Chapter Text
"Narin River Farmers Market: Chapter 22:
"I love you." Poppy whispered as she she tilted her head to meet his gaze.
"I love you, too, Poppylan." Tora whispered back while tilting up her face so that he can kiss her again.
A silent promise that night between heartbeats; Poppy was his and Tora was hers ❤
May - 2 Months Later...
"What the hell is your problem, Poppylan?" Tora bellowed through her and Danny's house, trying to keep up with his pocket sized girlfriend. Fuck she was fast.
She whipped around and glared at him. "You're seriously asking me that?" She seethed.
"Sounds like it. Now ya gonna tell me what got ya panties in a bunch?" He couldn't imagine what the hell he could have done. He noticed Gyu and Belle were sitting at the counter. They looked horrified at the events unfolding. Belle took Gyu's hand and led him out to the back patio.
"Come on Gyu, let's give them a moment." Belle said while Gyu was craning his neck as much as possible to look at the lovers quarrel.
"How about I just let you think about it? I'm sure you'll figure it out. You're a smart man." Poppy countered, moving towards her bedroom, brushing past him.
"So, you're not just gonna tell me? How the fuck am I supposed to know what I did if ya wont just tell me?" He asked, letting acid slip into his tone.
"Because. I don't want to talk right now." Poppy snapped back, enunciating every word, arms flailing animatedly in the air like an angry Italian housewife. She opened her bedroom door, walked in and shut it, signaling Tora not to follow.
Tora's arms were crossed, he felt his heart beating rapidly. Not sure if he actually wanted to know what he had done. Normally, if she had a problem, she would tell him. Normally, she would be calm. But she wasn't acting normal. He tried to brush away the gnawing of his insecurities. She wouldn't just dump him, right? They belonged together.
Digging for his smokes and lighter, he sauntered out to the back porch. Danny, Belle and Gyu stopped talking once he was out there. Tora fought with his lighter, begging internally for the goddamn thing to work.
"Here Big Bro." Gyu said, taking the lighter from Tora and lighting it up for him.
"Thanks Gyu." Tora murmured, taking the first drag from his cigarette.
"What was that all about?" Danny asked.
"I dunno. She's mad as hell though. She won't tell me." Tora explained as he dragged his free hand down his face.
"Ya think she's on her period?" Gyu asked.
Tora's head shot up. "Yeah. That could actually be it."
They were de-railed from their insightful deduction by Danny and Belle laughing in their faces.
"Oh my god, you two." Belle said, a tear from laughter coming from her eye.
"Not everything is related to that time of month."
Tora and Gyu continued to look at the sisters stupidly.
Well fuck.
If it wasn't because of that, what was it then?
Danny sighed, "Walk through your day with us, maybe we can pinpoint what set her off."
"Well, Quince called her this morning and said he needed to go over her edits. So, I told her I would take her. When we got there, they went to work and Pinky called me. He wanted to know if we wanted to play some video games later. I told him that I would ask Poppy." Tora said as the other three looked at him, waiting for more.
At least, that's what he thought happened.
"So, that's it? Did you ask her if she wanted to? Normally she's happy to kick our asses at Mario Kart...I’m confused." Gyu stated, scratching the back of his neck.
"Is there any more context to that vanilla flavor of a story?" Danny asked.
Tora frowned, eyebrows knitting as he sat there trying to recall every miniscule detail that he could muster.
"Well, it had been a few more hours and Fuckin' Pinky called again. At that point, I was sitting in the living room while Quincey and Bobby were still working. Pinky had asked me if we were still thinking about it and I said..."
Oh fuck.
Tora's eyes widened in horror.
"And you said what?" Belle asked.
"I'm a fuckin' moron. No wonder she's pissed at me. But I didn't mean what I said. I wasn't calling her..."
God Damn it.
" What ?!" All three of them shouted, eager to get Tora to tell them what he had said.
He groaned. "I said that they were still working on her stupid edits."
If there was one thing that Poppy was passionate about, it was her work. She worked hard to get her degree in literature. It was something that no one was able to take away from her. Not even Julri. Who knew how many times that fuck face had called it stupid of her to do that. Tora obviously wasn't Julri but he could relate to triggers.
Tora's role as a bodyguard for the time being had helped him but he still did weird things, especially at night. Even though his reality was becoming almost like a dream, when he slept, that was a whole other story. It's as if he couldn't completely escape his nightmares.
He remembered when Poppy found him on the floor one night, after she had fallen asleep. She had woken up to go to the bathroom and had stepped on him. She didn't know he was there. He shot up and grabbed her, nearly killing her from scaring her so much.
He had to tell her why he was asleep on the ground, next to her side of the bed. He said he was having a vivid dream of a home intruder and he needed to protect Poppy, but he fell asleep on the ground after what seemed like hours. As she had stepped on him, he was dreaming that it was the intruder when in reality, it was just Poppy stumbling over him.
He had grabbed her by the ankles and she had landed on the floor with his hands still on her. It took her a good solid minute to wake him up and realize that she was safe, there was no intruder and that it was just a bad dream.
After he called himself stupid for doing that, she had assured him that he wasn't stupid and that he couldn't help it, all the while having his head in her lap while they sat on the floor. She brushed his hair lazily with her fingers while he got a hold of his breath. It wasn't until the next morning that her head was pounding. She had hit the floor where her old scar was from months before. That made him feel like shit.
The three spectators all sucked in air through their teeth.
"Then she went quiet. And told Quincey that she needed to go. But I didn't mean it was stupid. I didn't call her stupid. I just..." Tora frowned even deeper.
No matter how he spun it in the web of his mind, he understood why that would trigger her.
"How is work going for her? She has been kind of stressed out. When she got home from work yesterday, she just went to her room." Danny added salt to an open wound.
"I talked to Dene today and appaaaarently they are on this tight deadline and Gil apparently called it stupid that Poppy couldn't get Quincey to cooperate with it." Belle added.
"You should talk to her Tora. You know what they say, "communication is key." Gyu offered.
So, it started yesterday with Gil. He had noticed that she was a bit uptight last night but she finally relaxed after he gave her a back rub. But then Tora had stuck his foot into his mouth today. To be fair to himself and the situation, he didn't know that Gil had said that.
He knew Quincey could be difficult.
But he was neither of those two guys.
He was supposed to hold her up, not bring her down. This was the only woman he had ever cared about. He wasn't perfect. He made mistakes. More often than not. This was the first real relationship either of them have been in. It would take a lot of patience and understanding. He laughed at himself and his inner monologue.
No wonder the guys thought he was going soft.
It's because he was.
Meanwhile, in Poppy's room
"Ugh." She cried, beating her back into submission with her loofah. She had drawn herself a bath to calm down. She gathered her bath tray and set her phone and candles on it.
Her phone had gone off and it was Quincey. She rolled her eyes. She just wanted to be left alone to read her book and take a bath. She turned her phone on silent and let the lavender and honey fill her senses. While she laid back onto her bath pillow, she kept getting notifications that Quincey was trying to contact her.
"For heaven's sake." She yelled.
"Hi Quincey. What's up?" She breathed out, trying to hide the sob in her voice.
"Are you OK honey? You and Tora left sooooo suddenly." Quincey asked, knowing that she was not in the mood to talk.
"I don't want to talk about it." She muttered.
"Is it because he called your work stupid?" He asked.
"If you knew, why ask?" She was finally understanding why Tora's phones always ended up smashed against the wall.
"Honey. Let me tell you about that man." Quincey began.
"He absolutely adores you. He doesn't think that you are stupid. That's just how he talks darling. It's not personal. I promise. If you were to tell him that the sky was purple, he would fight anyone who dared to call you wrong."
Poppy took his words into consideration, letting a stray small grin form on her face. "Quincey, I can appreciate you talking to me about it. I get it. But..." She stopped.
She thought of all of the times that Julri had called her stupid. How many times he belittled her at his amusement. How many times he degraded her in public.
Then she recalled that afternoon. The one time Tora had said that, was she really going to hold it against him? Everyone was always telling her how much she had changed him since they met. If anything, she was mad at herself for placing Tora in the same box as Julri.
They were like night and day.
She knew Tora hadn't meant how it came out.
"But what honey?" Quincey asked after a moment of silence from her.
"But I need to talk to him about it. It's the right thing to do." She could see the grin on his face as he chirped, "Fantastic. Well I must go! I have all of these edits to go through! Talk to you later!"
She snickered in response, rolling her eyes. "Bye Quincey. Thank you for calling."
Poppy had placed her phone down, losing interest in her book and becoming more focused on talking to Tora about what had happened. She unplugged the bathtub and as it drained, she got her towel and dried off. She used the toilet to relieve herself and noticed blood as she had wiped. She groaned. Before she could get dressed and turn attention to her tear-streaked face, she heard a knock at her door.
"Bobby...?"
Tora's heart was pounding as he made way to the door. If she really didn't want to talk tonight, he would leave. He would give her some space. Wait for her to come around but he would at least try to have her hear him out. Let him at least try to apologize now that he knew what the reason is for her ire. Before knocking, he took a deep breath and shakily put a soft knuckle to her door. He called for her softly, letting her know that he was calm.
When the door opened slowly, what he saw made him feel even worse. Her beautiful porcelain face was streaked with red stains. Her eyes were glossy and she looked like she was doing some serious crying. Her hands were playing with the hem of the towel and she had a small, sad smile on her face.
"Come in." She said, opening the door for him to enter. She sat on the ottoman at the foot of her bed and he sank to his knees, sitting face to face with her.
Before Tora could say anything, Poppy sighed and took one of his hands into both of hers.
"Tora. I'm sorry for how I acted. It's unfair to you that I expect you to just know what is going through my mind. I am more mad at myself than anything. I was acting like a brat. Instead of just talking to you, I acted out. Thing is, I take what I do seriously. After the day I had yesterday at work and then today at Quincey's, and then all of those years with..." She couldn't say his name.
Tora was dumbfounded, she was apologizing to him? That didn't seem right. A small tear escaped her eye as she continued with her piece.
"With Julri. But you're not him. You're not Gil, who said it was stupid that I couldn't get Quincey to cooperate."
She started to cry more.
Tora had had enough of it.
"Sweetheart. Look at me." He said, taking his free hand to hook his pointer under her chin.
"When I said that, I wasn't thinking that you are stupid. I wasn't thinking that what you do for work is stupid. I wasn't thinking at all. I know how much this means to you. I know that you have been working hard. You are the smartest person I know and I still find myself wonderin' how the fuck I got ya by my dumb ass side. I'll try to watch how I talk to ya. I'm sorry for hurtin' ya feelings. It wasn't intentional."
He smoothed his palm onto her cheek, caressing it with his thumb. As she leaned her face into his hand she closed her eyes.
"Thank you for being patient with me when I throw my baggage at you."
Tora smirked, "Sweetheart, I will take your baggage any day. If ya haven't noticed, I got a shit ton myself. I love ya, Poppylan."
"I love you too, Tora." She said leaning into him for a kiss.
He reciprocated and smiled as he leaned to meet her affections. Pulling away, Poppy asked, "Who was on the phone with you at Quincey's?"
"It was Pinky. He wanted to know if ya wanted to play Mario Kart with him, me and the other guys later. But if ya don't wanna.." Tora was cut off.
"Of course I do! I love making those guys squirm. You'd think they would pick a different game by now."
Tora tried to unwrap her towel so that he could apologize further with his hands. Poppy bit her lip and sighed.
"Sorry Tora. Bobby land is shut down for the evening until further notice. I started my period today. Which probably didn't help with my emotional breakdown."
Tora had to hand it to Gyu. He was a lot wiser than he gave the kid credit for. Poppy did love to beat their asses at Mario Kart, Communication was key and yup, she was definitely ragging. But he would make sure not to place the blame on that every time.
"Ya sure you wanna go play with the guys, Bobby?" Tora asked while Poppy was trying to find a shirt that looked good on her. "We don't gotta." He looked on as his petite girlfriend was fighting with her wardrobe.
"No, I do want to go. I just can't find anything to wear." She sighed comparing two shirts.
"Why don't ya just wear something comfy? Like the hoodie and some sweats."
He was trying not to laugh at her but she was so cute.
“'Sides, it's just Pinky, Brian and Gyu. They aint no one special." A frown came over her face.
"I mean, they are special to you. I get it." Tora countered.
"No it's not that. Ugh. I should honestly just stay in. I feel like crap. I look like crap and I am cramping so hard right now. I feel like my insides are being ripped open." She could feel a cramp attacking her uterus with a vengeance before doubling over.
"Shit Bobby." Tora went to grab her so she didn't fall down.
"Do ya feel that bad? Do I need to get ya anything? Here let's get ya into bed."
Tora was lost. He didn't know what to do. She had said that her insides felt like they were being ripped open. That couldn't be good. He laid her down onto her bed and she grabbed a pillow to hold on to.
Figuring that Danny and Belle were women, he said "I'll be back and ask Danny and Belle if they got anything for ya." Then he heard a giggle from Poppy and turned around.
"Tora. I'm not dying. I am just having cramps. As much as they suck, they are natural."
Tora cocked a brow. Didn't seem natural.
"If you want to help me, can I send you on an errand?"
If she wanted chocolate, then hell yeah, he'd go buy her the whole fuckin chocolate section.
"Sure Bobby, what do ya want? I'll get it for ya."
What came out of her mouth had him panicking.
"I need more feminine products. Danny and Belle only use tampons but I hate those things."
The fuck is that supposed to mean?
"So, you're asking for...?" Tora asked, still not sure what she was getting at.
"I need pads, Tora." She said as she hugged her pillow. "Here if it helps, I'll text you the exact kind that I use."
What had he agreed to? There was more than just one kind?
"Kay. Do ya want anything else or is this it?" He so desperately wanted her to say that was it.
"Well, if you're going to the store, can you get me some of that chocolate that I like so much?"
Tora was relieved.
"Yeah, sweetheart. Let me know if ya need anything else." He sighed, placing a kiss on her temple. "I'll be back soon." He said as he closed the door half way.
"Everything OK big bro?" Gyu asked as Tora was met with him and Belle on the couch.
"You and Miss. Poppy still coming?"
Tora shook his head no.
"I gotta go to the store. She's...it's um."
Danny came from out of the kitchen and laughed at Tora. "Oh my God Tora! You're totally blushing! What's the matter? Did she put you in your place? And now you're groveling?"
Tora shook his head no.
"No, it's that time of month and she needs stuff."
The three of them looked at him and started laughing.
"Ohhhhhhhh. What kind of stuff does she need? Pads? Tampons? Cups?" Belle asked.
Tora frowned. The hell is a cup? Like a red solo cup?
He got a text from Poppy that moment and attached to it was a picture of the exact one that she preferred.
"Here she needs this." He said, shoving it in all three of their faces.
"Good luck with that one buddy." Gyu said as Belle and Danny were trying to stifle their laughter.
"Yeah. Whatever..." Tora mumbled as he left the house.
While Tora was in the aisle comparing the packages of feminine products, he felt his phone start to buzz from a phone call. Thinking it was Bobby, he answered it without looking at who was actually calling.
"What do you need sweetheart?" Tora asked robotically. He heard a deep chuckle coming from the other end.
"Normally, ya call me Martin. Not sweetheart."
"What do ya need?" Tora asked as he was internally cursing himself.
"Big Boss is calling for an emergency meeting. It's non-negotiable. Be there in an hour. In your suit this time. Don't be late."
FUCK.