The First Fight

Branch's eyes stung. He couldn't cry anymore yet his heart said he still needed to. He spent the last two days in his bunker. At least he thought it had been two days. He wrapped himself in his blanket and turned to his side. The picture of him and Poppy stared back at him. He wanted to feel like the Branch in the picture, but he felt miserable. He wished he would've handled himself differently a few days ago. He and Poppy had a fight. They had plenty of disagreements before. Arguments yes. Banter yes. This wasn't the case this time, he had hurt Poppy's feelings. This was a true fight. Their first one. Since their first sleepover, Poppy and Branch had designated days for when they slept over at each other's places. Poppy was supposed to come over last night, but she didn't. No matter how upset Poppy was she always followed through on plans, not this time. This made Branch realize how serious this was. Poppy was really upset with him.

**A Few days ago**

Branch had been making his rounds in the village. Something seemed amiss. The trolls were acting strange. It took him a second, but then he realized, he didn't see Poppy out and about like she normally was. He overheard some conversations from other trolls that Poppy seemed a little off during the morning song and wasn't 100% attentive as she normally was. Hearing this, Branch started to feel concerned. This wasn't like her at all. He checked the normal spots where she would be, but she wasn't there. When he decided to check her pod, the door was slightly open. He felt relieved when he saw Poppy asleep at her desk, but found it strange that she was here. He went in and lightly touched her.

"Poppy?"

"Hm..5 more minutes Dad."

"Poppy, it's Branch." He rubbed her shoulder a little more.

Poppy stirred a little. She gave a huge yawn. "Oh Branch, hey. What…" She looked around and realized she was in her pod. "How did I get here?"

"I could ask you the same, are you ok? You were sleeping at your desk. The trolls thought you were a little off during the morning song. Are you feeling sick?"

"No Branch I'm fine! I guess I didn't get much sleep last night. I was planning some new ideas for Brozones' next concert!"

Branch was confused. "What?"

She pulled out a scrapbook. "Here take a look, I came up with some ideas for songs, costumes, and hairstyles. I think Floyd would look great with glitter in his hair!"

"How long have you been working on this?"

"Hmm..maybe a week or so. We have a concert coming up and I want to help in any way I can!"

"Well, that's very nice Poppy but um…I couldn't help but notice that the trolls seem a little stressed out there."

"Oh! I know I've been a little occupied, but once this show is over things will be normal again. They understand."

"Uh..Poppy, don't you think the village is more of a priority right now? They need their Queen and it sounds like you haven't been there for them."

Poppy took notice of Branch's words. She was still very sensitive when receiving criticism of her job performance, but she wasn't expecting her boyfriend of all trolls to be saying this.

"What do you mean? Of course I have! Everything is under control."

"You've been in here, too tired to even get out the door. Everyone's in a frenzy like they're going to die, does that sound like things are under control to you?"

"I think you're being a little dramatic Branch."

"No Poppy, I'm being real with you and right now you're not being a very good Queen."

The stunned silence was felt by both of them. Whoa, poor choice of words. Branch knew as soon as those words left his mouth that he was in for it. He could tell by her face that she didn't like what he said. Her eyebrows started to furrow. He needed to act fast before this got out of hand, but he felt it was already too late.

"Great feedback Branch, what else? Am I a terrible girlfriend too?" Poppy snapped back.

"I'm trying to help you set your priorities straight, I just don't want you to be overwhelmed."

"I'm not overwhelmed!"

"Maybe not today, but when all the things you need to do for everyone keep piling up, you're not going to feel so great."

"Maybe you don't know what I can handle."

Branch was starting to feel inpatient now. She wasn't getting it. "I don't know why you're even doing this stuff for the concert, it's not even your band!" Welp, so much for not making it worse. Poppy stood there with her mouth agape. She felt her head spinning and like she had been kicked in the stomach.

"You-You asked me to join…"

"Well clearly I made a mistake. Poppy, it's obvious you can't balance both and it's starting to show. Everyone is noticing it. You're neglecting your own kingdom, it's very selfish." That did it. He knew he went too far when she started to cry. Oh no! What the hell had he done? He didn't mean for it to go this far. His heart was breaking at the sound of her sobs and he was the one who caused it.

"Poppy-god, I didn't mean-"

Her face was buried in her hands, but her sobs were still coming through. He felt frozen, he didn't know what to do. He placed his hands on her arms.

"Poppy…"

"Don't touch me! Get away from me!" He immediately backed up. He still wanted to fix this, but he didn't know how.

"Please Poppy, tell me what I can do."

She rose up from her hands and was struggling to get her words out. " I don't want to see you right now, leave me alone." It was the last thing she said before she buried her face again to cry again. Branch, still feeling frozen, respected her wishes and left her pod.

**Back to the present**

Thinking about how he talked to Poppy made Branch's heart hurt again. He wanted to cry again, but nothing would come out. He was dry. He really wanted to find Poppy and tell her he was so sorry, beg her for her forgiveness, make it up to her. The last few days without her made him appreciate how much she meant to him. He was so afraid that if went to find her, she would want nothing to do with him. Maybe that's what he deserved. It seemed like her mind was already made up with the fact she didn't come by the last few days. He shut down that thought quickly, she didn't owe him anything. Branch was in the wrong so he had to be the one to reach out, not her. How could he though? He thought he would just make things worse.

"Branch?" A voice called out. He didn't recognise it as Poppy's. He sat straight up! Who had come in here?! What were they doing here? His facial expression relaxed when he saw it was Floyd.

"Floyd? How did you get in?"

"You didn't make it easy, that's for sure. I hope that was ok. I haven't seen you around in a few days, so I wanted to check on you."

"I don't deserve to be checked up on." He covered himself back up with his covers. Floyd stood back for a second, he was still learning about Branch's behaviors. Floyd wasn't sure if he was going to cross a boundary, but he had to try. He sat on the edge of Branch's bed.

"Do you want to talk about it?" Floyd asked.

Branch sighed. He sat up and looked at his brother. "I messed up Floyd, big time."

"What do you mean?"

"Poppy and I had a fight."

Floyd's eyes widened a little. "Oh, that's why she's been acting strange-oh sorry um…"

"She's been acting strange? What do you mean by that?"

"She just hasn't been herself, not her cheery self anyways."

Branch's face fell. "It's all my fault."

"What happened?"

"I was concerned she was spending too much time focusing on the band instead of the village. I said some harsh things and made her cry. I didn't mean for things to end up that way, she just wasn't understanding my concerns and I guess…I lost my patience."

Floyd nodded. "Do you think maybe you underestimate her ability to commit? I've seen her go above and beyond to get things done. She's a firecracker."

"I just don't want her to bite off more than she can chew. I mean you didn't see her, she was asleep at her desk when there were things to be done."

"I know Branch, but that's something she needs to figure out on her own. You can absolutely offer helpful advice, but you can't figure things out for her. Every single one of us has limits and knows how far we can go."

Branch sniffled. "You're right. I don't know how to make this better."

"I think a great first step would be to apologize, I'm surprised you haven't by now."

"She made it very clear she didn't want to see me. It's also because I'm afraid to find out the answer."

"The answer to what?"

"If our relationship is over."

Silence filled the air for a few minutes before Floyd responded. "It's not over until you or she says it's over."

"And what if it is?"

"Then…you'll know and can move on with your life. Don't give up hope though. You can always turn things around. However, you can't fix anything sitting in here, right?"

Branch nodded. Floyd continued. "So I want you to clean yourself up and get your Queen back. I think she'd appreciate a clean troll."

Branch laughed a little at that. He was very grateful that his brother broke into his bunker. It was the kick in his pants he needed. He shared a hug with him before Floyd wished him luck and went on his way.

Poppy had spent the last few days assuring her friends that she was fine, but she wasn't. She wanted to tell them what happened, but she didn't want them to go confront Branch. This was something the two of them needed to work out. Poppy reflected on what Branch had said. She knew most of the time he didn't mean what he said if he felt frustrated. Like when he was upset with his brothers and said that Poppy was just going to leave him too, but when he said he made a mistake by asking her to join the band that hit different. It was times like this where she wished she had her sister to talk to. Viva lived in the village part time, but she was in Putt Putt right now. She went to her other sister for advice, Bridget. Surely her and Gristle had been through something like this.

"Oh yeah, we get into arguments all the time! Sometimes over stupid things." Bridget reassured her.

"Has he ever told you that…you weren't a good Queen?" Poppy asked.

"Oh no, he'd be dead meat if he told me that! Did Branch say that to you?! Let me talk to him!"

"No Bridget, that's ok. You and Gristle have been married for a little while, how do you normally resolve these types of things?"

"It's not easy. Sometimes we're both very stubborn when it comes to admitting who was wrong. Our anger can fester up for days, but you know what the best part is? The makeup part."

Poppy started to turn red. "Oh um…I don't know if this applies in our situation."

"You mean you and Branch haven't…?"

"Bridget! Let's stay on topic here!"

"Right sorry, I've seen the way Branch looks at you Poppy. I know he loves you and feels terrible about what he did."

"I told him to go away. What if he took that literally?"

"Sometimes it's good to have space from your loved ones. That's why I have my pamper days, to focus on me and only me. I love My Gristle, but it's important to take a break."

Bridget's advice had been helpful. Since their fight, she spent time by herself. She told her Dad what happened. She expected him to scold her about putting her personal life aside of her professional one. Instead, he assured her he would help take care of the village's needs. He reiterated that she couldn't be a good Queen if she wasn't in her right mind. She used this time to put herself back together. Her friends respected that and gave her space too. Scrapbooks were filling her pod, all expressing how Poppy felt. She updated the big scrapbook with all of her adventures in them with the new one. Finding Branch's brothers and saving Floyd. It made Poppy's stomach churn a little, but it was still one of their adventures. It had to be scrapbooked. The one that she focused her attention on the most was the scrapbook of her and Branch, the Broppy book. She looked through it and reminisced in the pages in front of her: When they met, When she invited him to her parties, When they went to Bergen town together, When they helped the Bergens find a new holiday, When they set off to stop Barb's world tour, and their first holiday together.

Finally, she found the page where she and Branch were holding hands. Both of them were wearing crowns with their royal robes, surrounded by their fellow trolls. I told him it would be weird if we got married, she thought. It wasn't true though, she blurted it out because he caught her by surprise. Why didn't she agree with him? Now he probably didn't want to marry her anymore. He didn't think she was a good Queen so why would he want to be her King? She started to cry again, it was silent though. She was allowing her tears to fall on the pages.

"Poppy?"

She looked over. It was Branch standing at the doorway. Twiddling his thumbs. She immediately closed the scrapbook and wiped her tears away. She knew she wasn't hiding it well, but she tried to make herself look a little presentable.

"Can I come in?" He asked. She nodded and he came over to where she was on the floor and sat next to her. She didn't make eye contact with him, her eyes stayed on the ground. He didn't know how to start the conversation, this was very hard. He knew what he had to do though. He cleared his throat.

"Poppy. I'm so sorry for what I said. I was out of line. Sometimes I worry about whether all of this is too much for you to handle because you're only one troll. I was wrong though. You've proven time after time, you go all out for the ones you love with a smile and no complaints. Even if it's risky you bring people together. You are not a bad Queen and it was not a mistake asking you to be in the band. The only mistake was how I handled myself. These last few days, all I could think about was you. How I hurt you, the one I love. Hearing you cry in my head when I was the one who caused it. I don't deserve your forgiveness, but if you allow me, I promise I will never make this mistake again. I know we might have more fights along the way, but I will never stop fighting for you."

Poppy was looking at him now. Her stomach stopped twisting. She was reading his eyes. She knew he was genuinely sorry. She could tell by his face, he had aged a little from the guilt. Nothing some cool cucumber slices couldn't fix. She could feel herself starting to tear up again when she responded.

"You mean that? You'll never stop fighting for me?"

"I will fight for you until the day I die. I felt like my old grey self in your absence. I wouldn't have been who I am today if it wasn't for you."

She gave a small smile. "You were right though. I appreciate when you are real with me. I do get carried away and haven't been putting the village first this week."

"I didn't have to be so condescending about it. I admire all these things you do. It's a hard job, but you make it look so easy."

"If I'm being honest, the reason why I was doing extra stuff with the band is…I was trying to find my place in it."

"What do you mean?"

"The band is Brozone, you and your brothers. I'm not one of your Bros. So…who am I in this band? Just the girl who tags along with her boyfriend on the road?"

Branch understood what she meant. He felt the same way when Brozone started. He was just the baby of the group and that's all anyone saw for a long time.

"You're Poppy. The one who brought us back together. You are way more than just the girl who tags along. We're able to sing new songs we haven't before because we have you. You come up with great ideas and help improve our looks. Otherwise we'd be wearing those puffer jackets forever."

She gave a small laugh. She felt so much better. "Thank you Branch. Thank you for the apology too. I forgive you." They engaged in a huge hug. Everything felt ok. Branch wanted to hold her forever and not let her go.

She smirked. "So you missed me huh?"

"I did."

"Well I do have the rest of the day off for my mental health day…We could make up for the time lost."

Branch took Poppy up on the offer. They took a nice long nap together since they both hadn't had a good night's sleep in days. They both sighed happily feeling each other's warmth. In between naps, they scrapbooked their fight in the Broppy book. Both chucking while doing so. This would be something they'd look back on and laugh about. Poppy shared more ideas about Brozone's concert and Branch helped her sort through a list of what could be addressed in the village now and later on. Poppy was greatly appreciative of that. Branch thought if he was so smart that's what he would've done in the first place, but he reminded himself that every day was a new learning experience. They finished the rest of their day spooning. Branch played with Poppy's hair as she laid with him. Branch took a mental picture. He needed to remember if he ever felt frustrated with Poppy again not to lose his temper, or he could be losing out on all of this.

After Branch left Poppy's pod for the night, she went back to the Broppy scrapbook and found the page of her and Branch as King and Queen. She sighed happily and hugged the book to her chest. One day, she thought to herself. She was relieved he didn't find the page, not because what was on the page wasn't what she wanted. It just wasn't the right time yet. They still had many things to navigate in their relationship before they took this big step. She knew in time either herself or Branch would propose when they were ready. Marrying Branch would not be weird.

Hi guys! Very happy I was able to get another story out! Writing this made me shed some tears! Technically yes, World Tour was when they had their "first fight", but I wanted to explore their first fight as a couple. I wanted them to feel like their relationship was on the line because I know we've all been there! Don't worry, even if our lovely couple have fights, I know they will always make up. I promise the next story will be more uplifting, but I had to tug at a few heartstrings including my own. Stay tuned!

~Ash