Notes:

So, I'm announcing that I'll work on an epilogue, but I probably won't post it anytime soon. Consider this the ending for now ;)

Thanks for reading and for commentings. You guys know how much I treasure all the feedback I can get, so thanks for the support.

"By all that's troll-y, Branch, stop poking her!"

"She won't stop sleeping, I want to play with her." He pouted at Poppy who looked at him exasperatedly from outside Iris's bedroom.

Branch noticed it was the third time she showed up with a different dress and he gave up trying to wake up the baby to check on what his girlfriend was doing. Growling in frustration and throwing her hands in the air, Poppy undressed again, adding the yellow dress to an amount that were piled up in a corner;

"All of them looked good, you know." Branch leaned against the threshold, crossing his arms. Poppy tried tucking her large breasts inside another dress and the survivalist could see what was her problem. They would pool out. He had to admit the sight was very interesting, with the boobs pushing up to a very intriguing position. If he got closer, he barely had to dip down to lick them.

"The problem is that they look scandalously big!" Poppy looked like she was on the verge of tears.

Apparently, the hormones didn't go away after Iris was born and the Queen of Pop looked like she was in different ends all the time: either she was too tired or super energetic. Gasping for air, Poppy started fanning herself. Her face went red, fighting a heat wave that Branch knew so well.

"Hair, I'm bursting…" she complained and Branch started a regressive counting in his mind. It was like magic. Poppy's body would get ready at the exact time Iris felt hungry.

It took him thirty seconds and a grin to hear their baby start crying from the other room.

"I'll go get her!" Branch enthusiastically announced, wiggling his fingers on the way. Poppy merely giggled in silence, sitting down on the bed they shared and waiting for her boyfriend to bring her cute pink daughter to be fed. "Come with daddy!" Poppy heard Branch saying from the next room and her heart filled with joy.

He was an incredible dad. For someone who wanted to postpone having a family, Branch dived into the father role and he astounded Poppy at how much he dedicated his time to change, to feed, to clean, to bathe and to simply participate in every step of their routine. The cries and the loud attempts of squeals didn't bother him as much as he feared. He played and fed Iris so Poppy could rest and, Hair, she needed to rest. Newborn routine was exhaustive.

During the two months they had Iris home, Poppy lost count of how many nights she slept while feeding the baby and Branch would gently take Iris from her and place the sleeping chubby trolling on the crib and then take his girlfriend to bed.

He never questioned her about Iris's blue eyes or purple nose, which made Poppy believe he didn't even consider the possibility that he was the real dad.

And the weight of her secret was starting to get too heavy to bear.

Poppy sat there, watching Branch and Iris laughing at each other while he carried her to her feast. Her face was filling out, looking adorably chubby and very expressive. It was obvious how excited she was every time she saw her parents. Stretching her arms, Poppy gently rocked her child, preparing herself.

It was fascinating for Branch to watch it. Iris would instinctively turn her head and find her way to dinner. He couldn't help himself but lean in and plant a sweet kiss on Poppy's lips.

"Can I get you anything?" he asked before gently kissing Iris on the head.

"I'm fine," she replied, watching how Branch's eyes would stare at the baby in her arms completely in love. Poppy was able to hold her tears until Iris finished eating and Branch took her back to her bedroom, making her quickly burp on the way. It was like an agreement they had silently established since day one.

Poppy locked herself inside the bathroom and opened the shower, sobbing uncontrollably. She didn't know what else to do. The tears wouldn't stop and Branch was the perfect dad. She had to tell him the truth. He'd never ask and she simply would die if she kept carrying that secret any longer. She had reached her limit.

"Poppy, get out of there, please," she heard him quietly knocking. He knew she wasn't showering, after all she had just spent half an hour in the tub. It meant he knew she was crying and keeping her distance. "I want to show you something,"

Feeling ridiculously childish, Poppy drained her tears and unlocked the door. Branch stood right there, staring at her with concern. The first thing he did took her by surprise. She thought he was going to reproach her for feeling sad, but instead, he pinned against the wall and drove his tongue into her mouth like a thirst troll seeing water after days.

"I love you, Queen Poppy," she too caught up in the feelings he was providing her, she barely felt when he slipped a ring on her finger while nipping her neck. "Will you marry me?"

Branch wanted an answer and he didn't want to stop kissing her. The freedom to be able to touch her without being scared of hurting her was too blissful for him. He couldn't break apart and allow her to say anything comprehensible. His hands couldn't stay on her waist anymore so he trailed down, groping her through her pajamas shorts and getting an excited groan in response.

Just grinding their hips together felt so mindlessly good that he reached to hook his fingers on the elastic of her shorts, only to come to halt when he felt her hands stopping him. He opened his eyes to be surprised by her eyes swimming in tears and a terrible insecure look splattered on her face.

"Can we turn off the lights first?"

Never, in a million years, Branch thought he would hear Poppy say those words. Shocked, he untangled himself from her, studying her face. Her half open eyelids focused on the floor. One hand rested on her arm and mindlessly, she pushed the shorts up. He didn't understand what she was self-conscious about. Her figure was simply splendid and he wanted her more than ever.

"Poppy…" he whispered, leaning close to kiss the skin just under her ear, "I've seen you bathing earlier, I've seen you naked every single day since I've moved in," he confessed, seeing her struggling uncomfortably with the revelation. "You're flawless, my darling."

Feeling like she wasn't in her best shape, seeing the hideous scar every day and avoiding the dreadful thoughts of the secret she carried, Poppy found tears spilling out her eyes like a river. It didn't help her case that Branch was charmingly understanding and flicked the lights out to respect her wishes.

Her internal begging to hear her baby cry slowly turned into a plea for Iris to sleep the whole night as she slowly succumbed to Branch's adventurous wandering through her body.

XX-XX

His well-trained tongue left her lips, trailing kisses down to a path she knew very well. With the dimmed light she couldn't see much, but she knew he was watching her as he mercilessly tortured her with the help of his talented fingers. Poppy soon found her resistance falling as he made her scream in ecstasy for the first time that night.

Soon, they both realized the sun was starting to rise and they still weren't satisfied.

They languorously moved against each other in a ballet that didn't need to be rehearsed, after hours of a pas-de-deux that only continued because they felt like if they stopped, they would cease to exist. They were part of each other in the most beautiful way possible.

Picking up the pace one last time, Branch helped an exhausted Poppy to move by grabbing her hips. They both cried out, laying on each other's side and not believing how perfect they were together.

XX-XX

The light entered the room and so did the morning breeze. Snuggling close to Branch, Poppy rested one hand on his chest and the shine of the precious stone on the ring made her look at it for the first time.

Branch had proposed.

He wanted to marry her. With a baby and everything. He wanted to officially have a family.

Panic struck and Poppy sat up abruptly, looking down at the puzzled survivalist by her side.

"Is everything okay?" He asked quietly.

"Oh hair, Branch. You're so perfect…" Poppy busted out in tears, making the poor troll stare at her fearing he had done something to upset her, "and I'm such a coward and such a horrible person…"

"Darling, I don't understand…" he sat up by her side, touching her naked shoulder and causing her to turn around. She held him so tightly that Branch feared she might be losing her mind.

"I need to tell you something awful," Poppy sobbed, gripping his hair and not allowing him to move away from her, "I wish I could demand you to stay, because you breathe life into me…"

Branch's eyes narrowed at her words. The girl on his kitchen table. He had heard those words before coming from her. He had felt her fingers pulling his hair like that before…

"... you are my life, Branch."

Horrorstruck, the survivalist pushed Poppy's arms away and shot out of bed, looking down at her with wide eyes.

"It was you in my kitchen…" Branch whispered in realization and Poppy merely looked down.

Iris started crying, causing both parents to flinch at the worst possible timing. As expected, Poppy quickly covered herself and vanished into her baby's room, locking the door behind her.

"Poppy!" Branch stood up, going after her and trying the door handle. She had turned the key to shut him out.

Her behavior… the timing… everything fit so perfectly he wondered how he could have been so blind.

He needed confirmation, even if he didn't ask looking at her in the face. Branch had to hear it from her, even if the math clearly proved to him that what he had wanted was already his the whole time. "Poppy… is Iris mine?"

His only answer was in the form of sobs, but it was good enough for him. Standing there on wobbly knees, Branch didn't know what to do. He was angry, disappointed and so confused that he felt the need to go away. The undeniable instinct to go and lock himself up until he could clear his head crawled its way to his foggy mind threatening to cause even more damage than before.

He fought the urge to slam the trapdoor shut behind him as he descended to the tunnel that led to his bunker. Everything was so clear. Poppy had been in his home that day and he practically threw himself over her.

Pacing around, he ran his hands through his hair.

Branch was aware that he couldn't stay inside the bunker for long. He wouldn't allow himself to succumb into isolation again. Poppy wouldn't be left alone to raise Iris because he certainly would be part of his daughter's life even if the dark claws of anxiety ripped his guts apart.

Poppy hadn't blamed him for leaving the first time.

She hadn't blamed him for drunkenly taking her.

His mouth tasted so bitter. Once again, he felt like a coward for leaving while hearing her cry in their child's bedroom. He couldn't stand the sound of Poppy crying, not when she was doing it like an inconsolable little girl. The way he stormed out...

He let her think he had abandoned her again.

While she was hurting in her mushroom, he was sitting on his bathtub, not knowing what else to do. He decided that he had to make it up to her somehow. He had to go there and show he wasn't mad at her, tell her how much he loved her.

Poppy had made him suffer for several months, made him think Iris was someone else's. She was scared he would be angry and eventually leave her, he could understand that part and really, she was partially right. He was so angry now as he would have been if she had told him from the start. But he was mostly angry with himself for what he had done to her.

Sequential images of her laying gray in her bed, then having her hopes raised by an incredible passionate moment they shared just to have to face the possibility of him turning away and leaving all over again when she found out she was pregnant. Pregnant with a child he had claimed he didn't want in the first place.

He had broken her trust from the start.

Just like that, his madness was gone and he forgave her for lying as much as he wanted her to forgive him for leaving. He wanted to show her he was there to stay, but not because he had an obligation with their child… but because he wanted to.

Branch had been wrong. He wanted a family. He wanted a family with Poppy. How could he ever walk away from such a blessing?

A small painful chuckle left his lips then. He had been jealous of himself the whole time. Poppy had never been with anyone else but him. He had been the one to put the smiles on her face. He had been the one to give her what she most wanted.

oooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo

Poppy had fallen asleep after changing the sheets. It was past noon when her body gave up fighting to stay awake. She looked at her bedroom and decided to take Iris with her. So, with a big effort, she pushed her bed against the wall placing several pillows in there. Holding the sleeping baby close, the queen allowed herself to fall in a dreamless sleep.

When she woke up, feeling heavy, she felt a body behind her. Iris wasn't on her side and for a moment, she felt her heart skipping a beat.

Sitting up abruptly, she saw Branch sitting on the edge of the bed, giving Iris a bottle of milk so she wouldn't need to wake up. Poppy was too afraid of what was going to happen. She feared he would say he was very disappointed and because of it he couldn't be with her. Perhaps he would visit Iris, but most likely he'd go away forever.

Whatever he was going to say, it was her fault. She should be able to take the blow with dignity.

"I'm sorry." Branch said, watching her closely for any sign she didn't like what he was saying, but gratefully, there was none. She just sat there, quiet, waiting for him to continue. "I don't blame you for anything," she opened her mouth, but he silenced her by pressing a gentle finger to her lips.

"Whatever your opinion is, I still think the greatest responsibility is mine. But it doesn't matter how badly we've hurt each other; I still can't picture myself leaving you. I want to stay by your side, if you agree with it."

After saying that, he removed his finger from her lips and waited patiently for her to answer him. Poppy had to say yes. Everything would stay the way it was before if she agreed with it. He gulped nervously as she sighed and blinked a few tears away.

"I'm sorry I didn't trust you." She finally said, eyes filling with tears.

There was so much she wanted to say, but those simple words had to be enough. She was too exhausted to come up with a speech that expressed all the mixed feelings that pounded loudly in her heart. The guilt and gladness combined, almost cancelling each other.

"So, we're okay?" Branch asked hopefully, giving her a grin to loosen up the tense atmosphere.

"Yes." She smiled, moving forward to wrap her arms around him. He let his head rest on hers and sweetly hugged her, feeling comfortable in her arms as he had always been. The perfume of her hair always made him relax.

"Poppy…?" He called, uncertainly, making her look up. "Marry me… please?"

"Hair, Branch…" She sniffed, feeling his breath fanning her skin. "Of course, I will."

A soft giggle was heard and both parents looked down to see their daughter happily staring at them. For the first time Branch noticed her eye color was the same as his and her nose was as purple as his… and her mouth was wider than her mother's, tucking on the sides just like his own lips.

They were truly father and daughter.

"Thank you for her, Poppy." Branch smiled at his soon-to-be wife, "Can I kiss you?" He asked, looking down to meet her tired face. She nodded brightly and he bent down, capturing her lips in a gentle kiss. He loved their smoothness and strawberry taste. He smiled when she didn't push him away, but he didn't make the kiss any longer, she was tired and she needed to rest. He could kiss her again when he had the chance. She smiled at him with flushed cheeks when he broke apart.

"Now you go back to sleep. I'll be here when you wake up."

Standing up to take Iris to her room, Branch noticed when she wrapped her little hand around his finger. All the fears and doubts about being a good father suddenly washed away by that simple gesture.

Everything would be fine as long as he had Iris and Poppy.

"So, you're tired of napping and finally want to play with daddy, don't you?" Branch laughed, sitting down on Poppy's chair and getting one of the teddy bears, he started teasing Iris with it, getting some glorious baby laughs as reward.

Branch was grateful for everything at the moment.

He loved being a father.

"Your first word better be 'daddy'."