A little fluff before we get into the nitty gritty.

OoOoOo

Poppy woke up feeling more comfortable than she had in days. It probably had to do with the warm body pressed intimately against hers.

She smiled, craning her head to get a look at Branch's sleeping face. He was so cute when he was asleep! She leaned forward, gently pressing her lips against his crow's feet. He was self-conscious about them, not that Poppy knew why. They were adorable, especially the way they changed with his expression! She loved every inch of Branch, his wrinkles were no exception.

He groaned. "Poppy," he complained, eyes still closed.

She giggled. "Sorry," she said unapologetically. She snuggled closer to him, thoroughly enjoying his relatively newfound warmth. Before regaining his colors, Branch had always been cool to the touch. The few times she had managed to make contact with him (before being pushed away), she had been shocked at how little body heat he'd possessed.

That couldn't be further from the truth now. She liked to call him a furnace because he was always so warm.

Branch sighed, pressing his face into her hair. "How do you feel?" he asked lowly.

Poppy sniffed, the memories from earlier (yesterday? She had no idea how much time had passed) rushing to her all at once. She couldn't get Viva's hurt expression or Branch's angry words out of her head. She had done that; they had been upset because of her. "Fine," she answered quietly. "I'm fine."

Branch frowned. "Poppy-" But he cut himself off, a thoughtful expression crossing his face. He was quiet for a while, so long that she thought he might have fallen back to sleep. Then, "Do you remember how we first met?"

Of course she did! How could she ever forget?

Poppy sang at the top of her lungs, skipping through the forest as she often did. Her dad was usually there to stop her before she got too far, but the five-year-old had managed to slip away while he was preoccupied with helping some other trolls. She was almost afraid he would be mad at her, but as long as she got back before he noticed, everything would be okay!

Except... Poppy stopped skipping as she realized she had entered a part of the forest she had never been to before. But that was okay! She could just turn around and make her way back to the village! Right?

"You're being too loud."

Poppy jumped, squealing a little. She had thought she was alone! She blinked, turning to see a boy a little older than her. He didn't look like any troll she had ever seen before, his skin was a murky gray and his hair was completely black.

But nothing about his appearance was off-putting to the young princess; he must have been a different kind of troll! Like Cooper or Legsley. "Hi!" she greeted. "I'm Poppy, what's your name?"

But the other troll scoffed. "Doesn't matter," he grunted. "You're too loud, the Bergens might hear us."

The Bergens? But that was silly! "There aren't any Bergens," she told the older troll. "My daddy told me! He made sure everyone was safe!"

The gray troll's expression changed for a split second. "Is your dad... King Peppy?" he asked carefully.

Poppy beamed, pleased he recognized her father. "Yeah! We never have to worry about the Bergens again!"

But the other troll slapped his face, which she thought was silly. Why would he do that? "You're the princess then..." he murmured. He sighed. "You shouldn't be out here. Your dad's probably worried."

She nodded in agreement. "I know! I got lost." Her eyes brightened with realization. "Can you help me get back?"

The troll looked like he would rather do anything else. But he groaned. "Fine," he agreed reluctantly.

Poppy cheered. "Yay!" She attached herself to his arm, holding it tight.

He tensed. "What are you doing?" he demanded. He squirmed a bit in a half-hearted attempt to get her to let go.

But she was unperturbed. "To make sure I don't get lost!" she told him.

The troll grunted, but stopped trying to shake her off. "Let's just go." He started walking, practically dragging her along back towards the village. Her little legs struggled to keep pace with his.

But Poppy wasn't called the most positive troll for nothing. "What's your name?" she asked again.

"...Branch," he finally told her.

She grinned. "Nice to meet you, Branch!" she said loudly. "Do you wanna come to by birthday party?"

"Shh!" Branch scolded her. "And no, I don't like parties."

He might as well have said the world was ending. "You don't like parties?" demanded Poppy. That was unheard of! Everyone liked parties!

"No."

Poppy pouted, but didn't argue. Maybe he was just shy? Yeah, that had to be it. That was okay! It just meant she had to keep trying. She could even make him his own special invitations so he could feel special!

Poppy giggled at the memory. "I took it as a personal challenge," she declared, beaming. And so had started her lifelong mission to get Branch to be her friend.

Branch rolled his eyes at her. "You don't have to tell me twice," he replied. "Do you know how hard it is to get glitter out of clothes? And how did you even get that confetti bomb in here?"

She laughed even harder; she had managed to stick it into his eye slot when he hadn't been home. "Skills of the trade, Branchifer." She blew a raspberry against his cheek, then nuzzled her nose against his face. "It was worth it, right?"

His gaze softened. "Every bit of it." He cupped her face, placing a kiss on her forehead so gentle it made her knees weak. "I brought it up because... you saved me, Poppy."

Poppy's face flushed. "Branch," she half-scolded, giggling in embarrassment. Sometimes he just said these sweet, intimate things that threw her off-guard. She had to admit, though, she adored his attention.

Branch chuckled. "I'm serious," he promised her, looking at her like she was the most precious thing in the world to him. "I know I pushed you away, I know I acted like I didn't want you around. But honestly? I looked forward to seeing you every day. I-" He paused for a second, then stood up.

Her eyebrows drew together. "Branch?"

But he gravitated towards his desk, rummaging through one of the drawers. He pulled out a stack of colorful paper and came back over to her, holding it out to her. "Here," he offered.

Still confused, Poppy took the stack. "What's this?" she asked, but her breath caught in her throat. Her invitations. The ones she had made him for every single party she had ever thrown from the time she was five. They were all here, all of them in perfect condition when she distinctly remembered him crushing quite a few of them. "Branch..."

Her vision blurred again, but not in the way it had earlier. The corners of her mouth turned up, even as her chin wobbled.

"I saved them," Branch confirmed, sitting back down next to her. "All of them."

Poppy looked up at him. "Why?" she asked, not quite understanding.

His kissed the bridge of her nose. "These were the only things anyone gave me since Floyd left," he told her. "I thought you were loud and annoying, but-" His head lowered a bit. "You were the only one who cared."

She couldn't help it, she lunged at him into a hug. "I'm so sorry, Branch. I'm sorry you were alone." It broke her heart every time she thought about it. Her Banch, just a baby, alone and abandoned by everyone in his life.

While she sometimes condemned her past actions concerning him, she was glad she had been there for him in some way.

Branch caught her and kissed the crown of her head. "I know." He gently nudged her back, sapphire pools looking deep into her eyes. "But that's not why I'm telling you this, Poppy. I'm telling you this because... I'm scared for you."

Poppy blinked. "Scared for me?" she repeated. What did he mean by that? Just because she was having a hard time right now didn't mean that she was in danger. Why would he be afraid?

He nodded. "You're pushing us away," he told her. "I know you don't mean to, but you are." He gently cupped her cheeks. "You gotta let us in, Poppy. You gotta let us help."

She glanced away, feeling much too warm under his gaze. "I don't-" She choked over her words. "I don't know how." Whenever she had bad feelings, she shoved them away. She was supposed to be happy. She was the most positive troll, the person every Pop Troll depended on for happiness.

How was she supposed to admit that she hadn't felt very positive for a while now?

Branch gave her a sad look. "That's okay," he assured her. "We'll figure it out like we always do. Okay?"

Tears rolled down her cheeks, but Poppy gave her boyfriend her brightest (watery) smile. "Okay."

OoOoOo

I wish someone loved me even half as much as Branch loved Poppy. Next chapter will be the heavier stuff.