Branch woke up the next morning with a big blush on his face. He dreamed he and Poppy had… continued things in the kitchen. He vividly remembered adjusting her against the counter, grazing his teeth to her neck, and making her moan out his name.

It's no wonder he had to go straight for a cold shower, not before checking his sleeping queen that was sprawled on her back completely oblivious to his feverish dreams. He closed the bedroom door to make sure she wasn't disturbed in the safety of her own bed.

It took him a while to get rid of the thoughts. When he was harvesting fresh tomatoes in his garden Holly dropped by and asked if he had seen Poppy. He stuttered madly when he tried to come up with excuses to say she was fine, in the bunker… still sleeping.

"Oooh," Holly raised her eyebrows with a knowing look. "So Poppy stayed over, uh."

"It's not what you think!"

Then it was Val's turn to show up, surprisingly in the morning, looking like she wanted to be still in bed, but she was also looking for Poppy.

"Really bad case of cramps," Val mumbled, nearly walking over the sharp nails that Branch was hammering into a wooden board.

"Watch out, Val!" He had to take everything off the floor before the groggy girl stepped all over his work.

"Tell Poppy I'm canceling everything today." Barely being able to stand, Val also had a bit of drool on her chin. "Tell her to play dress-up by herself." And Val walked out, muttering something about how stupid dressing up was anyway and leaving a survivalist completely confused.

The stage was done for Poppy's gift-wrapping class before noon and he wondered if she was already up or if he was supposed to find a substitute teacher.

Perhaps working on her schedule (as he promised the night before) was going to be a bit more challenging than he had thought.

Meanwhile, Poppy sat up in bed with a jolt. Oh, cupcakes! She had slept in! Throwing the blankets in the air, she quickly opened the wardrobe, gladly finding one of her blue dresses that she quickly slipped on.

"Branch!" She opened the bedroom door, but she didn't see him anywhere. Her hug-watch showed that she barely had time to have breakfast.

She knew her boyfriend was out there doing what he had promised - taking care of her schedule. She wouldn't feel as revigorated if he wasn't there supporting her.

Hot coffee was on a thermos in the middle of the kitchen table. Two pieces of bread with honey were on a plate and a jar with orange juice was displayed for her.

The hurry vanished as she melted into a smile. The queen had the sudden urge to hug her boyfriend for his kindness.

So, late or not, it was fair to sit down and enjoy the meal he had prepared for her, right?

Branch checked his watch. Was it possible that Poppy was still sleeping? It was understandable that she was tired after three days of lack of proper sleep, but she wouldn't miss one of her favorite classes, right?

The sun was high in the sky and the weather was getting progressively warm. It was going to be a hot afternoon. The bushes were starting to even look pink from all the sunlight and…

Pink?

The survivalist carefully approached to observe those odd bushes and, as he got closer, he could see that those weren't plants, but a familiar hair that he loved so much.

"Oh, Poppy, I thought you had lost track of time!" Branch exhaled in relief.

The pink hair moved. Branch stopped walking and stared at the troll who turned to stare back at him. Big hair, star-shaped earrings, pants, bracelet, and… gum?

"Oh my Hair," she rolled her eyes and tapped her foot impatiently. "You're not Cocky Branch."

"Cocky Branch?" He echoed. Information received and processed. "Are you Pushy Poppy?"

"Duh," she smirked, "and I'm just like regular Poppy… only better."

"O….Kay." He had to tell Lownote he found her! Who knew what kinds of terrors could happen if Pushy Poppy stayed there? Unbalanced dimensions, maybe? But… if he left then… she'd run away again.

"So unassertive." She yawned, completely annoyed by his presence. "I could push you around so easily it wouldn't even be fun. Unlike my boyfriend," Pushy slightly blushed at the thought. "He's a lot of fun. I try to push him, then he resists and gets all cocky on me, and then I get all Pushy again… yeah. Not boring as you."

Right. Branch chose to ignore the insults, after all, practical matters had to be prioritized. Especially if their universe's imminent collapse was at stake.

"I guess, I'll just…" he had a trap somewhere in the tree right behind her. If he could get her to step into it...

"Hahaha! Don't move, elves!" Oh no, Branch facepalmed and spun on his heels to find Mary standing directly behind him looking as adorable as ever.

"Elves?" Pushy half laughed, "I kind of like it and still feel insulted. Uh."

Branch started to panic.

"You are on my way, girl!" Mary yelled, "I must find their leader."

"Well, duh. I was trying to find Poppy myself before this diffident and boring Branch stepped in my way." Hands-on hips and looking defiant, Pushy turned to a nervous survivalist who wondered if his traps were enough to get the two villains in one net.

"Fear not, pop babies." A chill ran through Branch's spine.

He knew that voice. How could he forget a delicious honeymoon hallucination?

Still… it wasn't the best of times to recall being sushi.

"Chaz?" Well, now Branch certainly didn't have enough traps to capture them all.

Was Poppy already in class? He had to find her so they could fight together! Or run and hide for their lives. Or she could work her way around the villains with her administration skills. Or hug them… or make friends with them … not a good idea, but she had to know about the peril, anyway!

"So, you want to mess with them, too?" Pushy Poppy asked Chaz.

"Oh, we could join forces!"

"It would be faster if we worked together," Chaz wondered, "today is my saxophone's birthday. We must get it over with soon."

Oh, Hair.

"POPPY!"

No. Poppy would never learn! Branch had to hold his tongue during that stupid 'share-ball' idea and almost puked when Chaz seemed to hit on the girls - very badly, by the way. That was when the aquamarine troll decided that, as much as he disagreed with her plans, he had to stay around to ensure she didn't get in trouble.

Poppy, trouble, and crazy plans filled with positivity were a mix that he was very familiar with. So he stood his grumpy attitude next to her and literally watched her give them evil lessons. It was surreal to him. The girl who was hugging him the night before, all worried about the nightmares that plagued his sleep for more than a decade now was speaking of malevolent conquers!

Perhaps Poppy needed to have her head checked. After training the villains, Dr. Moonbloom was definitely getting a royal visit.

Hair! His face was starting to hurt. How long it was since he tried to sustain an angry and frowny face, again? It was getting a little difficult since he was pleased that the trio had finally given up and left.

"So… finished helping the bad guys conquer us, yet?"

"No. But I think I know a way to get them back together."

"Oh, no." Branch rolled his eyes. It was getting too far. "Poppy, could you please give up? You were all tired last light because you worked too hard helping your friends and now you're working too hard helping our enemies!"

"I won't wear myself out," She paused and looked back at him with a small smile.

"Oh, no. Whatever it is, I am not participating. Don't dare bat your eyelashes at me." He replied, channeling his bergen-obsessed self to show her he meant it. Or maybe he didn't. Because she was blinking at him that way, it was breaking his resolution!

"But as you said, I am getting tired and with your help, it would be so much faster to get them to be better people." She dared to lean close!

"Nope."

"I was thinking of a song… and you sing so beautifully… like angels come down from the sky just to hear your voice. It's so divine and you look so… attractive when you're holding a mic." …and she finger-walked her way up to his arm to boo his nose. She was close. So close that he remembered their hug in the kitchen the night before.

"You're devious…" He groaned, completely defeated.

"... maybe I'm more confident with my boyfriend by my side."

Yes. They were singing a duet. To help villains.

He had it bad.