"Don't even think about it," Branch said when Poppy's hug time bracelet chimed that night.

Sighing, Poppy covered its light and silenced it. But, a moment later, a thought came to her. What if… he'd kill me, but, maybe it's worth a try?

Bit by bit, she moved her sleeping bag over until there was only a space about the size of Mr. Dinkles between Branch and herself. Then, taking a deep (but silent) breath, she decided to just go for it; so she closed the gap almost entirely and reached one arm around Branch.

Immediately, she felt him tense up under her arm. "And what, exactly, do you think you're doing?" he asked, shifting himself so he was now facing Poppy, surprised at how close she was even though she obviously would've had to be in order to try and hug him.

"I, uh…" Poppy stuttered, retracting her arm and sitting up, Branch following suit a second later, "It was hug time… but also I just wanted to hug you specifically…" she finished, the last part barely loud enough for Branch to hear. His expression softened for a moment, sadness and longing flickering across his face, but he quickly schooled it back into its previous grumpiness – so quickly that Poppy almost didn't catch it.

"Well, it seems you're out of luck – I already told you, I don't do hugs," Branch told her semi-harshly.

Poppy's face dropped at this even though she had known it would probably happen. "Yeah, I know… I had just hoped that maybe…" she sighed. "It's fine, you don't have to," she said sadly, slowly and reluctantly lying back down in her sleeping back, staring up at the stars and willing her eyes not to well up with tears.

Branch lay down in his sleeping bag too after watching Poppy for a moment longer, not bothering to move them apart; he was secretly enjoying the proximity, not that he would ever admit it to anyone.

He couldn't sleep, so he lay awake and watched the stars (okay, and Poppy… mostly Poppy… but he did look at the stars as well, I swear) for a bit. When he saw Poppy shift out of the corner of his eye, however, he lay still, closed his eyes, and pretended to be asleep.

A few moments later, he felt her hand caress his face tenderly, and she kissed his cheek. "Oh Branch…" she whispered very quietly so as not to wake him, "I wish you would just let me in. I don't know what happened that you're so closed off, but it's okay if you're not the tough guy all the time. You've gotta relax sometimes, you know? It's not good for you to be so deprived of affection all the time – you deserve better than to be so lonely. I want to get to know you; I want you to open up to me; …I want you to be mine. But you refuse to let me, or anyone else, see the real you. Please Branch, I would never hurt you… I love you too much to even think about it." She ghosted her hand over his cheek one more time and kissed him on the forehead before draping her arm over him. "Goodnight, Branch… I love you…" she whispered in conclusion, before falling asleep for real.

Meanwhile, Branch's mind was reeling with what he just heard. Poppy, the vivacious, bubbly, party animal, future queen of the Trolls, who Branch had had a crush on since forever, loved him– a grumpy, antisocial, outcast from society, who was the exact opposite of everything she ever showed interest in. It simply didn't make sense at all… He just wasn't anywhere near good enough for her – better than that Creek asshole, but still, not good enough.

But for now, he decided that it was better to just sleep, and figure everything out in the morning. So he snuggled into Poppy's embrace, and fell asleep in a matter of minutes, subconsciously smiling in his sleep.

A/N: Hey guys! Welcome to the fic! I went to the theatre to see Trolls on opening day (November 4th where I live – Canada) knowing literally nothing about it, and I left with a new OTP. So obviously, I went online that night to look for some fanfiction, but alas, there was none (none that was particularly good, anyways – with one notable exception being The Wedding Night by SilverGoldWolf on tumblr, which is awesome btw if you're reading this fic, Wolf – but the fanfics that did exist were few and far between), so I decided to write my own.

I love this ship, and (as mentioned) they're my new OTP. So while I may not ever finish my other stories on this site, this one might actually get updated. (Even if it doesn't, this chapter could pretty much be read as a one-shot – hence why I'm gonna mark this story as complete unless/until I decide to upload another chapter)

Also, is nobody ever gonna talk about that creepy troll child who was like "Watching your parents while they sleep! That would make the Bergens more happy!" like good god kid chill the hell out, you've got issues there man.

Anyways, see you guys either in the next chapter or in the next story! Bye!

~Meagan