Hello my troll fans!
Finally! Chapter 15 is here! I hope you like it! The next chapter is a struggle to write, but I'm hoping to have it out next week as planned!
I hope you enjoy reading this chapter! I don't own trolls but Rose is my OC!
———————————————-
Once they arrived at the purple pod, Poppy opened the door to see the celebration of life party was in full swing. She could hear trolls talking to one another and others digging into the assorted food that was laid out. Poppy walked in with Rose in her arms, seeing the snack pack was here along with the other leaders and her father. She turned to Branch as he looked around. "Do you want to talk to anyone, or do you prefer to sit down?" She asked him, seeing he was a little nervous.
He looked at her, giving her a soft smile. "I'm fine doing whatever." He said as he felt Poppy take his hand in hers, giving it a squeeze as he squeezed her hand back. "Do you two want some food?" He looked over at the snack bar.
"I wouldn't mind a drink." Poppy smiled as Rose looked at the snacks on the table. "Why don't you help Branch get some food?" She moved Rose into Branchs arms, seeing her father waving to her. "I'm going to go see my dad while you two gets the food, okay?" She told Rose, feeling her grip on her finger gently. "I'm just going to be over there. You will still see me, okay?" She smiled as she felt Rose let go of her hand. "Alright. I'll be just over there." She pointed to her fathers before heading to the other side of the pod.
Rose watched her leave, frowning slightly as she looked up at Branch. "Come on, the sooner we get the snacks and drinks, the sooner we can go over there." He walked over to the snack bar and picked up a plate. "What do you want to eat?" He picked a few things he knew Poppy would like as well as a few things Rose pointed to. "That's enough food for now, what about drinks?" He brought her to the drinks and let her pick out what she wanted, and poured three cups of juice. He looked down at the three drinks and the plate, before looking at Rose in his arm. "Can you walk and carry your drink over to Poppy while I carry the other stuff?"
Rose took out her binder and started writing. 'Carry Poppy juice.' Branch looked at it confused for a minute, before he smiled.
"You want to bring Poppy her juice?" He saw her nod, her ears perking up. "Alright, just be careful." He placed her on the floor and handed her a half filled cup of juice. "I'm going to be right behind you, but don't go too fast okay?" He saw her nod as he picked up the plate and the other two juice cups. "You see where Poppy is? Let's go." He said when he saw her nod again and started walking towards where Poppy pointed earlier. Branch stayed close behind Rose as she weaved through the crowd, seeing her looking around for Poppy. "Little to the left and straight." He instructed, seeing Roses ears perk up more when she saw Poppys pink legs. He saw Rose quickly speed up, almost running into another troll. "Slow down Rose. She isn't going anywhere." He said, seeing Rose look back at him before she continued walking to Poppy.
Poppy didn't see Rose next to her as she continued to talk to her dad and the snack pack who joined her. Rose was at her feet, holding the cup up to her. Rose looked over to where Branch to see he was stuck behind some trolls who kept moving in his path. She waved her grey hair, trying to get her attention but her hair didn't reach high enough. Her hair did catch the attention of Smidge. "Oh, Rose. There you are." She said loud enough for Poppy to hear.
Poppy looked down, seeing Rose nervously looking around as the others looked down as well. "Rose, when did you get here?" She saw Rose look up to her, holding the cup out to her. Poppy knelt down, seeing Rose holding the cup closer to her. "What juice did you get?" She asked, not realizing Rose had the cup for her.
Rose kept pushing the cup to her, as Branch made his way to them. "She wanted to carry your cup." Branch told her.
Poppy looked up at Branch then back down at Rose. "That's for me?" She smiled when Rose nodded. "Oh, that's so sweet of you!" She took the cup from Rose and picked her up. "Thank you." She grinned as she saw Rose blush slightly. Poppy took a drink, seeing Rose watching her. "This is very good. Did you pick it out?"
Rose nodded, reaching towards Branch for her cup. Branch handed her a cup and held the plate of food towards them as well. "Anything you want?" He offered.
Poppy took some grapes, giving him a smile before she ate. Peppy walked over to him. "So you are here Branch, I figured you would be close by."
"I was getting some food for them." Branch said, looking over at him.
"I did find some photos for you." Peppy said as Branchs eyes widened. "I wasn't sure if you were going to come, so I didn't bring them. I can go get them now if you like."
"It can wait, we have to go back to Poppys pod after so maybe I could stop by then and get them." Branch suggested, looking over at Rose who was shyly eating while Poppy talked to the others.
"Alright. I will see you around then. I'm going to go talk to some of the others." Peppy places a hand on his shoulder before walking away.
"What photos was Peppy talking about Branch?" Biggie asked him, standing next to him with Mr Dinkles in hand.
"Oh, he said he found pictures of my parents." He muttered under his breath, looking away slightly as he heard Biggie gasp along with Guy Diamond who was next to him.
"Your parents? Really?" Guy said, causing Branch to turn to him. "I've never heard you talk about them before."
"I didn't know them. They died before I hatched." Branch said before changing the subject. "Did you know them well? Bea and Sterling?" He asked them.
As they talked Rose listened while she ate, hearing a lot of different stories from the others. Rose looked around with a cookie on her mouth, but stopped when she saw an older troll staring at her. She sunk behind Poppy's shoulder, curling into a small ball in Poppys arms as she finished the cookie. Poppy looked down at Rose, gently rubbing her back to help sooth her. "Are you doing okay so far Rose?" She asked her softly, seeing Rose nod her head. "Do you want to go?" She saw Rose slowly shake her head. "Then, how about we go see Branch? He seemed to have gotten away from us."
Rose quickly looked around for him, gripping onto Poppy tightly as she searched. Poppy could feel her growing tense as she looked around, fear growing inside the tiny body she held. "Branch is over talking to the twins. He is still close by, see?" She moved so Rose was facing Branch who was a few trolls away from them. Rose reached for Branch, making a soft whimpering noise.
Branchs ear twitched, hearing the small whimper from behind him and turned around. He saw Poppy starting to walk towards him with Rose in her arms, Roses little hand reaching towards him eagerly. "Sorry, one minute." He told the twins he turned around.
Poppy walked up to Branch, holding Rose towards him. Rose eagerly reached for him, latching onto him tightly when he held her. "Someone wasn't happy when she didn't see you." Poppy smiled softly at Rose, who buried her face in Branchs shoulder.
"Hey twig, I'm sorry. I didn't realize you couldn't see me." He whispered to Rose, placing a hand on her back to help calm her.
"Sorry we interrupted you." Poppy said as she turned to the twins, who smiled back at her.
"Oh no problem! We were just finishing." Satin said, her smile turning into a grin.
"We are actually about to go! We have a new project to start!" Chenille said excitedly.
Branch turned to them. "You don't have to, I was-" Branch started but was interrupted by the twins lifting their hands up to him.
"No way." Chenille stopped him.
"We got this." Satin said before they walked out of the pod, confusing Poppy.
"What was that about?" Poppy asked him, seeing him shift from one foot to the other.
"I asked them what a really soft but really durable material was, they started asking why and before I knew it they were going to make something." Branch summarizes.
"Why do you want soft but durable material?" She asked him, raising an eyebrow.
Branch looked away for a second before leaned forward to whisper in her ear. "A secret for Rose, I will tell you later." He tried his best to make sure Rose didn't hear him.
Poppy smiled, before holding up a finger. "Wrapped around her finger." She said, causing Branch to frown.
"Excuse me, Queen Poppy, Branch." A voice came behind Poppy, causing them to jump. When Poppy turned around, she saw an older troll around her father's age.
"Ms Maple! How are you today?" Poppy gave the honey coloured troll a hug.
"I'm doing well on this sad day. How about you children?" She asked, hugging her back as she looked at Branch and Rose
Poppy let go of the hug, smiling at her. "Things could be better, but good nonetheless. Have you met Branch yet? Branch, this is Ms Maple. She would watch me and the others while we were children." She turned to Branch, seeing Rose was curled up into Branchs shoulder. "And this is Rose, she is Beas and Sterling's daughter. Branch is taking care of her." She smiled, taking a step back so she was standing next to Branch and Rose.
"I have heard many things about you both." Maple smiled at them. "It is nice to officially meet you two." She looked at Rose, who looked away. "I knew your parents when they were younger. Did you know your mother didn't like icing?" Her words caused Rose to glance at her. "When Bea was young, she would take the top of the cupcake and take it off with the icing and put it on her plate. Sterling would always go over and ask her if he could have the icing, and she always said he could have it. They became fast friends that way."
Rose lifted her head from Branchs shoulder, looking at her as she talked. "It started when they were five, but when they were fifteen I saw Bea eating then icing off a cupcake one day when Sterling wasn't around. I told her I thought she didn't like the icing, but she said she liked certain icing on cupcakes. She said if Sterling was there she would always take it off for him, because he loved icing. I thought it was the cutest thing." Maple smiled at the memory, seeing Roses eyes on her.
"I remember that! I thought it was the sweetest thing to see, their relationship was one I always looked up to." Poppy smiled, seeing Branch glance at her from the corner of her eye. She took his hand in hers, leaning onto his side.
Branch gave her a smile, squeezing her hand. He felt Roses hand tap his shoulder as she looked at Maple. He looked at her, before looking at Maple. "I think she wants to hear more, if you have any more stories about them." Branch told Maple, seeing her smile.
"I do have some more, if you would like to hear them." Maple saw Rose nod. "Why don't we sit down and I can tell you." Maple turned and sat on a couch. Branch and Poppy sat next to her as Maple started telling Rose more stories about her parents. Rose listened to her stories, not taking her eyes off her as she held onto Branch. As Maple talked, the other trolls around them started listening to her stories and other trolls started telling their stories. Soon all the trolls were exchanging stories about the fallen couple. As Rose listened to the story, she moved into Branchs lap listening to all the stories.
As an hour passed trolls started leaving the pod, Rose let out a yawn as she snuggled into Branchs lap as Maple finished telling her last story. "It looks like someone's ready for a nap." She smiled down at Rose.
Branch picked her up and cradled her in his arms. "You ready to go now?" He asked her, seeing her shake her head. "You're about to fall asleep."
Rose shook her head again and sleepily reached for her binder and started writing. 'Story.' She showed him, standing on his lap so she could rest her head on his chest.
"I'm sure if you ask nicely, they will tell you stories another time." Branch said, as Rose showed Maple the word story.
"I would be happy to tell you more stories Rose." She said happily as she saw Rose smile slightly. The smile didn't last long as it vanished when Rose let out another yawn before she reached up and pulled Branchs ear.
"Ow, don't pull on my ear." Branch said, feeling her trying to climb him. "Don't pull on my-ow." He frowned when Rose grabbed a fist full of hair as she tried to climb into it. Branch gently but quickly put her in his hair, rubbing his ear where she grabbed. He felt her move around in his hair as he stayed still, once she stopped moving he relaxed a bit. "Still weird to have her in my hair." He muttered, hearing Poppy giggle. "Do you want to stay a bit longer?" He turned to Poppy.
"I'm ready to go if you are." She saw him nod before she stood up and helped Maple stand up. "Thank you Ms Maple, for telling the stories. I know Rose really appreciates them. She was so happy listening to them." Poppy smiled as she gave her another hug.
"Any child would love to hear stories about their parents. It's such a tragic thing to happen to such a young child, but I'm sure she will be okay with you two looking after her." She smiled at them, as let out a small chuckle when she saw their cheeks light up. "If she ever wants to hear more stories, you know where to find me Queen Poppy." She smiled before making her way to the exit.
Poppy went around the pod, thanking those who told stories as well as others for attending before she went back to Branch. "Alright, I'm good to go now." She smiled, taking his hand.
"I have to stop by your dad's pod first, unless you want to go somewhere before going to your place?" Branch said, looking at her as they headed towards the exit.
"Not really anywhere in particular, we will see on the way." She smiled as Branch rolled his eyes as he chuckled.
"Miss Popular can't go for a walk without someone stopping you." He teased.
She rolled her eyes back at him, a smile on her face. "I'm a Queen, it comes with the job. And you are quite popular yourself mister! You have made a lot of new friends! I'm so proud of you." She pinched his cheek, grinning.
"Don't pinch my cheek." He frowned at her, causing her to giggle. Poppy walked a few steps in front of him as they got to Peppys pod.
Poppy knocked on the door. "Dad?" She said, opening the door and walked in to see Peppy sitting at a table drinking tea.
Peppy turned around and gave her a smile. "Poppy, and I'm guessing Branch is with you as well?" He saw Poppy walk into his pod with Branch behind her. "I take it you're here for the photos."
"Yes sir." Branch said, standing next to Poppy.
"Well, come sit down." Peppy smiled as they sat at the table with him. "Where is Rose?" He asked, looking around.
"She's here." Branch parted his hair to show Rose asleep in his hair. "She didn't get a good sleep last night, and with everything today I think she's still exhausted."
"I can imagine she is." Peppy stood up. "Would you like anything to eat?" He asked, seeing them shake their head as he sat back down. He reached into his hair and pulled out four photos. "These were all I could find so far, I will keep looking in some older books."
Branch took the photos and stared at them, seeing a dark blue haired male troll with dark green skin in the first photo. "This is…" he muttered under his breath, not able to take his eyes off the photo. After another minute he looked at the second one, it showed the same blue haired troll with a mint green haired woman with teal skin. He stared at this particular photo for longer, seeing the smile on the two trolls face. "They look so happy."
"My favorite one is the last one." Peppy smiled at him. Branch glance at him, before moving to see the third picture. He immediately recognized Rosiepuff and his mother in her arms, he figured his mother was around eight in the photos from how small she was and by the amount of mud in her hair. He smiled slightly at the grin on his grandmother's face and the even wider smile of his mother who had a handful of mud which looked like she was about to toss in Rosiepuffs face. When he got to the fourth picture he stopped. It was all three of them surrounding a blue egg. "It's your egg. This is the last photo they all took together." Peppy explained.
"They're all so happy." He said again, staring at the smile on their faces and tears in his mother's eyes. He could almost feel the happiness in the pictures, radiating through the paper into him. His heart ached as he stared at the photo, longing for something he never had.
Poppy saw his sad expression on his face, but also saw a light in his eyes. The movement of her father standing up and going to the other side of the room caught her eye, before she stood up as well. She slowly went behind Branch and wrapped her arms gently around his shoulders, leaning down to pressing her cheek against his. She looked down at the photos and smiled. "Now I see where you get your good looks from." She whispered in his ear, feeling his cheeks heat up against hers. "You have her smile too. So soft and warm." She gently rubbed her cheek against his.
He glanced at her. "You think so?" He looked back at the photos and stared at his mother.
"Of course! And you have his eyes too." She said as she saw his father's eyes looked similar to Branchs. "I think yours are softer though." She kissed his cheek before she straightened up when her dad came back to the table, her hands not leaving his shoulders.
"I wasn't sure if you would want this, but here you are." Peppy handed Branch another photo. Branchs eyes widened when he saw the grey child in the picture.
"This is me?" He questioned. He knew the answer, but he almost didn't recognize himself. The photo must have been taken in the first year he turned grey, he could tell because his ears looked like a normal pop troll in the photo.
Peppy nodded, looking at him. "I thought you might want to show Rose. I don't know if it will help with anything, but it shows it did happen like you said it did."
Branch placed it down with the other photos before looking at Peppy. "Thank you Peppy. I really appreciate you looking for these." Branch gave Peppy a smile, as Peppy smiled in return.
"I'm glad I was able to find them, and I hope I can find more. I will ask a few other trolls who know them and see if they have any." Peppy smiled before handing Branch a couple of books. Branch looked through the books, seeing they were about young children. "I read through these while I raised Poppy, I thought you could use them."
Branch looked up at him. "Thank you, again." He skimmed through the books. "I really appreciate it. I know I already said it, but thank you." He repeated, causing Peppy to chuckle.
"You don't have to thank me Branch. I'm happy to help." He smiled, before looking at the time. "It's almost three, I'm going to head out before dinner."
"We will get out of your hair." Branch said, standing up as Poppy went and hugged her father.
"We will see you later dad." She smiled, kissing his cheek before she let go. "See you later dad." She said as her and Branch walked out of the pod.
Poppy happily skipped along the tree limb above her pod, her arms swinging as she walked. Branch watched her, letting out a small chuckle as she spun around. "What are you laughing at?" She asked, walking backwards in front of him.
He gave her a soft smile. "Nothing, just admiring how beautiful you are." He said as Poppy blushed. Poppy started to grin as she stopped and took his hand into hers and brought them to her lips, kissing his knuckles as she started walking backwards again. "That's my thing." He chuckled again, being her hand to his lips and kissed the back of her hand.
She giggled as she moved to walk beside him. "It's OUR thing." She held his arm as they got to her pod.
Poppy walked into her pod and started gathering the supplies they got earlier as Branch went to her fridge to get the food. "Are you going to stay the night again?" He asked, glancing at her from over the fridge door.
Poppy stopped what she was doing and looked over at him, a smirk on her face. "Do you want me to stay over?"
Branch looked at her over the fridge door, the tips of his ears as dark as his blushing cheeks. "I-um, really enjoyed having you over last night." He flustered, rubbing the back of his neck. "I really like sleeping with you- I mean sleeping next to you." His face grew red as he stumbled on his words.
As Branch rambled on he didn't notice Poppy walking over to him. She stood beside him and giggled, causing him to jump. She placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him softly. "I enjoyed sleeping next to you too." She said softly, staring lovingly into his eyes. "I'd love to stay over." She started grinning before she pressed her face against his, nuzzling him. "All night with my little cuddly bear!" She cooed him happily.
Branch frowned. "Really? That again?" He mumbled as she squished his cheeks to make faces.
"You are such a cuddler, no matter what you say! And you held me so protectively last night, so it works! My cuddly bear." She cooed him again, sloppily kissing his cheek before she hugged him tightly.
Branch wrapped his arms around her, chuckling. "Fine, call me whatever you want. That one is better then bunny" He buried his face in her hair. "The reason I asked was since we're out, maybe I should look at getting a new mattress. I haven't gotten a new one in over twenty years."
Poppy pulled back slightly and looked at him, her eyes starting to sparkle as she started grinning. "You need a really really cushiony one!"
Branch chuckled, letting her go. "Of course i'm going to get a comfy one, I don't want to sleep on a bed as hard as a rock."
She rolled her eyes. "Come on, I wanna go with you to look at the beds!" She stopped and looked at him, blushing slightly. "If that's okay?"
He raised an eyebrow, confused on why she asked. "Of course it is, why wouldn't it be?" Branch saw her shift from one foot to the other. "Anyways, we should go then so we can be back at the bunker before Rose wakes up." He picked up the items they got earlier and headed to the door.
Poppy snapped back and nodded, gathering the books before looking at her dresser which had the book form Barb in for a moment. She quickly packed a bag for the night along with the book and followed Branch back to the shopping center.
