Poppy's woes lasted two days. Grumpy Branch would have been proud to see how long she persisted in her trouble, but the new full-fledged troll he had become was worried. Fulfilling his role as her husband, he did everything within his power to support her.

He made breakfast in bed, he made her favorite banana and trollsberry smoothie, then pies. He was almost wondering if happiness couldn't really be accomplished through the stomach when she finally smiled the moment he placed a simple chocolate cupcake in front of her.

"You are sweet." Poppy whispered, batting her eyelashes at him.

"I'm glad you smiled." He sighed, realizing that it was also the first time his lips curved upwards in days.

"It's taking me more time to get back in shape… I'm sorry." She said, dipping her spoon in the cupcake.

"I'm honestly dumbfounded by how strong you are," while he didn't want to patronize her, he couldn't be more truthful. If their roles were reversed, Branch doubted he would have the strength to leave the bed, much less sit at the kitchen's table and eat dessert.

With a quick glimpse at the camera that hung in a corner, Branch strategically leaned against the counter, crossing his arms and waiting until Poppy was done. He had heavy news to share, but he couldn't help himself but smile at her delight, licking the last drop of cream from the spoon when the cupcake was over.

She had changed so much and yet, she hadn't.

Hypnotized by her, he crossed the kitchen, towering over an unsuspicious queen who was still busy with her spoon. It was only when she pushed the empty plate away that she noticed he was there, looking like he was going to jump her any second.

His hand went to her lower back, pulling her into his body. Her breath hitched when his lips brushed against hers, taking in her strawberry mixed with chocolate taste. A deep pleasure ran from his toes to his head, fogging the seriousness of his intentions. It was a mere scene to take her to their bedroom where they would talk with no curious ears, or so it was how it started.

Unsuspicious, Poppy moaned against his lips, driving his hormone rush up a notch. Hands slipped down, finding their way under her skirt.

What did he want to talk about again?

oooooooooo

Oh, yes, Hair. He almost forgot about it! Branch sat up on the bed, startling his wife who was just starting to doze off. A brief moment to admire the naked curve of her hip and the teal troll managed to recover his brain.

Those legs were wrapped around his hips a few minutes ago, weren't they? Okay, focus.

"Poppy…" he called and she opened one eye, just to show that she was awake, even if just barely. There wasn't a gentle way to come out with his thoughts, so he just said them. "I think you were framed."

It took her a moment to understand what he had meant. While her body was still stirring from their previous activities, it was a little harder to acknowledge what he was talking about.

"Branch… that's absurd. Nobody would ever..."

"The most absurd thing is to think you would do something as extreme as burn down the village over a relationship problem." Branch explained. "I had never considered this hypothesis, but when you mentioned it was premeditated…" it was impossible for Poppy to snap. Not like that. Not long enough to come up with a plan to destroy what she held dear.

"Branch." She sat up as well. Her magenta hair fell down, covering her bosom. "Let it go."

"No." Firmly, Branch inched close. He had never been so serious in his life and - hair - he had his share of seriousness in the last years. "It doesn't fit. We need the truth."

"I can't…" She looked down, hugging her knees. "I can't take any more deceptions. I'm not…"

"The worst case scenario was already assumed and you've hit rock bottom because of it. Anything new is a step out of there."

He desperately wanted to prove she was innocent. He needed to convince her that she was worth fighting for. He could understand she was afraid to confirm that she had indeed snapped, but he had to hold on to his hunch to clear things up.

"I'll talk to Barb." Branch continued, "and your doctor." He didn't wave at Poppy's alarmed stare.

"Dr. Leopold?! You can't!" It was obvious to him that she didn't want him to find out about her life while she was away. Her eyes were filled with shame and regret. It wasn't about the therapy or the temporary insanity.

"I'll do what it takes to prove you're innocent." Branch stated firmly. "You've punished yourself long enough."

"My life there, Branch…" he recognized the panic, but he wasn't going to be discouraged. "It wasn't… just wasn't…"

"What? Perfect?" He half laughed. "I'm not expecting to find cupcakes and rainbows." If the tattoo on her ankle was any hint, he could say it was far from the life she had in Trollstopia.

It was true he was most likely to stumble on pieces of her previous marriage. It was going to take a lot of strength on his part to swallow the bile and accept she had lived a life that didn't include him.

He could take it. He could get prepared to take it.

Poppy looked away from the forceful eyes. Once again reminding herself that she hadn't asked him if he had been happy. If he had happy moments while she was away.

If she could guess, she'd say Branch didn't smile once in eight years. Life hardened him, ripped his skin open and left scars that changed who he was.

The kind troll that had made love to her was just a glimpse of a softness that was buried under many layers of hard work, of practical matters, of internal battles that he had to constantly fight.

She curled forward. Many years he had suffered alone while she was playing a duet with feverish fans standing on the line to see her and Rob perform.

It was sinful to have had happy moments when Branch's days were turbulent. When he thought only to make everything perfect for her return.

And yet, while she had happy days, they were nothing but a facade. Branch had taught her when she was still a princess that her naivety would get them killed. Rob proved that happiness wasn't bound to last.

It was so humiliating to have her convictions down the drain.

"I'm not proud of the life I had there." Her voice was shaky and Branch had to lower his head to hear her better.

"Is there anything you want to prepare me for?" He didn't offer to quit his investigation and Poppy's lips formed a thin line, considering if she had a better option.

"Rob and I…" She hesitated when she felt Branch tensing by her side. She had never mentioned her previous relationship, had she? She had wanted to spare them both, mostly herself. "We were quite famous there so… if you interrogate my friends, they will tell you… things."

It was a warning and yet, it felt like she had invited him to open the book of her life in a very specific chapter.

"How… how did he make you fall for him?" Branch's voice reminded her of when he was just coming out of his bunker after a decade. Testing the temperature of the Sun and feeling the humidity of the grass under his toes. He was uncertain and yet, he couldn't stop exploring.

"I don't know how questions like that will prove me innocent," she replied defensively. For a moment she thought she had won the argument but another look at her husband and all smart answers died on her lips.

His eyes were filled with jealousy. It wasn't the kind that would encourage him and trigger competition. Poppy knew Branch well enough to know that it was a helpless jealousy. The kind that the last racer had for the podium.

"I don't know how the relationship started…" looking away in shame, Poppy allowed the words to roll out of her lips with the truthfulness of a soul-baring secret. "He started showing up everywhere I went and I accused him of stalking me..."

"It's not my fault we both enjoy good music." He extended his hand for her. "Third concert in a row. We must introduce ourselves. I'm Rob."

"Poppy." His hand was warm and inviting. The mere handshake made her smile.

After months of frustrated therapy, Poppy had one night when she didn't dream about the fire, but of a firm handshake and the only touch she had with a troll in a long time.

Rob found out she was working as a waitress in a bar that hosted different bands every night. He became a regular client. Poppy didn't enjoy his attempts to be her friend. She wasn't in the mood for friends.

But his face became familiar.

"Allow me to serve you a drink instead." Rob had just paid the check and was on his way out of the bar when he passed by Poppy who was cleaning a table.

"I'm working." She replied shortly.

"I'll wait until your shift is over."

She was terribly hungry and she accepted a cupcake, not an alcoholic beverage. She ate quietly as he walked her home that night. Rob was surprised when he stopped in front of Queen Barb's place.

"You're staying with our queen?"

"Ah, yes." Poppy blushed, realizing that she had troubled Barb for years. "I'm saving to move out."

"You can live with me."

"Yeah, not happening."

Rob didn't insist anymore and their nightly walks became a routine. He would slide a hand around her waist and protectively pull her close when a drunk troll stumbled in their direction.

Over the months Poppy found herself opening up about her life at Trollstopia. He was invited inside her home when the walk was too short for the conversation to end. Rob bit his tongue when she talked about Branch. She didn't try to hide how her eyes would shine at the mere mention of his name.

"I'll get better for him." The pink girl opened the oven, pulling out a fresh batch of strawberry cupcakes. Rob was sipping on a beer, listening. "Maybe in a year or so I'll be able to return."

"Why would you want to go back to someone who betrayed you?"

Poppy dropped the batch on the counter top when she heard it. Eyes wide, she stared at the cupcakes like they had offended her.

Aside from the heart squeezing sadness and amount of hurt that she had felt, Poppy hadn't labeled Branch's actions that day.

It was betrayal, wasn't it?

"I do understand the doubt when rumors of betrayal come from different sources, but you saw it with your own eyes."

The cupcakes looked terrible, even with the great effort Poppy made. The frosting was falling on the sides and the strawberries were full of water. The small cake disintegrated when she tried to pick it up.

Rob enjoyed each sugary dessert she cooked. Pop's sugary delicacies made the squeezing sensation on her ribcage lessen.

It was during her fifth Trollsmas at Volcano Rock City when he surprised her. She had managed to rent an apartment next to the bar she now sang every night and she had planned a quiet evening, sleeping early to recover from the hard work.

Rob dropped by with a gift.

Poppy opened her door half asleep wearing a small shorts and strapped shirt. His breath hitched and he dropped the wrapped box on the floor; he leaned forward before even saying hello.

His unwanted approach was more effective at waking her up fully than any alarm. Poppy put a hand in between them, stopping him just before he touched her lips.

"I'm not ready." She replied firmly, but lingering with shame.

"Not ready?" Rob replied incredulously. "Poppy… you're still thinking about Branch?"

"I'm close to getting my answers." Helplessly, Poppy tried to believe it herself. Out of breath, she stood away from the door, which made Rob step inside. Frowning.

"You know as well as I do that you're just fooling yourself." He wasn't gentle with his words, as if the hard and cold reality had it displayed in its fullest so she could face it. "Five years and the troll you say you love didn't write a single letter. He didn't come looking for you."

"I love him, Rob."

"You pop trolls can be ridiculously devoted." Poppy felt the couch moving and the warmth of her friends' skin gave her a little comfort despite the cruel words he was saying. "He gave your first kiss to someone else and you're here wasting your life pining over him."

Wet. All Poppy felt was wet. Rob's lips were wet, her cheeks were wet and she prayed he didn't taste the saltiness when he not-so-carefully pulled her into him and managed to kiss her.

"There! Your first kiss." The frustration in his voice was unmasked, but so was the gentleness of his hug.

Poppy hadn't been hugged in years.

Branch was angry. Acknowledging that Poppy's husband forced her from the start didn't settle well. An overprotective and irrational instinct crawled to his mind, wishing he had a chance to fight the idiot.

But worse than Rob it was the fact that Poppy hadn't received his letters in the first place.

"Did Barb ever mention I sent letters on a regular basis?" His question made Poppy look at him in disbelief. He continued, not giving her a chance to interrupt. "I wrote to you, but you never replied so I thought you… hadn't forgiven me."

The conversation was interrupted by knocking on the trapdoor. Branch groaned in frustration remembering that it was inspection day.

Poppy stood up quietly, looking for her clothes on the floor, but she stopped when she saw Branch straightening the bedsheets.

"No. Leave it." Her eyes narrowed. "Let him know we're not faking."

"But, Poppy…" Branch blushed, adorably embarrassed.

"Creek knows what he got himself into." Her dress somehow had ended under the bed. She followed her husband as he walked, stunned, to answer the door. "Branch." She called, biting down her lower lip to avoid giggling. He turned around in confusion. "Pants, dear."

Blushing even more, Branch just then realized he was almost stepping outside their bedroom butt naked. Amused at his hurry to change, Poppy had an idea.

She waited until the quarreling trolls were at the lounge room and wrapped herself with Branch's oversized bathrobe. Exposed shoulder and hair down, she made sure to swing her hips more than usual before joining the two males.

Silence.

"Dear," she pressed her lips on Branch's burning cheek, completely ignoring the unwelcomed guest. "I'll grab a quick shower before joining you."

Happy with the reaction she caused, Poppy closed the bathroom's door behind her.