already be deciding curtain colors. Poppy just wanted what Rosiepuff wanted. Her text wasn't an attempt to yank at his heartstrings, it was a reminder.
He took a very long time to write a very short reply. 'ok'