Sulit

A/N: This is the last completed chapter I have of this story so far. Future updates are to be determined, and I won't promise consistent updates. But I can say that soon, I'll be done with a couple of chapters for some other stories, including "Gray is Not All Colorless". 

For those of you who want more of "Song Defies Color", you will have to keep being patient. I want to finish "Gray is Not All Colorless" first before continuing on with that story and this one. It may not sound ideal, but at least I won't have to stress about it for the time being, despite the many comments about me wanting to continue it. I hope you guys understand. 

Anyway, let's get on with Chapter 4. Quick disclaimer: this is something a little scary mentioned in this chapter. It is something that can happen during pregnancy that could lead to a miscarriage; I looked it up. Roll it! 

Chapter 4

The First Movements

Another two months had passed since Poppy learned of her pregnancy, and that the father of her baby was none other than Branch. Well, as shocking as the circumstances were, she was grateful that they were going to be working together to keep the baby a secret, as well as raise the trolling when it hatches from its egg. But for the moment, she had to focus more on hiding her pregnancy and its symptoms until the egg was ready to come.

The only new thing that happened after her conversation with Branch was that eventually, chocolate became part of her super-healthy diet of fruits and veggies she was forced to be on because of the baby. However, that was the only sweet thing that the baby even liked, so she would still get sick at the sight of anything else that was artificially sweet. When Poppy had complained about that to Branch during one of their newly scheduled weekly visits, he just had that annoying smug smirk on his face as he held back an amused snort. The pink princess just rolled her eyes, failing to see what was so funny about that. 

That morning, after Poppy had a very appetizing breakfast of watermelon cubes and blueberry pancakes, she took a moment as she was getting dressed to briefly examine herself in the mirror. At just four months pregnant, she was starting to show a little bit of a bump on her stomach. But there was something about it that always seemed to make her appear.... happier, for lack of a better word. Maybe because she was both excited and nervous; she was going to be a mother.

After a few more seconds of examining her baby bump, Poppy finished getting dressed into her usual turquoise dress. Another good thing was that she can still wear her usual dresses without showing her bump. But within another couple of weeks, she would need to start wearing different, slightly baggier clothes. By then, she was sure that wearing her normal dress over her soon-to-be much more visible baby bump would raise suspicion.

Well, time to face another day. Poppy thought to herself as she smoothed out her dress, her fingers caressing her bump one last time. Then, she put on her favorite flower headband and then headed out of her pod.

*****************

At noon, Poppy was having lunch with her friends, per usual. While everyone else got something sugary, the pink Troll princess instead got a bowl of chocolate-covered strawberries with a chocolate milkshake. It was something that she can eat without getting sick, and it was sweet enough to avoid rousing any more suspicion.

"Seems like you're feeling much better now, aren't you, Poppy?" Creek asked the pink princess, his normally charming smile seeming a bit strained. He had tried again to share his lunch with Poppy, which was a large bowl of vanilla ice cream with whipped cream and sprinkles, but she had politely declined his offer again.

"Yep." Poppy nodded, getting another chocolate-covered strawberry. "Doctor Plum gave me a clean bill of health yesterday, but she still wants me to be careful for another few days, just in case. You know how she worries over me, along with my dad."

"Well, of course." Biggie said, taking a bite of cotton candy.

"You are not just our friend, but you are also our princess." Creek added.

Poppy quickly resisted the familiar urge to flinch. True, she was a princess, but sometimes, when others would constantly remind her of that, they were saying it as if she was more important than anybody else. She may hold a title, but in her opinion, that shouldn't be the only thing that makes her special.

Well, that's one reason why I actually like being around Branch. When he's kind of in a good mood. Poppy thought to herself, holding back an amused smile. He kind of sees me as both someone he hates and sort of likes. I guess he would call that middle ground "tolerance". Great, now I'm starting to sound a little like him. Although maybe, it isn't entirely a bad thing.

Just then, Poppy felt a little poke to her stomach. It wasn't painful, but it was strange. Enough to make her slightly gasp in surprise. However, it didn't go unnoticed by Suki, who was about to have another one of her raspberry vanilla cookies.

"Everything okay, Poppy?" She asked her.

Poppy froze for a second, but then quickly regained herself. "I'm fine." She said with a smile, brushing off the growing worry from her friends. "Just had a bit of a freeze in my mouth." Suddenly, it was like she couldn't wait to get back home, away from prying eyes, to see if it was what she thought it was.

After lunch was over, Poppy hurried back to her pod and shut the door. She then went to her room and got out the pale yellow maternity book that Branch gave her a couple of weeks ago. Even though it wasn't a scrapbook, it had proven to be very helpful to the secret expectant mother. When she found the section about where she was in her pregnancy, she gently placed a hand on her stomach.

After a couple of minutes of nothing, the pink Troll sighed. She slid her hand over her stomach once more before bringing it upward to remove it. But then, she felt that strange sensation again. She looked down at her stomach again, and then to the book. It said that it would feel like there were butterflies in her belly. But she was feeling a little anxious about it right now, so maybe it was a false alarm. How can a mother actually tell? Maybe she should get a second opinion.

****************

A couple of hours later, as the sun was setting, Poppy carefully made her way over to the bunker, the pale yellow book in her hands. She then knocked on the huge boulder a couple of times. After about seven seconds, the small slot in the mat opened to reveal familiar piercing sky blue eyes.

"Poppy?" Branch asked her in slight surprise. He quickly closed the slot, and then opened the mat up all the way, popping his head out of the entrance. There was definitely a prominent sweat upon his brow, and there were some tiny smudges of dirt on his face.

"What are you doing here?" He asked her. For once, he didn't sound like he was annoyed, but rather concerned for her. The thought of that touched her.

Poppy nervously drummed her fingers against the book she was holding, the front cover hidden from view. "Well, I thought I felt something earlier today, but I felt like I needed a second opinion." She answered, hoping that he would catch on her vague response.

Branch was confused for a couple of seconds, but then he recognized the book in Poppy's arms. They decided that if it was something to do with the baby, the code would be that Poppy would bring the maternity book with her when she visits him. This was put in place just in case if anyone might be listening in, and to ease Branch's paranoia that someone could be spying on them.

He quickly looked around the area, trying to see if there was anything or anyone else around, his ears slightly pivoting to catch any possible sounds of footsteps or rustling. Once he was sure that there was nothing or nobody around, he gestured to her to get inside. Poppy carefully jumped inside the bunker, Branch immediately steadying her by the waist and back in case she lost her balance. The pink Troll resisted the urge to roll her eyes fondly, knowing that he was just looking out for her and the baby.

And he thought that he wouldn't be a good dad. Poppy thought to herself with a little smile.

Once he closed the mat and got the elevator heading down, he turned back to her. "What's up?" He asked. "Do you think there's something wrong?"

"Nope, nothing wrong." Poppy assured him as the platform reached the bottom floor. "Everything's okay. I've been making sure."

Branch then led Poppy over to the couch and sat her down. Seeing the smudges on his face and the sheen of sweat on his forehead, Poppy reached into her hair and gave him a handkerchief. He gratefully took it and began wiping his face.

"I thought that I felt the baby move." Poppy confessed, holding the book tight in her grip against her chest.

Branch's eyes widened as he sat down next to her, handkerchief in his hand. "But I tried to feel it again later, but I think I was too excited to really feel it. So I came here to see if it was really the baby."

Branch let his icy blue eyes flit down to Poppy's stomach. As her hand gently caressed her tummy, he could see the small form of a bump there, outlined by the fabric of her dress. His fingers slightly twitched, wanting to touch it, but he immediately resisted it. He won't touch it without Poppy's permission, even if he is the father.

Instead, he slowly lowered the book down onto her lap, loosening the princess's grip on it. "Poppy, I won't be able to feel it myself for at least another month." He said. "So for now, you're the only one who can feel it, if it had even moved at all. Which it should've by now. If not, then something could be very wrong with it."

Poppy felt worried tears beginning to prick at her eyes as she looked down at her little baby bump that had been hidden by the book. She desperately hoped that something wasn't wrong with the baby. She then began to feel a little short of breath. An unfamiliar but sharp feeling of both fear and worry started to grip at her heart, and it deeply terrified her.

Branch could see that Poppy's normally bright pink colors were starting to look a little saturated. His sky colored eyes widened in fear at the realization of what was happening to her, and he didn't even need to notice that she was hyperventilating. Throwing all caution to the wind, he went over to kneel in front of her and then took her hands in his.

"Hey, hey, hey." He said, getting her to look at him. "Look at me. Focus on me. Take a deep breath. Slowly." He unknowingly but gently rubbed his thumbs over the tops of her hands, giving her a little bit of comfort.

Poppy wasn't sure for a moment if this was a good idea. She'll never admit it out loud, but every time she gets a good look into Branch's shockingly sky blue orbs, she would feel like her breath would be stolen away in an instant. She knew everyone in the village, and there were plenty of Trolls that had blue eyes. But no one had the same shade of gorgeous blue that Branch has, even though the rest of him was pretty monotone and dull in color. Sometimes, she wondered if it should be considered illegal to have such pretty eyes. But then again, he would be all gray if he didn't have such beautiful and vibrant eyes, and seeing that little bit of color in him always gave her hope that one day, he would become happy and fully colorful again.

But the sparkling ocean that she saw in those eyes this time was calm and tranquil instead of slightly stormy, which was also starting to help her calm down. Seeing that she was starting to breathe a little bit easier, Branch began to breathe in deeply through his nose and then slowly exhaled out with his mouth before repeating the pattern, which Poppy eventually began to copy. After doing it four more times, she was breathing much easier.

"Sorry." Branch muttered. "I didn't mean to scare you, but there is that possibility." Poppy just nodded mutely. "Keep taking deep breaths, and place your hand here." He then gently took her hand and placed it on her abdomen, being cautious to not touch the bump himself. "Be still and just feel around."

Poppy continued to breathe in and out deeply, feeling much better and just focused on finding any sign of the baby moving. There was just something about the gentle and caressing way Branch was guiding her hand that greatly helped in calming her nerves. Who would've thought that the village hermit would be such a softie? But she doubted that he would ever admit it out loud. He would say something like it could ruin his reputation of having a heart of stone. Not that she ever really believed it.

Suddenly, she felt a strange fluttering in her abdomen, making her gasp quietly. Poppy opened her eyes and immediately looked down to where her hand was, Branch's larger hand guiding it by the wrist. He looked up at her, eyes widened.

"Did you feel it?" He asked.

Poppy slightly shifted around, sliding her hand a little upward. She then felt that brief fluttering in her stomach again. She breathed out with a mixture of relief and awe, happy tears pricking at the corner of her eyes as she nodded her head.

"Yeah." She answered. "I did."

Branch breathed out a sigh of relief and wonder as he looked down to where Poppy's hand was resting on her belly. That strange twinge of pride from her last visit pooled into his own stomach again. He honestly still couldn't believe that he was going to be a father. Never in his wildest dreams did the gray Troll think that this would happen, and with the one Troll that he never could really push away. And remembering what Poppy had said to him during her first visit when she revealed that she was pregnant, that she wanted him in this baby's life, it made him start to feel like.... maybe there was finally something else worth living for instead of just struggling to survive and defend himself.

Just then, Poppy's stomach grumbled. She naturally flushed in embarrassment as she averted from Branch's gaze, which had focused back on her after looking down at her stomach for several seconds. The gray Troll in front of her raised a smooth black brow.

"Did you even eat dinner tonight?" He asked her suspiciously.

"I did." Poppy assured him. "But I know both me and this little one want dessert."

"A craving?" Branch continued to question.

"Yes and no, I think." Poppy said. "I'm dying for some chocolate chip cookies, but at least I'm not hysterical about wanting some."

Branch softly exhaled through his mouth with relief. Thank goodness he won't have to deal with either a snappy or a sobbing princess just because she wanted sweets for her and the baby. Just then, he heard a cheerful ding coming from the nearby kitchen.

"I guess it was just a coincidence that I had just put in a batch of cookies a few minutes ago." He said, getting up. Poppy copied him, a curious brow raised.

"You.... bake?" She asked in surprise.

Branch rolled his eyes, expecting her surprise about one of his little secret hobbies. "Most of my rations are for emergencies." He explained. "For my daily meals, I do have a garden right outside for getting some fresh fruits and veggies, and for other things like confectionaries, sweets and other dry ingredients, I stop by the market every three weeks to stock up on them. For berries and nuts, I forage for them out in the forest."

"I have noticed that you do stop by the marketplace once in a while." Poppy admitted, recalling a couple of those instances. "But I guess I wasn't paying attention to what you were getting.

It was Branch's turn to raise a brow in curiosity and suspicion. "And that's relevant to you because....?" He trailed off.

Poppy froze at the possible implication she said and a strawberry red blush appeared on her face. "Um, no reason!" She exclaimed, not making eye contact with the gray Troll, her fingers twiddling around in both nervousness and embarrassment.

Branch just rolled his eyes as he went over to the kitchen and grabbed his oven mitts. She better not be planning anything with this new bit of information that he gave her about himself. It seemed that ever since she told him that she was pregnant with his kid, he has been slightly more willing to open up about himself. But he quickly reminded himself that it was only because they needed to work together to keep this surprise pregnancy under wraps until the egg hatches.

The gray Troll carefully pulled out the cookie sheet, revealing about a dozen of homemade chocolate chip cookies. The delectable smell hit Poppy's nose, and she was almost salivating immediately. They smelled just divine. She was about to grab one when Branch gently grabbed her wrist.

"They still need a couple of minutes to cool off." He said, pulling her hand away from the hot pan. "You don't want to burn your tongue."

Poppy slightly pouted, but relented. "Fine." She grumbled, her stomach growling in agreement. The timing of it made Branch snicker.

"Just so that you don't get bored while waiting, I can show what I was working on before you came in." He suggested.

"What might that be?" Poppy asked.

"The nursery for the baby." Branch answered.

Poppy met his eyes and saw a faint little lavender blush on his face, the ocean reflecting in his irises once again tranquil and steady. Remembering the agreement that Branch would be the one to keep the baby at his place since Trolls would start to ask questions if Poppy was the one to keep it at her pod, and they both know that it would only be a matter of time before the pressure would be too much for Poppy to take. They might wonder why the gray Troll would have a trolling living with him, but they all knew better to leave him alone when he doesn't want them asking questions.

A bright little smile came on the pink Troll princess's face. "Sure." She said, excited to see what Branch had already done.

Branch just rolled his eyes with slight amusement as he led Poppy down the hall. They both paused for a moment when they passed by the door to his room, but they kept going forward, hiding the dark blushes on their faces and repressing the steamy memories of their one-night stand. It was because of that that they were even in this situation in the first place. Adjacent to his room on the right, there was an opening dug into the wall, and the gray Troll carefully led the princess inside.

The area was large enough for at least three grown-up Trolls and circular, and it was still looking a little rough around some small areas on the walls and ceiling, but Poppy could tell that Branch had been working hard on it for the past couple of months. The floor was cleared, and most of the walls and ceiling had been smoothed out. There was even a dent in the ceiling where she was sure that a light from a glowbug would go to illuminate the room. The empty space started to make her imagination go wild on how to decorate it once Branch was done building it.

"It's not done yet, but I have been making some progress." Branch said. "I just need to finish smoothing out the walls and the ceiling, and I need to make sure that it's sturdy enough so that nothing above causes it to cave in."

"This looks amazing, Branch." Poppy said, slightly spinning around to get a better feel of the room. "I'm already starting to get ideas on designs."

"Just don't go too crazy." Branch said. "There are not a whole lot of colors that go well with brown, and remember, we won't know the gender of the baby until it hatches."

Poppy lightly bit her lip in thought. That would be a bit of a problem. This was one of the times she kind of wished that they could risk a visit to Doctor Plum to find out the gender, which would normally be the case in about another month. But if they did, then the whole village would be onto them in seconds. She resisted the urge to shudder.

"I'll see what I can do." She said, pushing the thoughts of hordes of Trolls with bowls of soup in their hands away from her mind. "When do you think this will be done?"

Branch looked around the area. "Maybe in about a week or two." He replied.

"Well, I'm pretty sure that I'll have some design options ready before then." Poppy said. "And I'll make sure that it's neutral for whatever gender until the baby hatches. Then afterwards, we can change it up a bit, no matter what gender it might be."

Branch gave her a small smirk. "Who would've thought that you could plan ahead?" He teased, making the pink princess roll her eyes.

"Oh, very funny, wise guy." She teased back, a smirk forming on her own face. Branch snorted in amusement, rolling his own eyes. But then, a brief flicker of a soft smile started to appear on his face. The sight of it made Poppy return the smile before Branch quickly changed the subject, a brief flash of embarrassment in his sky blue eyes.

He cleared his throat and then gestured her out of the unfinished nursery. "Cookies should be cooled off by now." He said.

Branch led her back into the kitchen, where the cookies were waiting. Poppy reached out to take one, but the gray survivalist stopped her again. "It's getting late." He said, going over to a cupboard and getting out a small plastic bag. "We better get you back home before anyone notices that you're gone."

Poppy looked over at the grandfather clock in the living room and saw that it was almost eight. It seemed like a good time to get going. She watched Branch grab a spatula from one of the kitchen drawers and began to pull the treats off the pan with ease. He placed about four cookies in the bag, and then sealed it tightly to keep them warm. He then handed her the bag, and she placed it in her hair before they left the bunker. 

********************

Several minutes later, after walking along the outskirts of the village, Branch stopped at the edge of town, waiting for Poppy to walk the rest of the way to her pod. But Poppy wasn't quite ready to say goodbye to him yet. "I'll come back tomorrow." She said. "I can grab some design ideas and then you and I can discuss them."

Branch raised a brow. "Promise that it won't be too crazy?" He asked her suspiciously. "And nothing glittery?"

Poppy gave him a nervous grin, realizing that he did kind of see through that. "I can try to see what I can find." She answered, her smile making Branch roll his eyes again. "See you tomorrow." She waved to him before quickly walking towards her pod.

Once she was at the door, she turned around to see Branch still standing in the shadows. She gave him another little wave. The gray Troll seemed to have realized that she saw him, gave her an awkward little wave in return, and then quickly ran off into the forest. Poppy blinked in confusion for a second, before giggling. His shyness was actually kind of cute.

The pink princess entered her pod and then softly closed the door behind her. She sat down at her table and pulled out the little bag of cookies that Branch gave her. She pulled one of them out and gently took a bite. Immediately, her taste buds came to life as her eyes widened.

The cookie was delicious! It was soft and chewy with the perfect harder edge, and the chocolate chips were warm and gooey. Who knew Branch knew how to bake so well? After swallowing her first bite, Poppy immediately dug into the rest of the cookies. If the gray Troll knew how to bake such delectable treats, imagine him cooking an actual meal. He could easily be an incredible chef, if he wanted to. Just another thing about him that surprised her.

That Branch is full of surprises. Poppy thought to herself as she continued munching on cookies. However, she didn't notice the growing fondness in her smile the more she thought about the gray Troll survivalist and the father of her child. If she did, then she would have also noticed the faint rosy blush blooming on her cheeks the more her thoughts lingered on him. But even if she did, she would have denied all of it.

A/N: That last bit was cute, huh? 

About my little question last chapter, about whether the baby will be a boy or a girl, I had both sides pretty even. Two for a boy, two for a girl. What about some of you other readers that haven't shared your thoughts? Remember, I've already decided the gender; I just wanted to hear your guesses about. 

Anyway, that's all for now. I hope to update this soon, but no promises. I've been getting really bad at keeping them due to my crazy busy life. Until next time, though! I'll see y'all! Please leave a comment about what you think, and remember to stay healthy during these crazy times. The worst is almost behind us. 

Got to fly! ;)