Work Text:
Poppy was hosting another Secret Holiday Gift Swap for the entire Troll kingdom, and Viva may have possibly snuck into the bag of Techno Troll names and it was entirely possible that she might have pulled Trollex’s name out and snuck it into her pocket for her to “find” when the names were mixed up and dropped to the kingdom. Possibly! You couldn’t prove she did it in a court of law, so good luck trying!
Could you blame her though? How exciting would it be to get her boyfriend for the gift exchange?! She was already coming up with ideas for gifts when Poppy announced that she was about to drop the names down for everyone. This was it!
The names drifted down and Viva slipped Trollex’s name out of her pocket and dropped it onto the ground. She made a big show of looking around, then reaching for the paper that had landed near her feet. Just as she was about to grab it, a winter breeze blew past, blowing the scrap of paper away from her.
“Oh no you don’t!” Viva yelled, giving chase. She grasped at air, trying to grab the paper as it danced around in the wind.
The paper floated gently until it was in front of Branch, who bent down and picked it up.
Viva ran up to him as he began to tuck the paper into his vest, “Branch, I’m gonna give you one chance to put that paper down.”
“What?”
“Give me the paper, Branch.”
“There’s still some laying around if you don’t have one. Like right here,” He picked up a piece of paper and handed it to her. Barb’s name was written on the slip of paper, which was the wrong name. “Here you go.”
“Branch, I’m not gonna ask you again to give me Trollex’s paper.” Viva took out one of her sticky hands, “I am not afraid to use force.”
Poppy seemed to finally notice the incoming fight and ran over, “Woah, what’s going on over here?”
“He stole my paper!”
“I did not! It landed on the ground in front of me and I picked it up! I gave you another paper!” Branch whined.
“I saw it first, it’s mine.”
Poppy took the paper from Branch’s hands, looking at it for a second before tutting and shaking her head, “Viva. Did you take this out of the bag and sneak it just so you could have your boyfriend? For shame, Veevs, for shame.” She tsked three times, shaking her head and crossing her arms, “Cheating is not in the spirit of the holiday.”
“I’m not cheating, I’m just getting ahead of the curve. I was early to pick my name is all.” Viva defended, but Poppy wasn’t buying it.
Poppy handed Trollex’s name to Branch, “Well Branch got Trollex’s name fair and square, so you’ll just have to make do with Barb.”
Viva narrowed her eyes, “This means war, Poppy.”
______________________
Viva’s first plan was negotiation.
“Branch, just switch names with me. Barb’s a great person, she’ll be fun to buy a gift for.”
“I agree, so you’ll have fun since she’s the name you got.” Branch said, walking past her and into the forest at the edge of Pop Village.
Viva rushed to follow him, “Okay, but you don’t really know Trollex like I do, so wouldn’t he get a better gift from me? So you get a gift for Barb, you’ll know what to get her!”
“I know him as well as I know Barb, so there’s no difference in who I get a gift for. Besides, the point isn’t to have the better gift, it’s to do something nice for someone else, and I would like to do something nice for Trollex.”
Next was bargaining.
“Branch, just give me the name and I’ll give you anything! Do you like milkshakes? I’ll make a giant milkshake just for you! With pop rocks and sprinkles and so much whipped cream! Oh, how about I braid your hair for you? What about a sticky hand?”
“Viva, those are all things you like, not me.” Branch said, opening the hatch to his bunker.
“I’ll give you a massage!”
“I get those from Poppy.”
“I’ll clean your bunker for you!”
“Yeah, I don’t like people messing with my system.”
“I’ll let you reorganize the finances for the golf course?” She tried. Branch looked confused so she explained, “That always works on Clay.”
Branch just hummed and boarded the elevator to his bunker.
Then came pleading.
“Pleeeeaaaaase!” Viva whined, dropping to her knees and clasping her hands together, giving Branch the saddest puppy eyes she could muster, “Name your price and it’s yours, just please let me have my boyfriend!”
Branch wordlessly pulled the handle to the elevator, disappearing into his bunker with a smirk as the hatch closed after him.
Alright, she didn’t want to have to do this, but Branch had left her no choice. It was time for her final plan: a heist.
Getting Mr. Clay to agree was… difficult. He did not accept “I need to have my boyfriend for the gift exchange” as a valid reason to commit a heist, nor did he accept “leaders help each other with heists, no questions asked” as a reason either. He didn’t even accept her normal bribe of letting him redo the finances!
“Please Mr. Clay! It’s so Trollex can have a good holiday! You want Trollex to have a good holiday, don’t you?”
Trollex rolled his eyes with a “Hmf.”
Viva stared at Clay with watery eyes, her bottom lip trembling as she clasped her hands together. Clay tried to simply avert his eyes, but they kept flitting back to Viva and her no doubt pathetic face.
“Alright, fine!” He threw up his hands, “I’ll help you break into Branch’s bunker. I’ll distract him and that is it though! I’m not helping you snoop through his stuff.”
Viva cheered, jumping up and down, “Yayyy! Thank you, Mr. Clay!”
______________________
Viva stayed at the top of Branch’s bunker, listening as Clay descended into the bunker for the signal.
“Branch! I was wondering if I could see your organization system. I think you’re right that you have the better system, so I’d like to replicate it for the golf course.” Clay said, reluctance in his voice has he “admitted” that. Clay was very proud of his organization system, and getting him to agree to even just lying about changing it had been nearly impossible.
“Finally admitting that organizing by flavor is far superior than by color?” Branch asked smugly.
Clay growled, gritting his teeth, “Yes.”
“Well come on, I’ll show you my system.”
There was a bit of silence as Branch presumably led Clay to his storage room, then a cough.
That was the signal.
Viva couldn’t use the elevator, since it would make noise and alert Branch that she was here, so she tossed one of her sticky hands at a tree branch and lowered herself down to the bottom floor where Branch’s living room and kitchen were. She did a stealth roll out of the elevator shaft, looking around the room for any sign of Branch or his slip of paper.
She rolled over to the kitchen, looking left and right before tiptoeing over to the table. Sitting there was a folded up slip of paper.
“Got you.” Viva whispered.
“You know Clay, I could come help you set up your new system.” Branch’s voice was growing closer.
Viva dove behind the kitchen island, her back pressed against one of the cabinets.
“Thanks, but I’m gonna run it by Viva one more time, just in case she’s changed her mind. You know how she is.” Clay said. They sounded like they were in the living room now.
“You could probably ask her right now, seeing as she’s hiding in my kitchen.” Branch said, then raised his voice a little, “You think I don’t know when my brother is distracting me?”
“Frosting.” Viva muttered, then stood up, “You’re too late! I’ve got it!” She held up the scrap of paper.
Branch swished the cup of coffee he was holding in his hand, “You mean that blank piece of paper?”
“Huh?” Viva opened up the slip of paper, which was completely blank on the inside. She ripped it in half with a yell, then sunk to her knees. “Alright, I give up. You can keep Trollex. I’ll buy something for Barb. Just, let me give you some ideas.”
“There’s no need for ideas, my gift is already bought.” Branch said, taking a long sip of coffee.
“What? Already? What’d you get?”
“I’ll show you.” Branch reached into his hair and pulled out something long and thin, and it took Viva ages to realize it was a belt. Black, with silver spikes and a huge skull and crossbones on the buckle.
“Oh… it’s… nice?” Viva said slowly. It definitely wasn’t Trollex’s style, even if he was becoming more friendly with Barb and the Rock Trolls as of late. Still, she shouldn’t be rude just because she’s upset. “I’m sure Trollex will love it.”
“It’s not for Trollex.” Branch said.
“Huh?” Viva stared at him blankly.
Branch took out a slip of paper and handed it to Viva, “Here you go.”
Viva looked down at the paper in her hand. Trollex’s name was written in her sister’s handwriting on it. She grinned, letting out a high pitched squeal, “Thanks, Branch! I’ve gotta go find my cutie pie the perfect gift!”
Viva ran to the elevator shaft, throwing up her sticky hand until it caught a tree branch, giving a tug before letting the tension release and pull her up out of Branch’s bunker.
She began skipping to town to find the perfect gift for Trollex. She had so many perfect ideas! Like, she could get him some new glowsticks! Actually no, that wasn’t cool enough. She could make him a special mix tape! Except he couldn’t take it home because water messed up the tape… Oh! She could get him a new turntable! Wait, he just got a new one last week…
Viva went through all of her ideas that she initially had, either realizing they were flawed or weren’t special enough to be her gift to him. This was going to be a lot harder than she initially thought…
She needed something that he didn’t get on any random day. Something special, something you didn’t see every day. It needed to be big, as big as her love for him. Maybe even bigger than that. Something as amazing as her cutie pie so he’d know how special he was to her. Something he could use all the time, so he’d always be reminded of Viva and how much she loved him.
She scanned the town, looking for a clue of what she should get him, when she spotted Trollex across the square. She yelled his name, but Trollex remained leaning against a building, facing away from her. Dodging people shopping for their secret gift recipients, Viva darted across the square. She finally reached Trollex, jumping on his back and giving him a hug. To her surprise, this sent them both toppling to the ground.
“Sorry, cutie pie! You normally catch me!” She stood up and held a hand out, but Trollex remained laying on the ground. “Trollex?”
She nudged him, and he rolled over. His eyes were closed, mouth slightly open as he laid there peacefully. Before she could panic that she knocked out her boyfriend, he let out a soft snore. He was asleep!
“Trollex? Trollex, wake up!” She gave him a shake, shocked that his body was cold as ice. “You’re freezing, cutie pie!”
She gathered Trollex up in her arms and ran to Dr. Moonbloom’s pod, kicking the door open. “Make way! Techno King needs to see a doctor, stat!”
“Set him on the table.” Dr. Moonbloom said, then barely looked at him before saying, “Ah, another case of this. I have just the thing for it.”
Dr. Moonbloom walked over to a cabinet and began digging through it. Viva stood on her tiptoes to see if she could see inside it. She couldn’t. “You know what this is?” She asked.
“Yes. Techno Trolls are cold-blooded, so they need a heat source to stay warm. If they stay out in the cold too long, they sleep to conserve energy.” Dr. Moonbloom draped a blanket over Trollex, “Once he warms up, you can take him back out.”
Viva frowned. Her cutie pie was out there freezing to death and she’d had no idea! She reached over and grabbed his hand, nearly recoiling at the feeling of a cold and limp hand in hers. He was practically a corpse, which was a worrying thing to think about. She didn’t like thinking about her loved ones dying. She’d had enough of that over the past twenty-something years, thinking her dad, sister and most other Trolls she cared about had died to the Bergens.
To distract herself from thoughts of losing her cutie pie to a rogue Bergen or other catastrophe, she started talking about her plans to Trollex. She of course left out who exactly she was shopping for, and just how hard she had worked to get her gift recipient’s name, lest she give away who it was. After all, who could Viva possibly want other than her cutie pie?
“–and then I thought “Oh I could just get him a whole diamond mine” but I don’t think I have the leverage with the Rock Trolls to just take one of their diamond mines.” Viva continued her rant as she held onto Trollex’s hand. It was slowly warming up, now being only just a bit chilly.
Trollex made a cute noise as he began to stir from his nap, slowly blinking his eyes open and looking up at Viva. His face lit up as he looked at her, and Viva couldn’t see it but she was sure his pixelated heart was beating faster the way it always did around her. Trollex squeezed her hand, then sat up and yawned.
“Hey cutie pie.” Viva said, bringing his hand up to her lips and giving it a soft kiss.
“Viva,” Trollex’s voice slurred with tiredness, but god Viva loved how he said her name, “Did I fall asleep while we were hanging out?”
She giggled, “No, cutie pie. You fell asleep standing up outside and I brought you to the doctor’s pod.”
Trollex’s eyes went wide as he scrambled off the table, “Oh no! I gotta go get your gift.”
“Woah, slow down cutie.” Viva paused for a moment as his words sunk in, “My gift?”
Trollex stared at her, then buried his face in his hands, “Nooooo. I ruined the surprise!”
“Aww, it’s okay. I’ll just pretend I didn’t hear that!” Viva said.
“I was gonna surprise you though!” He whined.
She tried to cheer him up, “It’ll still be a surprise! I don’t know what you’re getting for me!”
“Yeah… Yeah, you’re right! You don’t know!” Trollex winced, “And neither do I, so I need to get back out there.”
“Alright, but be careful, cutie pie. I don’t want my boyfriend to be a popsicle. It’s cold out there, which reminds me I need to do something about that draft in the golf course.”
“There’s a draft?” Trollex asked.
“Yeah, in my room. There’s a gap that’s really hard to properly cover up because it’s weird shaped and not flat. I’ll figure something out though.”
“You always do, you’re really smart.” Trollex said, taking her hand and kissing her cheek. He pulled away, letting go of her hand, “Alright, I need to go find you a gift.”
“Alright, bye! Remember to stay warm!”
“I will, I promise!” Trollex called out as he ran out of the pod.
Viva smiled, happy to see him bounce back so quickly. So… Trollex had pulled her name. Which meant he was going to get her a super nice and thoughtful gift. Viva definitely needed an amazing gift now.
She looked back at the blanket where Trollex had been sleeping and frowned. Maybe she could end winter forever so Trollex was never cold and oh my sprinkles she was so dumb. The answer was so obvious!
______________________
“Alright, let the second annual Troll Kingdom Gift Exchange begin… Now!” Poppy announced from up on the mushroom stage in the center of Pop Village.
All at once Trolls began to split off to find the person their gift was for, but Viva didn’t have to look far. Trollex had found her before the exchange could start, taking her by the hand and sticking close by.
Trollex held out a box in bright pink paper, tied with a yellow bow, “For you, my anemone.”
Viva excitedly ripped off the paper, then lifted the lid up and reached inside. Her fingers grasped something soft and warm, like a cozy blanket. When she lifted it out, Viva was greeted by a cozy looking sweater with a pink pixel heart design on it. She couldn’t help the laugh that bubbled to the surface as she began to slip on the sweater.
“I figured you could wear it until you fix that draft.” Trollex said, “Do you like it?”
“I don’t like it, I love it! But this is really funny.” She held out a wrapped gift box, “For you, cutie pie.”
Trollex gasped, unwrapping his gift with just as much fervor. Inside the box was a similar sweater, only this one had a yellow star on the chest instead of a heart.
“Since you get so tired out in the cold.” Viva said.
Trollex rushed to put it on, then tackled Viva, “I love it!”
Viva pulled him close, rushing to crush her lips against his. It was the best way she knew how to thank him for the gift.
“And I love you, cutie pie!”