Hello again!

There's a bit of backstory on this one! I hope you like my version! There's also more broppy in this chapter!

Let's play a game. There is a hint in the chapter, and if you see it private message me to make sure it's the right one! Or if you think you have it, comment 'I found it!' And I will message you! Don't tell anyone once you know what it is! I want to see how many of you see it! I won't be giving any hints ;)

I don't own trolls, but Rose is my OC.


Poppy woke up early that morning, checking her schedule to see it was Trollzart's turn to lead the morning song. She smiled and started getting ready for the day, singing to herself as she got ready as she took a quick shower and changed into her dress. She walked out of her pod, seeing only a couple of trolls out for an early morning walk. She waved to others as she walked by, heading towards Branch's home like she does every morning. When Poppy arrived at the door and knocked on it, waiting for him to open it. After a minute of no answer she opened the door. "Branch?" She walked in. Normally Branch was up by now. She took a small look around, before she heard a soft snore coming from the couch. She quietly made her way to the front of the couch to see Branch and Rose asleep on different sides of the it. She looked between them, seeing the bags under their eyes indicating they both didn't sleep very well. She gently placed a hand on Branch's shoulder. "Branch?" She said again.

Branch shot up, his eyes wide. "What?!" He stopped when he saw Poppy. "Poppy? What time is it?" He rubbed his eyes, yawning.

"I'm a little early, it's almost eight but I wanted to see how the night went." She asked, seeing the bags under his eyes. "You look terrible."

He frowned slightly. "Thanks." He said sarcastically before yawning again. "She didn't sleep much last night. She cried herself to sleep after you left, but woke up not long after from a bad dream. I was up late worried, but then I did fall asleep. I woke up not much later to her screaming from nightmares." He looked at Rose, who was whimpering in her sleep. "I didn't want to leave her alone in the room so I thought the couch would be better tonight." He stood up and groaned slightly, rubbing his neck.

Poppy frowned. "You really did have a bad night, and the position you slept in isn't good for you either." She said, before she saw a tub of chocolate ice cream on the table in front of the couch. "Ice cream? Really?" She raised an eyebrow.

"What? I heard the twins once say they eat ice cream when they are sad and it makes them feel better, so I thought maybe it would help. She did enjoy it. I tried talking to her for a bit, but I think the ice cream helped more than I did." He made his way to the kitchen and started a pot of coffee.

"Hopefully she feels better today." She follows Branch.

"It will take a while, a couple weeks at least. It's a big change." He wrapped his arms around her, before smiling lazily. "I forgot to say good morning." He kissed her softly. His back leaning against the counter as he pulled her close against him.

Poppy smiled against his lips and kissed him back, her arms going around his chest. She pulled back a minute later and rested her forehead against his. "Good morning." She smiled as she felt him relax into her hug. "What do you want for breakfast? I'll cook today!" She grinned.

"You cook breakfast? I always cook breakfast." He buried his face in her neck, bringing her closer.

"You cooked last night, it's my turn." She rubbed his back, smiling before her eyes widened a bit as she felt his lips brush against her skin. "Really Branch?" She giggled.

He smiled against her skin. "Yes really. I missed you." He whispered against her skin. He kept kissing her neck and nibbled her skin gently. He felt her tighten her grip on his vest as she held him. He took in her intoxicating scent, his mind raced as he held her closer with one arm, his other hand going up her back. He kissed her skin again before he made a trail of kisses down to her shoulder, moving her dress strap and kissed the newly exposed skin.

"You get touchy when you're sleepy." She teased as she relaxed into his touch, leaning against him. She buried her face at the base of his neck, smirking against his skin and kissed it. Branch bit her shoulder teasingly in return, his hand going back down her back to her waist. He quickly spun them around so Poppy was the one leaning against the counter, his hands at her waist keeping her close to him. He felt her shiver under his touch and stopped. She felt him kiss her shoulder once more before he pulled back away from her shoulder. She looked at him and was met with his lips on her forehead, both their faces extremely dark in colour as they stared at each other

"I can't wait for breakfast." He smiled and moved back to get his coffee.

Poppy frowned slightly. "You are such a tease." She muttered to herself before she went to gather the supplies she needed.

Branch smiled and sat at the table to drink his coffee, enjoying his view as he drank. Branch yawned again, the coffee not taking effect yet as he fell asleep at the table. Poppy turned around to speak but saw his head resting on the table. She walked over to him to make sure he was asleep before she went to check on Rose. She peered over the couch and saw Rose trembling, her face scrunched up in fear. Poppy slowly went and knelt before her. She gently hummed a soothing tune, hoping to help sooth the trolling. Suddenly Rose screamed and shot up, her eyes full of terror as she looked around. "Hey, it's okay. It's just me." Poppy said, placing a hand on hers.

Rose looked at her, breathing heavily before she heard footsteps rushing over and saw Branch looking over the couch. Branch looked between them, before he focused on Rose. "You're safe here Rose, don't worry." Branch told her.

Rose looked between them and sat up, calming down. "How is your arm? Does it still hurt?" Poppy pointed to her right arm that had the IV pulled out. Rose lifted her arm, bending it and shook her head. "That's good! Are you hungry? I was just about to make waffles." She smiled at her and stood up.

Rose looked down, holding her bear tightly in her hand before she looked at Poppy and nodded. She reached up to Poppy, tears still in her eyes. Poppy smiled at her and picked her up. "Do you want me to put you on the ground or on the chair?" She asked. Rose didn't motion to anything, placing her head on Poppy's shoulder. Poppy stood still for a moment before she gently rubbed her back.

Branch looked at them. "I'll make the waffles. You have your arms full." He went to the kitchen and looked at the ingredients Poppy had out and started making the food.

Poppy walked around as she held Rose, before she felt Rose poke her shoulder. She looked down at her. "What is it Rose?" She asked, seeing Rose poke her shoulder again. Poppy looked at where she was poking and stopped. "Branch!" She shrieked.

Branch stopped what he was doing and looked over at her. "What?" He looked at her confused.

Poppy placed Rose on the table and walked over to Branch. "Look what you did!" She moved her strap revealing a purple spot on her shoulder. He stared at it for a minute before smirking. "Don't give me that look! You did it on purpose didn't you!"

"I didn't do it on purpose, but you can easily hide it with the strap." He moved her strap back, a smirk still on her face. "The one on your neck would be harder to hide." He whispered in her ear before he quickly took a few steps back to get out of her reach.

She narrowed her eyes at him before she went to the bathroom to check her skin. "I can't believe you Branch." She said when she came back, pouting.

"What? I think it looks nice. Maybe you need a matching one on the other side." He wrapped his arms around her but she quickly squirmed out of his grasp.

"No! No you will not." She crosses her arms. "I had stuff to do today, now I have to figure out how to hide it." She muttered before going to the table.

Branch brought over two waffles to the table, placing them in front of them. "Maybe you should stay here with us then." He whispered in her ear, kissing it as he walked back to the kitchen to make his own waffle.

Poppy blushed slightly, staring at him. "You totally planned that, didn't you?!"

"I didn't plan it, it just happened that way." He shrugged, his back turned to them as he cooked.

"I guess I'll stay for a couple extra hours and see if they fade." She said, seeing Branch's ears perk up when she spoke. She giggled before she started eating and looked at Rose, who didn't touch her food. "Are you going to give it a try?" She asked.

Rose stared at it, poking it with her fork. Poppy could tell she was still exhausted mentally and physically. Branch walked over with his place and sat across from Rose. "Is something wrong with it?" He asked Rose, seeing her shake her head in response. "How about you take four bites? Like last night?" He asked, taking a bite of his own waffles.

Rose looked at them, before taking a small bite. She ate it slowly, picking at the rest as she ate.

Branch and Poppy soon finished, and Poppy took their plates to the sink. She looked at Roses plate, seeing she ate almost half of her small waffle. "Do you want anymore Rose?" Poppy asked, seeing her shake her head. "Alright, just let us know when you are hungry later okay?" She smiled and took her plate to wash.

Branch placed Rose on the ground and looked at her. "Is there anything you want to do today?" He asked her, seeing her looked down. "What about drawing? Play any games? Maybe go for a walk outside?" He asked her, as she shook her head again. "Alright, do you have anything in mind?" He handed her a notepad and pencil for her to write. Rose took them but only stared at the paper. "It's okay if you don't know what you want to do, you can take your time to think about it. We will clean up quickly and see what you can think of after, okay?" Branch stood up and walked to the kitchen to help Poppy clean, keeping an eye on Rose while he cleaned.

Branch walked up behind Poppy, his arms going around her and placed his chin on her shoulder. "I'm sorry about those. I really didn't mean for that to happen. I just…couldn't stop myself."

Poppy stopped washing the dish she had in her hand and turned her head to look at him. "I know you didn't Branch. Besides, who said I wanted you to stop." She whispered the last sentence in his ear, seeing his ears perk up and could feel his face heat up against her shoulder. She giggled at his reaction, feeling him holding in a breath and kissed his cheek. "And next time you want me to stay, just tell me. Now instead of standing there watching me clean, why don't you help me?"

Branch let out a breath he didn't realize he was holding and kissed her cheek softly before he let her go. "Whatever you say, my Queen." He saw her grin at his words, and grabbed a cloth and started drying the dishes and putting them away. Branch glanced at her as he cleaned, not believing the words that came out of her mouth.

After a few minutes of silence Branch looked over at Poppy. "Did you know them well?" He whispered to her.

Poppy looked back at him and nodded. "I know everyone. I went to their wedding years ago, and was there when they announced their egg." She looked back down at the dish's she cleaned.

"I was thinking, if you have any stories about them maybe you should tell them to her. I think if someone told her happy stories it would help her." He said, drying the dishes she cleaned.

"You think? It won't hurt her more?" She asked softly.

"Everything is going to hurt, but I think she needs to know, needs to hear stories about them. At least I think it may help." He said, looking at Rose who didn't move from her spot.

"I guess I can tell her a couple of stories." She looked at Rose as well, quickly finishing cleaning. She walked over to Rose. "Hey Rose, do you want to come sit down on the couch with me?" She held her hand out towards her. Rose nodded, slowly taking Poppy's hand as she was led to the couch.

Branch soon finished as well and followed them, sitting on the other side of the couch. He could tell Poppy was a little nervous to tell her, so he spoke first. "Have you thought of what you wanted to do today?" He asked, seeing Rose shake her head.

Poppy glanced at Branch before looking at Rose. "You know, your mom was always having trouble choosing between things." She smiled at her. Rose quickly looked at her, her eyes wide. "There was one time I ran into her at the store, she was having such trouble choosing between a pink rose onesie and a yellow daisy one for you for when you hatched."

Rose kept her eyes on Poppy, her mouth open slightly as she listened. "I told her the pink Roses would match more with the colours on your egg, but she ended up getting both." She smiled at Rose, who moved a bit closer to Poppy. Poppy glanced at Branch, who motioned to continue. "There was one time, I was handing out invitations and singing a song of course. I saw Bea and Sterling so I walked over and held their invitations to them, but they didn't see me and they were about to kiss. I held the invitations up and instead of them kissing, they kissed the invitations! When they moved back in surprise, the invitations stuck to their lips!" Poppy giggled, remembering the story. She looked down at Rose who only stared at her. Poppy kept a smile on her face, but stopped talking and looked at Branch.

Branch looked from Poppy to Rose. "That was a good story, wasn't it Rose? I'm surprised the invitations stayed on their lips." He said, seeing Rose taking out her notebook.

Rose started writing, taking a minute to write down her words. When she finished she held the notebook up to Poppy to read. 'That happen?' She looked at Poppy over the book, seeing Poppy nod. Rose started writing more. 'More?' She showed Poppy the page again.

Poppy read the page and her eyes lit up. "More? Like you want to hear more stories about them?" She saw Rose nod shyly, crawling into Poppy's lap. Poppy smiled and started telling her more stories about her parents happy wedding and how excited they were about their first egg. "I was there when you hatched. I remember how happy and excited they were when you hatched. They were also a little scared and nervous too, they didn't know what to expect. They were always so proud and happy of you Rose." Poppy smiled at her, as Rose stared at her with teary eyes.

Rose looked at Poppy sadly, before looking down as a couple tears fell. She wiped her eyes as she sniffled, grabbing her notebook and started writing. 'I miss mama and dada.' She wrote as a couple tears fell on the page.

Poppy read the page, her heart heavy as she read it. "I know you do sweetheart. I'm going to miss them too, but you know what?" She saw Rose lift her head. "You may not be able to see them, but they will always be with you. In here." She placed her hand over Roses heart. "They will always be watching over you. They will be in the night sky as the bright star, bringing light to the dark sky. Sometimes you may feel them in the wind, running a hand through your hair. You may not see them, but they will always be in your heart." Poppy looked down at Rose, a tear in her eye as she smiled.

Rose looked up at Poppy in awe, quickly writing in her notebook. 'Really?' She held the book up to Poppy's face.

Poppy nodded. "That's what my dad always told me. When I was young, my dad would always hold me like this and let me listen to his heartbeat." Poppy gently moved so she was cradling Rose like a baby against her chest, Rose's head over her heart. "He would tell me stories about my mom. I never knew her, she passed a couple months after I hatched. He would tell me I looked just like her, that I had her eyes and her laugh. He would always say even though I don't remember her, that she will always love me. She was always watching over me, making sure I was okay."

Branches couldn't help but stare at Poppy as she spoke. He never heard Poppy talk about her mother before, he also saw a tear in her eyes as she continued to speak. "When I was little, I would stand outside on the windy days to feel the wind going through my hair and think it was my mom brushing my hair." Poppy stopped, feeling Rose grab her dress tightly as she hugged Poppy. Poppy held her close, rocking her gently. "The point is, your mom and dad will always be there with you. You may not see them, but they are always watching over you."

Branch moved closer to Poppy slowly, glancing down to see Rose had once again drifted off to sleep. This time Rose looked like she was actually enjoying her nap, causing Branch to smile slightly before looking up at Poppy. "Hey, you okay Poppy?" He asked softly.

Poppy glanced at him and nodded. "Yeah, I'm okay." She smiled softly, looking down at Rose.

"I never heard you mention your mom before." He gently placed his hand on her cheek, causing Poppy to look at him. "I may not have known her, but I know she is proud of you Poppy. You are an amazing queen and amazing friend to everyone. I'm so proud of you too."

Poppy stared at him, seeing his loving expression made her heart melt. "I'm proud of you too Branch, and I know your grandma would be very proud too." She leaned forward slightly, placing her forehead against his.

He gently moved his thumb in circles on her cheek, feeling her gently lean into his hand. He tilted his head and gave her a loving kiss, feeling her kiss him back. After a minute he pulled back, glancing at Rose again to make sure she was still asleep. "Since she's asleep, do you mind keeping an eye on her for a couple of minutes? I haven't had time to inspect the rest of my bunker to see if anything broke from yesterday."

Poppy nodded. "I don't mind." She smiled at him, before looking down at Rose.

He kissed her cheek before standing up. "Thanks, I'll be right back." He said before he left the room and headed towards the main entrance to see what damage happened.

Poppy sat in the silence for what felt like forever but was twenty minutes. "It's so quiet." She muttered to herself, looking down to see Rose still asleep. "Branch?" She called, hearing no response. "He said he had newer tunnels, I wonder how big this place really is." She sighed, getting bored before she heard the elevator. She looked over and grinned when she saw him. "Finally! I was so bored." She said when she saw Branch walk over.

"Sorry, I didn't think I'd be that long." He looked over the couch to see Rose still asleep. "This is the longest I've seen her sleep. Do you want me to take her?"

Poppy shook her head. "No, I'm okay. We may wake her if we try to move her, if this is the longest she's slept I want her to stay sleeping then." She saw Branch sit down next to her. "So was there a lot of damage?" She asked.

He nodded slightly. "The main entrance had been stepped on and the rock above it moved so it's stuck. Another exit caved in so I have to dig that out. One storage space is blocked, but I dug far enough to see nothing inside seemed to be broken which is good. Three new tunnels caved in as well, but nothing was in those." He explained, letting out a sigh. "It will take me a couple months to repair."

"I'm sure there are trolls that will help, if you want." She offered, even though she knew he would say no. "It won't take long with more trolls helping."

He looked at her, smiling slightly. "I'd rather work on it myself. I built this whole place by myself, it would be weird if I had help now. Besides, other trolls will probably be busy building new homes for those who lost theirs yesterday." He reached over and held her free hand.

Poppy looked around his bunker. "I still can't believe you built this whole place yourself. I mean before you had a lot of writing on the walls and weapons everywhere. Now it's become cozy." She smiled at him.

He blushed slightly. "Those weapons are put away so no child sneaks in here and gets hurt, but they are still there in case they are needed." He saw Poppy roll her eyes. "It's better to be prepared."

"Weapons aren't dangerous. Hugs fix just about all problems!" She grinned.

Branch was about to protest before his ear twitched, hearing voices outside his bunker. He stopped for a moment trying to make out who it was. "There's someone outside, I'll be right back." He stood up. Poppy looked at him, going to stand up but Branch stopped her. "You should wait here with Rose. I don't know how Rose feels about other trolls seeing her yet, and since she's still sleeping I don't want to wake her." He kissed Poppy's forehead, seeing her pout but didn't get up. "Thank you. I'll be right back." Branch made his way to the surface, as he got closer he could make out more of the voices.

Branch reached the surface, hearing his name being called out. "Tresillo? Marimbo? Tambora? What are you three doing here?"

"You're late." Tresillo said, looking at him. "We were supposed to meet up, remember?" He raised an eyebrow at Branch.

Branch placed a hand over his face, sighing slightly. "I totally forgot, I didn't realize it was today. I'm sorry, I can't today. Something came up." He said, rubbing the back of his neck.

"We thought you might have forgotten, but we had to make sure." Marimbo said, pointing to the large footprint.

"After what happened yesterday, we thought it was better to check on you." Tambora finished.

"I'm fine. The creature ran over my bunker, a couple of my tunnels caved in but it's nothing." He shrugged.

"Yeah, yesterday was a surprise for everyone. I've never heard of a troll going grey, and a child at that." Tresillo said, catching Branch's attention.

"You never seen one either, huh?" He muttered to himself.

"What did you say?" Tresillo looked at him.

"Oh, nothing." He said, glancing away for a second. "Well, I'm sorry again about forgetting. I am going to be busy the next couple of weeks, but we can reschedule for another time."

"Couple of weeks? What are you going?" Tambora asked curiously.

"I have a guest staying with me, they will most likely take up a lot of my time the next couple of weeks." He could feel their gaze on him, hoping his answer was enough.

After a moment Tresillo spoke. "Cool. You will have to introduce us sometime. We will see you around then. Bye Branch." He said as they started to head out.

Branch waved, about to go back into his bunker but heard his name again. He looked around, seeing the bushes ruffle. "Hello?" He called, staring at the bushes.

An older troll with pink fuzzy hair stepped out, smiling at him.