The amount of comments I got last chapter was unreal! Thank you all so much!

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Sometime after Viva showed up, Branch blacked out again.

When he woke up, he was met with two magenta orbs prying gently into his soul. "Branch!" Warmth. It spread from the top of his head to the tips of his toes. It was like the sun coming out after a terrible storm, only one hundred times over. Her hug was a blanket of love and comfort and presence, he hadn't realized how much he'd missed it. Missed her.

Branch, slowly, wrapped his arm around the small of her back. "Poppy," he murmured, half in awe, half in disbelief. "Poppy." A dry sob escaped the back of his throat, a weight he hadn't even noticed lifting off his chest. She was... she was here. With him. She was okay, she-

She was trembling.

His eyebrows drew together with worry. "Poppy?" he asked, immediately beginning to panic. His grip on her tightened; was she hurt?

But Poppy pulled away, looking at him with shiny eyes. "You... Your color," she pointed out, cupping his cheeks while tears streamed down her own. "I'm so sorry Branch. I'm sorry I wasn't there."

She was sorry? It didn't make sense in his head. He was the one who should be apologizing, he was the one who failed. "I'm sorry," he insisted. "I just let Creek take you, I didn't even realize you were gone until Viva-"

She shook her head so fast he was afraid she'd get whiplash. "That wasn't your fault," she retorted. "I was the stupid one, I should have known-"

"Or how about it's neither of your faults and the only ones to blame are the two psychos behind all of this?" suggested Viva, materializing in the doorway. It was then that Branch realized he and Poppy were in Rhonda laying on John Dory's bed. Their siblings must have brought them back here, after-

"Is everyone okay?" he blurted, his stomach churning uncomfortably. He would never forgive himself if her or his brothers got hurt because he was stupid.

Viva gave him a grin. "Come on, you think those two could take me?" she teased, kissing her first. "Viva la Viva, baby!" Branch was relieved that Creek and Daisy hadn't given her much- if any- trouble. Though, he should have expected it; she was a fighter.

But instead of the giggle he expected, more tears streamed down Poppy's face. "Viva!" she blubbered, yanking her older sister onto the bed with them. She gripped Viva tightly- even by Poppy's standards- and he was almost afraid she would hurt the older troll.

But Viva took it in stride, embracing her back. "I'm so glad you're okay," the blond murmured into pink hair. "I don't know what I would have done if, if they-" She couldn't finished her sentence, instead her head raised up and her eyes met Branch's. Without a word, she extended her other arm towards him.

Something inside him shook and he fell into the hug. The sisters wrapped him in a loving, warm, bone-crushing embrace. For the first time since Poppy had gone missing, he felt at-ease.

Viva pulled away, pinching both their cheeks. "Your brothers are dealing with the traitors," she explained, face darkening temporarily at the mention of Creek and his mom. But it was gone in an instant. "I hate to ask, but do you mind telling me the story with Creek? We couldn't get it out of either of them."

Poppy opened her mouth, but closed it to glance at him. I'll won't tell if you don't want me to, her eyes promised. He wasn't sure when exactly they had started speaking without words, but things had been like this between them for a while.

Branch tilted his head. You can tell her, came his silent reply. I trust her.

And it seemed Poppy got the message because she smiled and took his hand before launching into the whole story. Viva already knew the gist of it; the village was kidnapped by Chef before Bridget managed to free them. But she didn't know he and Poppy had gone to rescue the Snack Pack on their own. She didn't know they had risked everything to save Creek.

She didn't know Creek had spat that in their face by selling out the whole village. Nor did she know that Branch had returned Poppy's colors while earning his own back.

To Viva's credit, she stayed quiet through the whole thing which was so unlike her. But when Poppy finally finished, she brought them both into another hug. "I'm so sorry," she said. "That must have been so hard."

Branch hadn't realized how much he needed to hear those words.

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Viva left shortly after that to help deal with Creek and tell his brothers he was awake.

Branch must have been tense because Poppy gently kissed the crow's feet surrounding his left eye. "Branch, they aren't mad at you," she assured them.

"They should be," he replied, burying his face in his knees. They were sitting side-by-side on the bed, her ankle wrapped comfortingly around his. "I... I really messed up, Pops. They were only trying to help and I yelled at them. What if I ruined everything?" What if they're angry? What if they leave again?

"You didn't," Poppy promised, taking his hand. "They love you." She pressed her cheek against his. "Family's hard, y'know? Especially ours. Those feelings are normal, sweetie. Viva has them... I have them."

Branch blinked, looking at her in surprise. "You do?" he asked. He wasn't expecting that, not from the paradigm of positivity herself. Poppy always seemed like she had a good handle on her negative emotions.

She huffed sharply through her nose, her ears flicking like they always did when she was annoyed. "I love my dad, but sometimes I wanna shake him," she admitted. "He didn't tell me about other trolls and that was whatever, I solved it. But he also didn't tell me I had a sister. I'm mad at him for it, especially because it hurt Viva's feelings. So I told him that."

"...Really?" She held Peppy in such high regard that he had never guessed she'd ever confront him like that. Usually, she let his insanity roll off her shoulders.

Poppy giggled. "Really," she answered. "Maybe you could have been nicer about it, but they needed to know. And I think you should talk to them again, properly this time."

Branch squeezed his eyes shut. "What if I mess it up again?" he asked softly.

She gently rubbed his aching head. "You won't. As long as you're real with them, nothing bad will happen. Okay?"

"Okay," he agreed. She had this way of giving him hope where he would have had none. He was so grateful to have her in his life. "I love you."

Poppy smiled. "I love you too." She made to get up, but winced, stumbling back down onto the bed.

Concern flooded his senses. "Are you hurt?" he asked frantically, suddenly feeling terrible for not checking before. He scanned her over for injuries and noticed a few bruises hiding under her dress and cuts along her arms and legs. "Muses, Poppy, what did he-?"

"He didn't get me too bad," she said quickly. "I just... made him mad a lot? I don't remember a bunch other than yelling at him the whole time. I know that I almost got away at Hole N' Fun before he drugged me with something."

So Floyd had been right. But her recount of the events made Branch angry all over again. "Is it messed up that I hope Viva and Clay kill Creek and his mom?"

Poppy snorted. "Yes," she answered. "But understandable, they're awful." Her eyes turned sad. "I know he betrayed us, but this? I never thought he was evil enough to do something like this. It's like... I don't even know him anymore. I'm starting to think I never did."

Branch gently wrapped his arms around her. "Some people are good at hiding who they really are," he told her. "I knew he was a passive aggressive narcissist who thought his shit didn't stink-"

"Branch!"

"-But not even I thought he was such a dick. He had us all played, Poppy, not just you."

She sighed, laying her head on his shoulder. "Everything's gonna be okay now though, right?"

"Yes," answered Branch without hesitation. He would make sure of it. Nothing like this would happen again, he didn't care what he had to do to ensure that.

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They're so cute I just wanna squeeze them.