Why, hello there! I hope you're doing well!
Here's another chapter for you all! I hope you all enjoy reading it! Big thanks to Wildkat25 for the help with the chapter! I can't wait to read your comment, so till next time!
I don't own trolls, but Rose is my oc.
They all walked into the dinner behind Barb, looking around as Barb headed to the far corner of the seating area. Branch scanned the area as he walked in last, his eyes stopping at a table in back as he heard a familiar laugh coming from it. He looked over to see Barb already at the table with the others following suit. As he walked towards the table he tightened his hair around Rose, making sure she stayed asleep.
"Dad! There you are!" Barb's voice caused the two older trolls to stop laughing and look over at them. "We've been looking for you two."
"Barbara!" Thrash raised his hand shakily as Barb sat next to him.
"Hey daddy, have you had your juice today?" She said as she reached for his drink, checking to see what he ordered.
"Yes." He replied, licking his lips as he reached for more of his fries. "We-we were, we were gonna go soon." He started as he looked over at Peppy. "Gotta show, show this old man who, who, gonna, who's better at donuts!" He stuttered out before laughing along with Peppy.
"Then, you better show off those new gears you got added." Barb laughed as she pressed a button on his chair, causing his chair to vibrate. "Are you finished eating? The others have to talk to Pep for a bit before you have that donut contest of yours. Why don't we go practice outside while we wait?" She asked.
"Almost." Thrash replied as Peppy looked at Poppy and the others.
"Thrash, why don't you stay here and finish? I'll be back once we finish talking." Peppy said as he gathered his empty plates.
Thrash nodded as he continued to eat. Barb looked at the others. "I'll stay here, you can fill me in later." She said before sitting down at the table.
"Alright. It shouldn't be very long, we will see you soon." Poppy smiled before heading out the door. "We need a more private area, let's go to my pod." She pointed towards her pod that was close by. When everyone agreed she started walking towards her pod, walking next to her dad. "We had a meeting today, with Jack and his family." She quietly told him.
"With Jack? What for?" Peppy asked.
"There was an incident yesterday with Rose, Jay, and Eva. They were bullying Rose." Poppy said, seeing Peppy stop and down.
"They were bullying her?" He said as he started walking again.
"Yeah. They said some rude stuff to her, calling her a grey thing and an eyesore. Jay tried to take her notebook from her. Luckily Clampers and Delta Dawn came in time to stop anything more from happening." She said as they got to her pod. "Make yourselves at home!" She said as she opened the door, letting the others in. "Would anyone like a thing to drink or eat?"
Branch stood next to Poppy and placed a hand on her shoulder. "I'll get those. You should finish explaining what happened." He said, getting a smile in return before he gathered some glasses for everyone.
"Thanks Branch." She said before sitting down next to Peppy, seeing the others give their request of water and sit around her table. "Queen Barb and I heard the bell from her book when Jay tried to take it and went to see what was happening. I walked to them about it at the time, and told them I wanted to talk to their parents about what happened. Apparently Jay didn't tell them the truth and Ray and Elise verbally attacked Branch about it later that evening." Poppy explained, seeing Peppy star at the table as he listened. "King Quincy intervened and stopped them, so there were two things we had to talk to them about." Poppy let out a frustrated sigh. She took a moment as Branch placed cups of water in front of everyone, taking a sip of hers. "So during the meeting today, Jack started getting defensive about everything. He kept interrupting and making little comments through the whole conversation about the kids. Once we finished talking about the kids and sent them away, Jack barely let Ray talk. He kept accusing Branch of things, and wouldn't stop. I asked him why he hated grey trolls so much, and Ray answered that his mother was grey. When Ray said that, Jack used the handle of his cane to hook Ray's arm to get him to stay quiet." Her frown deepened as Peppy face turned to her, a shocked expression plastered on his face. "Jack didn't go into detail, all he said was that his daughter was taken and his wife turned grey. He said she sat in bed all day, and somehow she led the Bergen's to Ray."
"Jack said that?" Peppy frowned and looked at Branch. "Anne and Jack's daughter was taken, similar to Branch's grandmother." His words caused Branch to freeze and stare at him. "She was out one day with her parents, and didn't see the Bergen. Jack hesitated when he saw the hand, and Anne wasn't able to get to her inside. She turned grey after losing her child, like others did at the time. It was a day before trollstice, so everyone thought we were safe. After that happened, I told Jack he needed to move. He didn't listen to me, and kept Anne and Ray at that pod. The next day they got into that pod and took Anne. We thought they took Ray as well, but found him in a hollowed out wall an hour after. She didn't spend the day In bed, she spent it trying to find a safe spot for her baby." Peppy frowned. "I knew Jack didn't like grey trolls, but from what I know he never really acted upon it."
Poppy listened carefully to his story, but stopped when he finished. "Never acted on it? Jack tried to hit Branch during the meeting, in front of all of us!" She said, causing Peppy to gasp. "Apparently he has hit Branch and his own son before! Others have apparently hit Branch before as well." Poppy explained, her eyes narrowed as she spoke. "From the sounds of it, Jack blames all the mistakes that happened on his wife because she was grey even though it is also his fault."
Peppy looked down. "I've heard there were a few fights years ago, but by the time I got there no one was around. I never knew it was you Branch. It makes sense, that was around the time I stopped seeing you around town."
Branch shrugged. "It was needed at the time."
"None the less, he is is currently in the fungeon. I can not have him around and worry that someone else may get hurt. We will be discussing his punishment later on. I wanted to talk to you to see if there was a reason for his actions, and it seems there is." Poppy said as she looked at them time. "Speaking of the meeting, we have to head out. Thanks for telling us dad." She smiled at Peppy as she stood up.
"I would like to be there." Peppy said, causing them to look at him. "Tomorrow, I would like to be there. If Jack or someone says something about what happened, I can make sure they tell the truth." He insisted.
The others nodded in agreement as Poppy smiled. "That would be helpful, thanks dad." She walked around the table and gave him a hug. "We will see you tomorrow then!" She said as she headed to the door, letting the others leave first.
"Hey, I'm going to head back now." Branch said, causing the others to look at him.
"Oh, you're not going to come to the other meeting?" Delta asked.
"Yeah. Rose may wake up soon and it's been a long day already." He said as he rubbed the back of his neck.
Quincy smiled down at Branch as he walked up to him. "That is understandable. Just know, you're always welcome to come to the meetings." He placed a hand on his shoulder. "We will see you tomorrow." He turned and started walking towards the meeting area. Delta followed behind, waving as she left.
Poppy looked at him. "You can come if you want, you know." She said as he nodded in return. "I'll see you after the meeting then. I have to get a few things before I head over, but it shouldn't be long." She quickly kissed his cheek before skipping off towards the others.
Branch watched as she left, smiling softly before turning around to see Peppy still behind him. Branch jumped slightly when he saw the older trolls. "Sir, I didn't realize you were still here." He blushed slightly.
"Branch." He started, looking at him. "I'm sorry I didn't put the clues together earlier. I should have known what some of the trolls were doing."
Branch looked at him, slightly shocked. "I-um...you don't have to apologize sir. You didn't know, and I didn't tell anyone. I didn't think this was how others were going to find out. I thought someone would see the scars sometime and ask." He rubbed the back of his neck nervously.
"Scars?" Peppy stared at him shocked. "You have scars from fighting?"
"Mostly from others throwing rocks and sticks, or being hit with stuff. Some from building the bunker as well." He said quietly.
Peppy looked down ashamed. "I'm so sorry Branch. I should have done more for you back then. I should have checked up on you more." He looked up at him. "Does Poppy know about the scars?"
"She found out today when King Quincy noticed one behind my ear."
He nodded. "She hasn't seen all of them then? She is going to want to see and know how you got every single one." He said, causing them both to chuckle slightly. "Don't be afraid to show her. She will be persistent about it, as you know, but she means well. She really cares for you." He gave Branch a caring smile.
Branch blushed slightly. "I will try." He said and paused when he felt movement in his hair. "I better go, It feels like Rose will be waking up soon. We will see you tomorrow."
"See you tomorrow Branch." Peppy smiled before walking back to the dinner.
Branch looked towards his hair as he felt Rose stop moving and headed back to his bunker. As he got to the bunker he felt Rose peek out of his hair. "So you are up. Are you hungry? Clampers said you didn't eat." He reached up to take her out his hair. She nodded as she rubbed her eye. "Okay, let's get a little snack, supper will be in a couple of hours." He held her close to his chest, feeling her rest her head on his shoulder as he opened the door and walked inside.
Branch walked towards the kitchen, sitting Rose at the table before going to the fridge to get her a snack. Branch didn't get far when he heard whimpering when he walked into the kitchen. "I'm right here Rose. I'm getting you some fruit and a drink for you." He pulled out some grapes and water for her and went to the table. He saw her stand up in her chair as he walked to her. "How was it with Queen Essence and Clampers today?" He asked her as he placed her food in front of her, seeing her immediately grab a grape and stuff it in her mouth.
She stared at him as she chewed her food, before slowly frowning and looking away. She grabbed her book and wrote quickly. 'No go.'
Branch looked at her book, then at her. "I know you don't want us to go, but sometime we will have to go." He saw her lip quiver slightly at his answer. "But we promise we will always do our best to come back. Poppy promised earlier that we would be back, and we were." He spoke softly as he saw her nod. "When we promise something, we will always do our best to keep it. I know it can be scary, but was it scary with Queen Essence today?" He saw her slowly shake her head. "Tomorrow won't be scary either. Queen Essence said she will plan a few fun activities for you to do tomorrow. That sounds fun, right?" He smiled when he saw her nod again. "Just give it a try, okay? I'm sure Clampers will be there too. I'm sure she will make it fun." He said as he noticed she barely ate her fruit. "Why don't you finish eating and we can try to find something to do while we wait for Poppy?" He saw her smile slightly as she ate her fruit.
A little over an hour later Branchs ear twitched as he heard the elevator. He saw Rose quickly gasp and stand up, indicating she heard it too. "Don't go too close to the elevator." He warned, placing her on the floor so she could greet the elevator.
Rose ran full speed to the elevator, realizing when she was almost there that she wasn't getting any closer. She looked down to see dark blue hair around her, keeping her from going closer. She looked back to see Branch stopped her from going closer, pouring.
"You were getting too close." He warned again.
"Oh, she was fine, Branch. I was watching." Poppy voice came as the elevator came to a stop. Branch let Rose go, watching as she ran to Poppy. "Looks like someone missed me!" Poppy knelt down to meet Rose with a hug. "I missed you too Rose." She stood back up with Rose in her arms, holding her tightly as she felt Rose nuzzle into her.
"That took longer than I thought it was going to be." Branch said as he stood up and walked towards her, noticing a bag behind her.
"It ended a bit ago. I had to grab a few things from my pod before I came." She smiled as she picked up her bags and walked towards the living room and placed her bag by the couch. "Take your vest off." She said when she walked past Branch, making her way to the table. "Do you want to colour for a little bit before we start making supper?" She saw Rose nod and placed her at the table where she saw pages already sprawled out, not seeing Branch frozen in place.
Branch wasn't sure if he heard her right. He stared at her as his mouth gaped open, unsure of what to say. "Um, I'm sorry. I don't think I heard you." He said, seeing her glance over at him.
"You heard me right. Take your vest off." She said, looking him over. "Pants too." She said before looking back at Rose. "What are you going to colour? This cute little bug?" She asked her, watching her grab a few markers to start colouring.
"I, um…" Branch stuttered, shocked at the request. No, not a request. He couldn't believe the demand she gave him. "I've never.." He mumbled as he tried to find words to speak.
Poppy looked up at Branch, leaning against the table. She noticed his face was flushed as he nervously played with his fingers, causing her to giggle at his reaction. She walked over to him, seeing his face turn brighter with every step she took. She stopped a couple steps away from him, noting to herself that he hadn't stepped away from her. "You said you would show me the scars." She said softly, not wanting to startle him.
Branch stopped when he realized what she meant, blushing more as he rubbed the back of his neck nervously at his mistake. "Oh, right. That." He looked away sheepishly. He glanced over to see Rose was focusing on her book. He nodded toward the couch and walked over with Poppy following close behind.
Poppy watched as Branch sat down. She sat down next to him as she noticed he was still nervous. "You don't have to show me if you aren't comfortable with it, Branch. You can show me another time." She said, despite wanting to know how he got every one.
He shook his head. "No, it's fine. I'm just, not used to showing them." He explained. He slowly moved so his back was waving her and slowly took off his vest.
Poppy couldn't help but stare at Branch. Her eyes followed the edge of his vest as it fell off his shoulders, revealing light blue marks on his back with a few dark blue ones mixed in. Her eyes fixed on his back, but sat there unspoken.
Branch glanced back at her as he placed his vest on the back of the couch. "The light marks are older scars. The darker ones are more recent ones, they're from building the bunker and stuff." He explained, staring straight ahead of him.
Poppy stared at his scars. She never realized that the different shades on his back were scars. She rarely sees him without a vest, and when he is, his back is away from everyone. Her hand slowly raised her hand to gently touch a large light blue streak on his right shoulder, feeling him tense up at her touch. She felt him relax as her hand slowly made its way along the scar. As she moved her hand the fuzz slowly revealed the light blue healed skin. She could tell this one was the deepest. "This one looks bad." She whispered.
He was silent for a moment as he stared at the wall. "It was caused by a stick." He answered. He knew she understood what it meant, and didn't need further explaining. Someone hit him with a stick.
Poppy nodded, staring at the different scars she found. Most were small ones caused by rocks, a few longer ones caused by sticks. Her eyes couldn't leave his back as she examined every centimetre of his back, silently tracing each scar she came across. She soon placed her hand on his shoulder as she looked up to him. "Almost all of them look old." She stated.
"I learned to block the rocks and stuff with my hair after a couple years. I used to have a lot of trouble controlling my hair when I first turned grey, so most of the scars are from when I was under ten. I learned to use my hair as a shield. Not long after that I started facing them head on and that caused them to back off mostly." He explained, glancing back at her to see her staring at him. "Most of the other scars I have are from building the bunker. I learned very fast that I needed head protection." He said as he parted his hair on the left side of his head, revealing a blueberry sized scar. "Only needed to have that happen once before I learned that it's always better to be safe."
Poppy looked at the top of his head, giving a small smile. "So you've always been mister safety." She teased.
"Anything to keep me from going to the medical pod. I always hated going there. I learned how to treat my own injuries after a while. I bought books on the best medical plants and their uses and stuff like that." He turned so his back was against the couch. "I have some on my hands from the few fights I have, some from building as well." He said as he showed her his knuckles and fingers. "I have some on my feet as well from foraging and building. My hands and feet are rougher and more calluses compared to others." He explained as he stared down at his hands.
Poppy sat quietly as she listened to him talk, smiling as she took his hands in hers. "I like your hands." She said softly. "I know you're not very comfortable with the scars, but I like them. They show you have gone through something and came out stronger." Poppy watched as he looked up at her. "You're scars tell the story of you. They show you struggled at first to build your home, but learned to overcome obstacles and build this place. They tell me that you were hurt by others, but learned how to protect yourself." She explained as she smiled at him. "I understand why you always want to be safe now."
Branch stared at Poppy, his mouth open as he listened. "I never...thought about them that way." He looked down at his hands again.
"Your hands may be rougher than others, but it shows how hard you worked with them." She moved closer to him, her hands slowly going over his shoulders. "Your hands are you, and I love them. I always feel safer with you." She said before placing her lips on his. She immediately felt him kiss her back as his hands went to her waist, pulling her closer to him. Her hand went to the back of his head as she deepened the kiss.
A sudden noise between them caused them to pull apart. Branch looked at her confused for a second. "Was that your stomach?" He asked.
Poppy blushed as she giggled. "I missed lunch, so I'm starving! What are we making for dinner?" She asked as she stood up, her hand swiftly grabbed his vest before he could reach it. She quickly walked to the kitchen as she put his vest on, glancing back at him to see his confused expression.
"Why are you wearing my vest?" He asked.
"It's comfy!" She sang as she skipped into the kitchen and looked into the fridge.
Branch smiled and let out a small sigh as he stood up and walked towards the kitchen. He stopped next to Rose and looked down at her picture. "How is the colouring going? It's looking good so far." He said, noticing her empty cup. "Do you want some more water?" He saw her shake her head and turned to a page in her binder. "Juice. Got it." He smiled and went to the kitchen, reaching over Poppy to grab the drink. "Give me my vest back." He smirked playfully as he got a giggle from Poppy who immediately ducked under his arm and out of his reach, gripping his vest tightly around her.
Branch turned around to see Rose staring at him. He knew what she was staring at and walked back over to her. "Do you know what those are?" He asked her softly, seeing her shake her head. "Those are scars. The long ones are from other trolls hitting me with sticks, and some smaller ones by rocks." He explained, seeing her eyes widened. "They didn't like that I was different from them. There are some trolls out there like Jay, who don't understand. They don't understand why we are different colours, and they may try to be mean to you. If anyone is ever mean to you and tries to hurt you, you come find me. Okay? I don't want anyone to hurt you, Rose. It can be if they're saying mean things about you, or hurting you physically, you come tell me." He said softly.
Rose starred up at him, a frown plastered on her face before she crawled up onto the table. She quickly wrapped her arms around him, nodding against his shoulder. She quickly moved away from him, staring at him worriedly. He looked back at her confused for a moment, before chuckling. "They're all old scars. They don't hurt, you don't have to worry about that. Come here." He picked her up and brought her back for another hug, feeling her tightly hold him. Branch gently rubbed Roses back as she snuggled into him, hearing a soft sigh from the kitchen. He looked over to see Poppy watching them.
Poppy grinned when he looked over. "You're both so cute!" She said, seeing Branchs face grimace in embarrassment from the comment. "Why don't you two come help me with dinner?" She said, seeing Branch stand up with Rose and made their way to the kitchen to help. Poppy couldn't help but soften her smile as she watched Branch and Rose happily help her.