#poor branch

"Hello there~!" She greeted cheerfully.

He blinked up from his phone and then smiled at her, leaning on the counter, "Oh, hey~ It's the cutie that picked up an application. Sorry to say the position's been filled but I've got an opening."

Poppy giggled, flattered that he felt the need to flirt with her, "I'm taken actually." Sort of, anyway, "But I'm sure you'll make someone very happy one day."

He sighed dramatically, "It's always the cute ones…" He then grinned, "So what can I help you with today?"

"Hey, Ash, who ya-" Denis came from the back and smiled at Poppy, "Oh, hey, Poppy. What are you doing here?"

"Dude! Why didn't you tell me you knew this cutie?!"

"I don't have to tell you everything."

Poppy giggled at the interaction between the two co-workers. She could tell they were good friends and hoped Branch had a similar relationship with them or, at least, would soon. It would be nice if he had some other friends to hang out with besides Gristle. She smiled at Denis then, "Hi. I'm actually here to see Branch. Is he available?"

"Sure is!" Denis then grinned before yelling down the aisle, “Hey, Branch!! Your girlfriend's here!!”

It was a few minutes until Branch's familiar dry tone came close, “What has Reed said about yelling in the store?! And what are-Oh...” Poppy waved merrily at him as he noticed her standing there. He then glared at Denis before saying through clenched teeth, “She's not my girlfriend! We're just roommates!”

"Uh-huh, suuuure." Ash drawled as Denis smirked and nodded

Branch groaned and rolled his eyes before crossing his arms and addressing Poppy, "Ignore them, please. What are you doing here?"

“Well it's nice to see you too.” Poppy sassed, hands on hips. She then giggled and grinned at him, “I came to see if you've had lunch yet. I got let off from watching the Menthe kids so I thought maybe we could go somewhere.”

“Uh...well...” Branch scrubbed at his hair, trying not to blush because his co-workers were watching and because Poppy looked adorable with her hopeful look. He didn't want to disappoint her by saying no but he also wasn't sure if that was a good idea. People, like Denis and Ash, might think it was date. “I...my lunch break isn't for another hour so...”

“Dude.” Ash groaned, “When a hottie like her asks you out, you take it!”

“This is none of your business!” Branch snapped at him, "Stay out of it!"

"Branch, come on. Be nice." Poppy then swung her arms behind her, "And if you can't come, that's alright."

"What are you knuckle-heads up to out here?" Reed's voice suddenly came from the back. When he reached the small group, he smiled and nodded to Poppy, who waved back.

"Branch is denying going out to lunch with Poppy." Denis informed his boss, like a kid tattling.

Branch glared at him, "I can't help that my break isn't scheduled for another hour!"

Reed chuckled and patted Branch on the shoulder, "Branch, calm down. It's alright." He then grinned at him, "I'm more than willing to let you take an early lunch today. You're model employee and deserve it."

"I-uh…" Branch still wasn't sure how to feel whenever his boss complimented him, "That…"

"Please, Branch?" Poppy asked, clasping her hands under her chin, "I came all this way…"

He glared at her, knowing his work wasn't that far from their apartment. Branch then tried to ignore that hopeful, sparkly eyed look she was giving him and to not be broken down when she started to flutter them, knowing she was just doing it to be funny. He then groaned because damn it, he was weak, "Fiiiine…"

“Yay!” Poppy cheered before grabbing his wrist, “See you guys later!” She then dragged him out the door, the bell signaling their departure as Reed waved them goodbye.

Ash watched Poppy pull Branch down the street through the windows before commenting, "If they're not banging, Branch is an idiot."

"Quarter in the lewd jar." Reed said before crossing his arms, "And what have I said about teasing him?"

“Aww, come on, Boss.” Denis grinned, “We were just having a little fun.”

“Yeah.” Ash agreed, “Just because Branch is your favorite doesn't mean we can't tease him a little. Guy needs to learn to not be such a stick in the mud.”

“I have faith he will one day but until then take it easy on him.” Reed then smirked, “And he's not my favorite, I just like him better then you two lazy bums. Get back to work.” The tall man chuckled as the two employee's groaned dramatically.

                                         ~*~*~*~*~*~

Lunch was an awkward affair, or maybe Branch just felt awkward as they sat in the outside area of the place Poppy dragged him to, as he picked at the salad he ordered. This felt entirely too intimate even  though they were in public and it certainly wasn't the first time they ate just the two of them. They've been living together for months! Yet it didn't feel this odd when in their apartment as sometimes he'd study while eating and she'd scrapbook or play on her phone. Here it felt as if they were on a date, and he swore the cashier thought that, with nothing to focus on but each other. Of course, he knew Poppy didn't feel the same as she had cheerfully taken pictures of her opened-face sandwich before digging in and talking like she always did about upcoming parties.

Poppy watched Branch as he played more with his food than ate it and look like he wanted to bolt right out of his seat. She wasn't sure what it was that was making him all fidgety, it wasn't like this was the first time they ate together but she wasn't going to let him behave like she was going to bite him or something. Swallowing her bite, she nudged his foot with hers under the table to get his attention, “So how's work today?”

Branch shrugged, still avoiding eye contact with her as he speared some lettuce, “Slow.”

Poppy hummed and tried to think of a way to get him to talk to her, “You seem to be getting along with your co-workers! That's a good thing! Nothing worse than when you can't work together, right?”

“I guess...” He munched on a bite of chicken before continuing, “They can kind of be a bit much but they're not too bad.”

Poppy stuck her lip out, she was hoping he'd elaborate, maybe tell a funny work story about them, but Branch was apparently determined not to say much. She'd try one more time, “The store looked a different from the last time I came in. Did you guys rearrange?”

“Oh.” Branch finally looked up from his food, surprised she had noticed, “Um..sort of. I had just mentioned to Reed that it would be more useful if some items were closer or next to ones that they're usually paired with rather than how they were before. He then asked me if I had any ideas on how I would do it and we...sort of rearranged.” He still couldn't believe that had happened, honestly, no one had ever really listened when he suggested different organization ideas.

Poppy watched as a small smile grew on Branch's face, he probably didn't realize he was doing it, and grinned, “That's great!”

“Um, yeah...” He stuffed a bite into his mouth before talking around it and looking off to the side, “Anyway, Shat's abouwt it.”

The pinkette giggled and took a sip of her drink, thinking that was probably all she'd really get right now but was proud she'd managed to prod him to open up a little. She had to remind herself not to go too far right now, he was kind of like a scared cat, she supposed and she had to be patient. She'd get him to be able to talk to her again, she was positive! And then they'd be able to laugh and sing like before!

Poppy swayed happily in her seat at the thought before watching Branch again. She really was proud of him even he hadn't fully opened up with her. She then tilted her head to side, noticing the way the sun caught his hair and seemed to make it glow and that was when a wonderful, amazing idea hit her!

“Hey!” She exclaimed, setting her glass down hard on the table and gaining his attention, “Know what we should do?!”

“....What?” He didn't like the tone of voice she was using, it meant a crazy plan was forming.

“Now that you're trying to be a better person, we should dye your hair!”

Branch blinked at her, wondering if he heard her right. When she just continued to smile expectantly, he knew she was being serious, “Okay, first!” He held up a finger, “I promised to try to talk to you about...my feelings more. Second! No where in that did I say I wanted nor would I let you dye my hair. How did you even come up with that idea?!”

Poppy flapped a hand in the air, “Doesn't matter and come on! It'll be fun~ You'll be an official member of the Snack Pack then! Well...” She paused and titled her head, “Not that you weren't already but still!”

Branch wasn't sure how to feel about that, he supposed a small hidden part of him was...happy to hear she considered him a part of her closest friend group, another didn't want to be associated with the deranged club. He settled for staring flatly at Poppy, “No. Not happening.”

“Aww, please?!” Poppy begged, “It'll be fun~!”

Branch sat back and crossed his arms, “No, it won't be.”

Poppy pouted, he could be such a spoil-sport, always shooting ideas down without trying and she tried to think of a way to convince him to do it. She then smirked, maybe there was one way, “What? Are you scared?”

Branch puffed up at the insinuation that he was scared of a little colored dye, “No! I'm not scared!”

“Then what's the harm?” Poppy asked, “We could get the semi-permanent stuff that will wash out after a while. They even have dye that works on dark hair so you don't have to worry about bleaching it first!"

“I don't care what sort of dye they have, it's not happening.”

He went to finish some more of his lunch, trying to end this ridiculous conversation when he heard Poppy say, “Chicken.”

He glared up at her, “Excuse me?”

She shrugged and nonchalantly took a bite of her food, “You're chicken. Dying you're hair won't hurt you. You're just afraid you'll like it.”

“No!” How dare she think he was chicken just because he wouldn't go through with her idea.

Poppy smirked before she started clucking, “Bwak, bwak, bwak!”

Branch slammed a fist on the table, making their dishes clink, “I'm not chicken! I just don't want to ruin my hair with all those chemicals! Plus I rather like blending into the background, thank you very much.” He crossed his arms again, “Now drop it.”

“Excuses, excuses. A little hair dye won't change your life but fine, whatever. I'll drop it....Chicken.”

“Poppy...” He warned, that wasn't dropping it.

“Bwak! Bwak! Bwak!”

“Fine! I'll do it!” He shouted, gaining a few stares from other customers, “I'll prove I'm not chicken!”

“That's the spirit!” Poppy cheered, smile a mile wide for her plan had worked, “We'll go pick out a color when you're off work, okay?”

“Fine by me.” Branch growled.

                                               ~*~*~*~*~*~

Branch was seriously regretting letting Poppy goad him into dying his hair as he stared at all the various brands and colors after she had come to pick him up and dragged him into the beauty supplies store. He was currently racking his brain on how to possibly get out of it which was rather difficult with Poppy watching him like a hawk with those big beautiful amber eyes of hers. She had pushed him toward the better products, probably foreseeing he'd tried to pick a cheaper, crummier hair dye but otherwise was letting him pick his poison. He watched her smirk out of the corner of his eye as he 'searched' through the options and frowned, she was enjoying this.

“Come on, Branch~” She sang, “We don't have all day~”

Maybe if he stalled long enough they'd be kicked out of the store and then he'd have more time to think of how to talk her out making him do this...

Poppy smirked again, watching as Branch struggled to find a plan to get out of this but she wasn't going to let him, “Bwak, bwak, bwak!”

Branch flashed a glare at her, “Really?!” He hissed.

She giggled and continued to cluck, flapping her elbows, “Bwak, bwak, Branch.”

Branch growled and, keeping eye contact, grabbed a random box off the shelves before marching to the check out counter, “Let's get this over with.”

                                       ~*~*~*~*~*~

The moment they got home, Poppy eagerly pushed Branch into the bathroom before digging around in the towels. She giggled happily, listening to him mutter and curse under his breath as he opened the box before pulling out an old and stained towel. Branch was frowning at the instruction sheet before she threw the towel in his face and started taking the bottles out. She was glad she had convinced him to let her help him in the car, he would probably over analyze every little thing if she didn't.

“Don't worry about the instructions, I've done this plenty of times.” She flicked her hair for good show, “Now take off your shirt.”

“What?!” Why in the world she need his shirt off for this?!

Poppy rolled her eyes as she turned to get something from the living room, “Do you want dye on your shirt?! Just take it off and put that towel around your shoulders!”

Branch sighed, he still couldn't believe he was letting this happen. Yes, he could just walk away now and tell her to forget the whole thing but he'd be damned if he gave her the satisfaction of him giving up and chickening out. His pride simply wouldn't allow it. So, Branch thought, bring on the hair dye, he'd prove to that beautiful, pink haired woman he wasn't afraid of it.

Poppy came back with a brightly painted stool and sat it down behind Branch. “Sit.” She commanded with a smirk.

Branch glared at her before whipping off his shirt and wrapping the towel around his shoulders, “I don't see the point of the towel. I don't have long hair.”

“Hush, it's the principle of the thing. That towel has seen every one of the Pack at least once get their hair dyed. It's only fair you use it too.” And it was so Poppy didn't get too distracted by his naked chest. She was handling not thinking about just how wonderful it was most days but a little extra insurance never hurt.

Poppy quickly pulled out a pair of gloves from under the sink, the ones in the dye box were usually crummy, and then begin mixing the dye into the developer. She expertly shook the bottle while rubbing a hand through Branch's hair, messing the strands up even more than usual. He frowned at her as she did that and her response was to just giggle back. Once certain the mixture was shaken well, Poppy held the bottle over Branch's head.

“Ready?”

He huffed, “As I'll ever be...”

Rolling her eyes at his less than enthusiastic response, Poppy began applying the solution into his roots. She felt him shiver as the cold dye hit his head before she began to rub it in. She started to hum as she worked, moving around him as she squeezed more into his hair and massaging it in. Branch was mostly silent as she worked, only grunting a few times if she pulled a little too hard. In no time at all, Poppy had emptied the bottle and was now really working the dye into his dark strands, massaging and running her fingers through his hair.

Branch had admit silently to himself that it felt kind of nice having someone else comb through it for once, even if after this his hair would be blue.

“You know,” Poppy spoke up as she rubbed her finger tips deep into his skull to work the dye in, “You chose a pretty good color for your first dye. Once it starts to fade it'll just look like your hair is sort of blue in certain lights.”

“Hmm...” Branch hummed, “Thanks, I guess.”

She giggled, “Not a problem.” She played with his hair a little more before stepping back, “Alright. Now just let that sit for twenty-five minutes and then you can wash it out. Use cold water for best results and wait till the water runs clear before rinsing with the conditioner from the kit.”

Branch sighed, he kind of missed having her hands in his hair, even if it made him want things that would never happen, “Fine...”

                                                    ~*~*~*~*~*~

About an hour later Poppy was puttering around in the kitchen, trying to decide if she wanted to bake cake or brownies when she heard the shower go off. She couldn't help the excited squeal as she waited for Branch to come out with the big reveal. She was only slightly disappointed when he came out with the towel draped over his head but only just because he looked unusually bashful standing in the hallway.

“I..um...haven't looked yet..” Branch couldn't make eye contact with her right now, feeling embarrassed about being nervous about his new hair color.

Poppy couldn't help but giggle lightly, “Alright, let's go look together~” She turned him around and pushed him playfully back toward the bathroom but not before letting her hands linger for a moment on his back. She also couldn't help but take a moment to appreciate his bare back as he walked away. All that smooth, taunt, tawny skin was just as great to look at as his front. But before the pinkette's thoughts could go further she quickly shook them out of her head as Branch called back at her from the bathroom and she went to join him.

They stood in front of the mirror and Poppy smiled at his reflection, hand grabbing a corner of the towel, “Ready?”

Branch took a breath before nodding, “I guess...”

Poppy whipped the towel off his head in a quick motion before 'ooo'-ing at the new color. It was now a pretty shade of blue, something a bit more indigo than navy and she thought it suited him rather well. Branch blinked a few times and tilted his head before running his hands through it.

“I...guess it's not that bad.”

“I think it's great!” Poppy exclaimed, spinning around and reaching up to fluff up his hair, “It's actually really fitting. It's got this sort of purple hue to it but it's still dark enough that at a glance I don't think people will notice it's dyed.” She stood up on her toes to reach more of his hair, fingers threading though the soft strands, “I'm really glad you let me talk you into this. You look great.”

“You goaded me into it but...I guess I don't hate it.”

Poppy giggled and tried to reach more of his hair by stretching up more on her toes, cursing her short height of 5'3” before she suddenly felt herself falling forward. Branch caught her and now she was just inches away from his nose. One hand was still in his hair, fingers no longer combing through, just lightly toying with it, as her other one had landed on his shoulder. Poppy was once again taken back by just how blue his eyes were as she stared at him, not minding his hands on her waist a bit.

“Thanks...” She said softly.

“Not-not a problem...” He replied just as soft. Branch couldn't help but take advantage at what was happening, the air around them suddenly feeling heavier and charged, to try and count just how many freckles were on her cheeks. Not to mention her eyes -those beautiful, gorgeous, amber eyes that he could just fall in- were becoming hooded as she seemed to be leaning in.

“But yeah...that dye..really, really suits you..” Poppy wasn't sure why she was still talking low but she wasn't concerned as something else was telling her to lean in.

Branch hummed, unconsciously tugging her closer as he leaned towards her, his own eyes closing part way as he felt her breath fan over his face. Their faces were just spaces apart when suddenly Poppy's phone began to ring.

Surprised, Poppy flew out of Branch's arms, face flaming red and eyes wide. What had she just been about to do?! “I-uh...Should get that! Yeah!” She then rushed out of the bathroom.

Branch stood there, stunned, because there was no way he had just been about to kiss Poppy. No way at all! But he had, hadn't he? He groaned and scrubbed at his hair. Stupid, stupid, stupid! He should've pushed her away after she tripped not pulled her closer! What was he thinking?! No wonder she had flown away, she was probably repulsed by the thought and now she would be wondering if he liked her that way. He'd have to be more careful around her now, not let his true feelings show anymore because that would be bad. Very, very bad.

Poppy meanwhile was distractedly listening to Satin on the phone, stunned at herself that she had almost kissed Branch. What had she been thinking?! They were friends! Just friends! Yes, okay, she still found him insanely attractive but that was no reason to go kissing the guy!! And she liked Creek! And she was certain he'd ask her to go steady any time now! She couldn't go around kissing other guys when she wanted to date him. It wasn't fair to Creek and it wasn't fair to Branch either. She had to keep a grip on herself, no more mistakes and no more almost accidents.

                                             ~*~*~*~*~*~

You guys have no idea how much I wanted to abandon my outline and have them kiss there. But I still have some plans I wanna do so I had to tease you all instead XD Poppy is still in heavy denial/hasn't thought about why she's so attracted to Branch yet (Other than, yes, he's rather attractive) Maybe she will soon? Who knows? Well...I do but that would be spoilers if I told you ;)