-O-

Picturebook Romance

A Trolls fanfic

By Dreamsinger

Chapter Thirty-Four

Stroll Patrol

Poppy shivered. Normally the weather in Troll Village was mild, even at night, but coming from the constant temperature of the bunker made it feel a lot colder out than it probably was.

At least, that was what she told herself. Something was making her muscles feel so tight, after all. Poppy tried to shake off her tension, but for some reason she felt really wired, as if she'd had coffee at dinner. But she hadn't; she'd only had some water. Branch had wanted to make sure that they both drank plenty of water to rehydrate after spending all day out in the sun.

Thinking of her loving boyfriend brought a welcome sense of comfort, and the pink troll sighed in contentment. It's hard to believe I used to think he was way too overprotective, but after today… Let's just say that I'm learning to appreciate that about him.

And speaking of appreciation… She glanced admiringly at the strong, capable, oh-so-handsome troll who walked at her side, delicious heat filling her belly. I'm so glad I set up that surprise for him tomorrow, to show him just how much I appreciate him being in my life.

If anything ever happens to him, I don't know what I would do. Her smile disappeared at this unexpectedly disturbing thought, one of many lately that always seemed to catch her by surprise. Her body tensed up again, her belly clenched into a chilled, painful knot.

Suddenly there was a rustling sound off in the distance and Poppy stiffened, remembering the frightening walk she'd taken earlier while looking for Branch. She whipped her head toward the sound and thrust her arm protectively in front of her boyfriend, her round pink ears rigidly perked. "Stop!"

He stopped. "Poppy?"

"Shh!"

Suddenly he was in front of her, his own arms held out to the sides. His sharp eyes scanned the gray-toned, moonlit area suspiciously, flicking his own ears around. Poppy moved to stand back-to-back with him as she tried to pinpoint the source of the sound she'd heard.

What she heard were the gentle, sleepy sounds of nighttime, mainly various bugs and creatures singing. There were gentle lullabies, cheery melodies, and wordless nature calls; some high-pitched and sweet, some deep and mellow.

After a long minute when nothing happened, Branch glanced at her over his shoulder. "Poppy? What did you hear?" he asked in an undertone.

"I don't know."

"A predator? What kind of noise did it make?"

"It wasn't an animal noise. I heard… Leaves rustling…" Suddenly she felt silly. "It could have been the wind." Now that she recalled, it had been moderately windy all day.

As if to confirm her statement, a brisk breeze blew past them, riffling their hair and the nearby bushes.

"Yeah, must've been the wind. Sorry," she said sheepishly.

She watched his eyes move minutely as he studied her face for a long moment, but he only said, "That's okay. Better safe than sorry, right?"

They continued on, following a long, narrow trail around the large hill into which his bunker had been built. Poppy had actually broken into his bunker once near here, although normally no one bothered with this side of the hill because the surrounding vegetation was very harsh and thick. Besides, these days Branch was a lot easier to get ahold of when you needed him for something, or just wanted to visit him.

Poppy couldn't help but notice that he kept glancing at her as they walked, but not in a flirting sort of way; more as if he were carefully gauging her mood. It made her feel a little awkward, but after her recent erratic behavior, she supposed she couldn't blame him. When she was younger, she had often seen the same expression on the faces of other trolls when they were around Branch. This must be what he used to feel like.

Branch stopped abruptly. "We're here."

"'Here'?" she repeated in surprise. She looked around. "This isn't where I broke in the last time."

Poppy had tracked down that entrance by checking the grass for trails and then finding a concealed door in one of the enormous knobby tree roots nearby.

But the only trail here was the one they were walking on, which ran near a long bank of prickle bushes and kept going onward. She looked around them, but saw nothing that could be considered an entrance, not even a concealed one. The entire area was just a mass of prickle bushes against the base of the steep, grassy hill.

"Yes, here," Branch replied. "My toastybugs' den is near here. Remember, I said I needed to check on them to make sure they have enough food?" Branch pointed at the prickle bushes running along the hillside, then stretched out his hair to carefully part them, revealing a narrow, twisting passageway. "I transplanted all these bushes here to create a hidden maze," he said proudly.

"Ouch," Poppy joked, "That must've been a thorny problem."

Caught off-guard, Branch let out a big, happy laugh that pleased her immensely as he retracted his hair, letting the thin vines swish back into place. "Hey, your puns are getting better."

"Thank you!" She bounced on her toes and beamed at him, happy to the tips of her hair.

Branch gave her the sweet smile of pure affection that told her he thought she was being cute. She couldn't help but hug him, giving him a literal pat on the back for his efforts. Returning the compliment, she praised him, "A hidden maze is a great idea, Branch. I'm totally impressed."

She loved how he perked up, looking so proud of himself. "Thank you."

He asked her to leap from their path to the one inside the bushes. "Just use your hair to hold the vines away from your skin," he advised her. "And don't touch the ground. We don't want a trail in the grass revealing that there's an entrance here."

"Right. That's how I found your other entrance."

"I thought so. I'd been careless. You'll notice that there's no trail there now – I stopped using that entrance to let the grass reclaim that area."

She looked around. "I see. Or rather, I don't see." She giggled. "Get it?"

He smiled indulgently. "Yeah, yeah, I get it, Sunshine."

Branch led her through the maze slowly and carefully, teaching her the pattern so that she would be able to use this secret entrance on her own if she needed to, and she thanked him sincerely. He was giving her a gift, opening his home to her the same way he'd opened his heart.

He didn't seem to realize it, though. Actually, he was so matter-of-fact about it that she realized that of course his heart was the more precious of the two.

The prickle bush maze led to the base of the big hill, but Branch had yet another surprise. The sloping surface turned out to be a false wall laid over the real hillside, covered in dirt with real grass growing out of it. Now Poppy could see that there was a gap about a foot high between the false wall and the actual hillside underneath it.

Branch slipped his hand under the false wall and manipulated what must have been a catch or a lock, and then stepped back as the wall – door, really - lifted up on hinges, like a clamshell, exposing a troll-sized tunnel that led into the hill. "Awesome!" she exclaimed, proud all over again at his ingenuity. "Branch, you must be the best engineer in the entire village," she said warmly. "I've been here before and I had no idea this was even here."

"Thanks," he said, and something in his voice made her wonder if he was blushing. With the moon only at half-light, it was not quite bright enough to tell.

Aww, what a waste of a cute blush.

It was still light enough to see him clearly, but his colors were muted; something that always looked a little odd on most trolls with their highly-saturated colors, but up to now, she hadn't even noticed with Branch. Poppy tilted her head to the side. Actually… He looks just like the boy I grew up with, gray with midnight-black hair. My grumpy, guarded friend with the secret soft side. The troll I fell in love with.

She turned a sentimental smile on her boyfriend just as he said, "Okay, Poppy, I'm going to need you to wait here."

Her smile flipped upside down. "What? Why?"

"My toastybugs can be temperamental," Branch explained. "They're from the forest, not domesticated like the ones that live in Troll Village. They're much bigger and hotter. They're perfect for heating something as extensive as my bunker, but the downside is, they can be unpredictable. They can give you some pretty serious burns if they feel like it."

Normally she would have skipped right past him, waving a careless hand in the air and telling him he was being overcautious as usual, but today… A ripple of uneasiness passed through her belly. Maybe it wouldn't hurt to listen to his warning for once. "Okay."

"Now, Poppy, don't argue with – what did you say?" He sounded astonished.

"I said, okay, I'll wait here," she repeated.

"Poppy…" He ducked his head to study her face. "Are you feeling all right?"

She rolled her head to the side and gestured in the air. "Come on, Branch, it's not like I'm not capable of making rational decisions. You know your bugs, and I don't."

"Yeah…"

He sounded as if he were trying to find something wrong with what she'd said and she drew in a breath to call him out on it, but then he continued, "Well, anyway, it took some time, but I finally managed to establish a symbiotic relationship with them. I provide a safe den, food and medical care, as needed. The toastybugs live under the bottom level of the bunker. Since heat rises, they help keep my bunker at a constant temperature and heat the water that I pipe over their den, including the water that I divert from an underground stream for my sinks and bathing pool."

She brightened at the reminder. "Oh, right! You showed me your bathing pool earlier. I'm really looking forward to trying it out, when we take our bath together!" Baths with her friends were always more fun than bathing alone, and she would even get to see his fascinating body again.

"Only you would get excited over taking a bath," he teased her, but he was smiling now.

Her eager comment seemed to reassure him that she was perfectly fine. Which she was.

Branch said, "I have to leave this entrance partially open so they can come and go, which is kind of a security risk, but it's an acceptable one because the toastybugs actually make great guards. They're pretty territorial – that's why they generally won't leave as long as I give them food. It takes time for them to get to know and trust you, and it doesn't happen overnight. If they encounter an intruder, they can flare up big time and it can take them a while to calm down. So if we don't want to take our bath in boiling water, you need to stay here for now. We can get them used to you later, if you want. Okay?"

"I already said it was okay, Branch. Don't you believe me?" She put her fists on her hips.

Again he studied her carefully, then nodded.

She made a shooing gesture at him. "Go on, now. I'll be fine out here."

"Okay. Call if you need me." He disappeared into the narrow passageway, using the tips of his hair to light the way. She watched his light until he went around a curve and there was only darkness.

Instantly she wanted to run after him, shouting, "Wait for me!"

The queen of the trolls wasn't used to being the one left behind. She had always been a leader, always at the forefront of the action. He didn't even hug me before he left.

She sighed wistfully, rubbing a hand over her face. This is probably how Branch must have felt, being left out of everything. Even if it had usually been his own choice. She knew he really hadn't wanted to be excluded at all. He'd been listening to his fears, not his true desires. That was one reason that Poppy always made sure he came along on all her "crazy plans" these days.

The other, of course, was how much she enjoyed his company. There's just something sooo irresistible about Branch when he tries to deny himself fun. He held back and she enticed. He protested and she persuaded. It was getting easier every day, because deep down, he really did want to have fun. All trolls did.

She wondered how much of his reluctance was for real, and how much just a game they'd always played. Maybe he knew how good it felt to her, how deeply satisfying, to give him what he wanted and needed most, in spite of what he felt he ought to want.

Or maybe it was because he knew how special it made her feel when he finally gave in and responded to her charms, the way he did to no one else's. She raised an eyebrow and smirked. Maybe we've been flirting for longer than I thought.

Poopy let her mind drift back over their adventures, of days long past and more recent ones, smiling nostalgically as she recalled breaking into his bunker just so she could convince him to help her give the bergens a new holiday. She was glad she'd known then that there was more than one way to get inside his hidden home.

-O-

"You can never have too many emergency exits," he'd once told her in a rare moment of candor. Then he'd winced, holding out his palms pleadingly to her sixteen-year-old self. "But don't spread that information around, okay? Please? It's a security risk. I'm only telling you because you're my friend – uh, I mean, because you're the princess. You'll be glad to have a good place to hide when the bergens come back. Don't worry, I'll keep you safe."

"Yes, Branch. Thank you," she'd said dutifully, humoring him.

But Poppy had never forgotten that her grumpy friend had given her what amounted to an open invitation. It wasn't made from felt and glitter, but it was a sincere, caring offer nonetheless, and it had touched her deeply. She knew it could be hard for Branch to show that he cared, and she often reminded herself of that when his behavior was especially exasperating or hurtful. As far as she knew, he had never extended that invitation to anyone else.

Of course, she'd never actually been tempted to take him up on that offer. She'd promised him when she was twelve that she wouldn't try to invade his safe space, after all.

Also, in truth, she'd assumed that his bunker was just a boring little hole in the ground. Whenever she'd managed to peek into the dark void from which her friend came and went, she'd had the impression that it was no bigger inside than the average pod. She'd had no idea that what she'd been looking at was only the first level of an enormous multi-level complex, and obviously Branch had wanted it that way. He had only revealed his extraordinary secret when the bergens finally had come, keeping his own promise to bring her inside to safety.

-O-

His bunker turned out to be just what we needed after all. And it actually makes a pretty nice home, Poppy mused. Quiet, clean, safe-

A croaking trill right near her foot made her leap backward with a scream that turned into an "Ouch!" as a sharp sting raked across her calf.

The trill came again, and this time she recognized the call of a skronk, a harmless mushroom-shaped animal that used its natural camouflage to catch prey and hide from predators.

Her scratch smarted, but she resisted the urge to rub it, glaring at the skronk and then the nearby prickle bush that had attacked her. Everything's out to get me tonight. Her lower lip poked out plaintively. I want Branch. I want him to come to me with one of his healing salves and his nice, gentle hands.

Poppy curled one hand around the other, pressing them against her belly as she waited anxiously for her boyfriend. It can't be much longer, can it? Every leaf-rustle or snap of a twig in this unfamiliar place kept making her start, and then feel foolish.

Poppy, stop being so jumpy, she scolded herself. What is wrong with you? Of all the days for something like this to happen, just as Branch is finally opening up to you! Oh, why did you have to make such a stupid mistake right now?

Suddenly she noticed that her face felt strange and wrong and she reached up to find that she was scowling fiercely. The pink troll closed her eyes, put her face in her hands, and sighed. Come on, Poppy. This isn't right.

She didn't like the way she was thinking about herself. It wasn't healthy, and she knew it. She rolled her tight shoulders, feeling the muscles crackle as she tried to get perspective. Think of something positive, she told herself encouragingly. That's what you're always telling Branch, isn't it? Oh, of course. Branch! You can think of him.

Branch. Her best friend, her sweetheart, her soon-to-be lover. Her steadfast, trusty companion with the beautiful soul of a poet. How she loved to make him happy. How cute he'd been, almost preening with delight at her honest praise of his cleverness. It was at times like these that she remembered that Branch wasn't used to being praised, or appreciated.

Then the miserable, lonely boy from the journal she had read popped into her head, and all of a sudden she was sad, vowing yet again to be her man's greatest cheerleader. She had to blink really hard to make her eyes stop stinging.

Her emotions really were all over the place tonight.

-O-

Finally she heard him coming and her ears perked up. He was humming a beautifully complex melody, nimbly traversing through a range of complicated notes without mistake. Even in her impatience, Poppy went still, caught in a rush of sensual admiration. Her boyfriend's magnificent voice was as smooth and agile as he was.

She watched the sheen of light on the walls move closer, gradually resolving into her boyfriend's reassuringly solid form. The moment he emerged, the pink troll threw herself at him. "Branch!"

He stumbled back a step, extinguishing his hairlight and wrapping his arms around her to keep his balance. "Whoa! Poppy, what's wrong? What happened?"

"Nothing, silly, I'm just happy to see you!" she said excitedly, her face so close to his that their noses nudged. "I missed you."

"I missed you, too. But you know, I wasn't even gone ten minutes." His eyes narrowed. "Are you sure that nothing happened just now? Because you're being awfully huggy, even for you. Or is this just a normal part of troll courtship?"

On the spot, she let him go and tried not to fidget as she insisted, "Honestly, Branch, nothing happened. Well, I scratched myself on a thorn. Clumsy me, heh heh."

He looked concerned. "Where?"

She showed him and he knelt to examine the thin line of dark-magenta blood marring the side of her calf, its glitter-flecks glinting in the moonlight. He whistled and looked up at her sympathetically. "You're having a rough day today, aren't you?"

At the kindness in his tone and the way the moonlight made his beautiful blue eyes shine like the summer sky, she melted inside. Now he was acting like she wanted him to. "Yeah, but at least I have you to make it all better," she said without thinking.

He let out a note of amusement through his nose and at her look of indignation, stood up and reached for her hands. "Sorry. It was just – For a minute there you sounded like a romance novel. I didn't mean to laugh at you."

She pretended to pout, then giggled. "I guess I did." She put on a jaunty face. "Don't worry, Branch. It's just a scratch. I barely feel it."

Now that it had clotted, that was true. Troll skin was fairly tough, after all, which was a good thing since bare feet were so useful for all the active things trolls did.

"I'll put some salve on it when we get done with our bath. Poppy…you aren't normally clumsy. Did something hap-"

"Never mind that; what song were you humming just now?" she asked, partly to distract him, but also because she genuinely wanted to know. The swiftly rippling notes had sounded like a fun challenge.

His lips pursed in a thoughtful little frown. He searched her face, but she only gave him an eager grin, so finally he answered, "Just something else I've been working on. I haven't added words to it yet."

As he began to lead her back through the prickle bush maze, using his hair to carefully lift the stubborn, clingy vines well away from the trail, she suggested, "Hey, Branch… Maybe we could work on it together? If you don't mind. I'd love to learn it."

"Sure. I'd be happy to have your input. I'm still catching up when it comes to writing music."

Poppy recognized her chance to boost his confidence. "Maybe, but for singing, anyway, you sound fantastic! Especially for someone who's only been singing for less than a year," Poppy said enthusiastically.

Your grandma would be proud. She almost said it aloud, but held back at the last second. It wasn't sensitive to bring up singing and his grandma in the same breath, even though she knew the elderly troll would agree with her. Your grandson is the most wonderful troll in the village, Grandma Rosiepuff, and I'm going to love him enough for the both of us.

Instead she added, "You've got a lot of natural talent."

"Well, thanks." He smiled. "I discovered after I got my colors back that the toastybugs really like it when I sing to them," he commented, and underneath she sensed his pride in that fact. It made her glad to hear that he was still looking for ways to use the exquisite voice he'd suppressed for far too long.

"Well, next time we can both sing to them," she replied cheerfully. "It might be a good way for me to make friends with them. Let me try what you were singing just now." She took a deep breath, only to be stopped by a finger on her lips.

"Shh! No singing. Remember what the doctor said," he cautioned.

She rolled her eyes and then his finger moved slightly against her lips and she got distracted and began instinctively to kiss it, only for the tantalizing pressure to disappear.

Frustrated in more ways than one, she groaned, "Oh, Branch. I'm fine."

He frowned and started to argue with her, but then paused, a hint of slyness sliding across his face. He reached out to touch her face. "Please, Poppy?" His tone was tender and a little hesitant as he caressed her cheek. "Do what the doctor said… Just for tonight… Please? For me?"

She'd never seen him like this, all soft and plaintive, with big, shimmery eyes.

Her boyfriend's gentle stroking was sending tingles right down to her toes, threatening to drain her of all thought, but she tried to rally her fighting spirit. "But Branch, I want to… I want…"

What did I want again? For him to keep touching me like this?

His puppy-dog eyes were bad enough, but when his lower lip began to tremble, making him look for all the world like a wistful little trolling looking for a treat, she was lost.

"Oh…fine," she murmured, too full of warm fuzzies to be as annoyed as she wanted to be. "I suppose I can indulge you. Just for tonight."

"Thanks!" he said cheerfully. His hand left her face, and the spell was broken.

"Well, aren't you full of surprises today," she said, half admiringly. "Where did you learn to do that? You looked like a lost puppy."

"From you, of course. How many crazy plans have you talked me into over the years?" He chuckled. "It even worked on the Whizbangs earlier, when I asked them not to tell anyone about us."

She giggled. "I would've liked to see that. Nice to know I'm not the only one who's helpless to resist your charms."

He looked pleased. "Hey, I'm only doing it because I care." He winked at her.

How am I supposed to argue with that?

-O-

They were halfway to the village when something swung in front of her and attached itself to her shin. Poppy shrieked and kicked upward and whatever it was lifted off her leg and she struck it hard with the heel of her hand, whacking something small and fuzzy into a nearby tree, hard. It let out a surprisingly deep squeak as it hit the ground.

Branch let out a wordless exclamation and hurried over to the creature, which lay on its back with multiple slender legs crumpled in the air. It was a tarantapuff, a cute, harmless species of singing spider that loved to tickle trolls. "It's okay, you're okay…" Branch murmured soothingly as he stroked the fluffy green-and-purple body, checking for injuries.

Poppy watched anxiously. "Is it all right?"

The little creature got to its feet, and its mouth smiled as Branch gently scratched its back. "Yeah, thankfully," he reported and she sighed in relief. She heard a deep purring noise before Branch got to his feet and turned to her. "I think the proper question here is, are you all right?"

"What do you mean, Branch? I'm fine."

"No, you're not," both Branch and the tarantapuff said at the same time.

Branch gestured at their little visitor. "I know they can be annoying, but you didn't have to hit this poor tarantapuff so hard. You could have really hurt it. Their bones are a lot more fragile than ours, you know," he scolded.

"Yeah!" said the tarantapuff, scowling up at her.

"I know," she said contritely. "I'm really sorry, little guy."

She bent to stroke its soft fur and it arched its back toward her hand, looking mollified. "'Sokay."

"'You know'?" Branch repeated challengingly. "Well, then, why did you do that?"

"I don't know why."

"Yes, you do, Poppy."

"No, I don't."

"Poppy." He crossed his arms, tilting his head at her.

"I don't! I really don't! Attacking things is your department, not mine!"

He looked shocked. Then his ears sagged as he slumped, deeply hurt.

Instantly Poppy was overcome with remorse. "Oh, Branch, I'm so sorry! I didn't mean that!"

He gave her a pained look, then straightened up with a stern frown. "Poppy, we need to talk."

"But I-"

He held up a finger. "No. I've been keeping quiet long enough."

The tarantapuff looked back and forth at their faces, and scurried away.

Poppy wrapped her arms around herself and looked to the side, dreading this scolding. It was bound to be the worst one today. She heard him draw a deep breath and winced in anticipation.

No scolding came.

Instead, a quiet voice asked, "…Hey, Poppy, why don't we talk as we walk?" She looked up at the hand he was offering, and above that, his sympathetic smile.

She nodded, gratefully sliding her cold hand into the pocket of warmth his big hand produced. "I really am sorry," she said, and he gave her hand a gentle squeeze of forgiveness.

As they slowly sauntered along the trail that circled the village, Branch began, "Remember how I said that the Stroll Patrol was just a walk around the village so I could enjoy my foster dads' company while I did a final perimeter check? Well, that wasn't a complete answer. You see, ever since I lived with Jaunty and Courtley, I've always found it easier to talk about the things that are bothering me out here, under the stars. It was my favorite part of the day, in fact."

"That's…really sweet, Branch," she said, touched. "But nothing's bothering me."

He stopped moving and sighed. "Poppy."

She fidgeted for a minute until she couldn't stand it anymore and started walking again, tugging him with her. "What? So I'm a little jumpy. It's no big deal. I just need a good night's sleep is all."

The warmth around her hand disappeared, and a moment later a pair of strong arms slid around her belly from behind. A beloved voice murmured in her ear, "You can tell me when you're feeling bad, you know."

Oh, how she wanted to melt into him, to let the love and body heat he was blanketing her with relax the tight knots in her body. To focus on his heart, beating strongly against her back. To spill all the pain and fear that kept rising inside her, no matter what she did to try to quell it.

But she clamped down on the urge as other memories flashed through her mind. Branch, with tears running down his cheeks after his bad dream. His tragic, troubled trollhood, and the doctor's worry that if something went wrong, Branch would suffer. Or worse, have a relapse back into the grayness.

Compared to all that, her own pain was nothing.

The young queen's wavering resolve steadied, and she took a deep breath and said firmly, "I'm sorry, I can't. I don't want to hurt you anymore, Branch."

"That, Poppy. That right there. That's why I got so upset earlier," he said seriously. "What did we promise each other this afternoon, about honesty, about not hiding it when something's bothering one of us? You made me talk about how I felt about my foster dads, and again at dinner, and it really helped me feel better to get it all out. The fact that you won't do the same with me… That's what hurts me the most. I really want to help, Poppy. I want you to feel like you can trust me, and depend on me for anything."

Her resolve melted into compassion. "Oh, Branch. Of course I trust you." She patted the arms across her belly, then left her hands there to soak up his warmth as she continued, "It's not about trust, it's…it's just… It's my problem, okay? It was my mistake, it's my problem, and nobody else should have to deal with it. I don't want to add feeling guilty on top of everything else. So can we please just talk about something else?"

She felt him stiffen and braced herself, expecting him to let go. For him to get mad at her stubbornness and stalk off, as he had earlier that evening.

Instead, his tender voice caressed her ears. "Oh, Poppy." Welcome heat spread over her chest and belly as he moved his big hands to cover more of her, as if he could sense her inner chill. A moment later, his hair curled around them both, cradling and supporting her.

"You sound just like me."

She made a questioning sound, and he responded, "That's exactly I how used to feel, as if my feelings were just a burden to the people around me. It was you who taught me that it was okay to express what I was feeling, and that you wouldn't judge me for it. So please, Poppy. Talk to me."

Indecision roiled within her. "Well…"

"Whatever it is, I want to help. You don't have to feel guilty. You helped me today; now it's my turn to help you."

With her body relaxing in the warm cocoon of his hair and his solid, reassuring frame against hers, she wavered, then made her choice.

"…Okay."

Poppy took a deep breath and let it out slowly, deciding how to begin. "What I went through today was the worst thing that's ever happened to me in my entire life. Even worse than the day Chef attacked the village. I - I traumatized everyone, Branch. Not the bergens, not an enemy; me. Do you have any idea how embarrassing that is?" she complained.

"I think I might have some idea, yeah," he replied quietly.

Only then did she recall his Incident, and his many false disaster warnings during his most paranoid times. He'd managed to cause quite a few panics over the years himself. "Oh, right. Sorry."

"That's okay." He pressed his cheek against hers. Poppy returned his affection, willing letting herself be distracted by the feel of his downy skin gliding against her own. She spent a minute enjoying herself before he prompted encouragingly, "So go on."

"Well…not to steal your thunder, Branch, but the thing is, you aren't the queen. If I go down, the village goes down with me. So even though I know it was an accident, I still feel guilty. I still blame myself for what could have happened. I was so stupid. I should have been more careful!"

"But-" Branch cut himself short as she glared at him over her shoulder. "Sorry. I'll keep quiet."

Her voice began to rise. "Also, it was humiliating! To think that my life was in danger because of a dumb piece of popcorn, of all things!"

Suddenly she needed to move. She began to push against his hair and he withdrew it so she could pace up and down, gesturing forcefully in the air with her hands.

"It was such a shock. I mean, my life's been in danger before, but not like that, in danger of being snuffed out so quickly, so easily, Branch!" she ranted. "Like blowing out a candle. I was so scared! I've never felt so helpless! I've never been so helpless! It was worse than the bergens. I couldn't move, I couldn't think! I wasn't even alone, but no one knew what was wrong with me, or how to help. If it hadn't been for you and Leafe, I-" she sniffled, on the verge of wailing, "-I wouldn't even be here right now!"

Again Branch started to respond and again he held back, merely watching her with loving compassion and letting her get it all out, just as she had done for him during dinner.

"I keep thinking…" She gulped and fought the way her bottom lip kept trying to push its way outward. "A few more minutes and I'd have been gone. Really, truly gone. What would Dad do without me? I'm all he has left. And our friends would be devastated, and the village would be left without a leader, except for you, but you wouldn't have any claim to the throne if I died now…"

The dark thoughts were running rampant, racing through her brain, blinding her eyes, as if she were choking all over again. Her voice rose and dropped, balancing on the edge of hysteria. "And you! Oh, Branch. My beautiful, sensitive Branch. Would you go gray again if I died?"

She seized his hands, looking pleadingly into his concerned face.

She could picture it happening, see the color draining from his hair, his face and body, his eyes going dull and lifeless. How many losses could he bear before breaking completely? He was still learning to trust. His heart was so raw, so tender, so vulnerable. If she hurt him, he truly might never recover, forever.

Poppy squeezed her eyes shut, her breath coming in little whimpers as she tried desperately to hold back her tears. "No… Oh, please, no. You've only just learned to be happy…"

-O-

My heart ached at seeing my wonderful, happy girl in such distress. I'd been like that once, so broken, so out of control, so focused on the fear and anguish and despair that there was no room for anything else. It had taken me a long time to come to terms with it all, and the last thing I ever wanted was for Poppy to go down that dark path.

If anyone understood what was going on with her, I did. The troll whose outlook on the world had once been so bleak I'd almost forgotten that any other emotions existed.

But unlike me, she didn't have to deal with her pain all alone. I was right here, and I wasn't going anywhere.

"Oh, Poppy," I murmured as I pulled her into a tender embrace. She stiffened and then clung to me, her breath hitching a few times while I rubbed her back to calm her, so glad that out of all the trolls in the village who could be comforting her right now, she wanted it to be me. "It'll be all right, Poppy. Everything's gonna be all right."

"How - how do you know?" she asked in a little voice, and it all but broke my heart to see how badly her confidence had been shaken.

It was a good thing I'd had some practice in building up that confidence.

I chuckled quietly and she stepped back to give me a startled look. With an easy, relaxed smile I said, "Well, for starters, because I'll never go back to the way I used to be."

"You won't?"

"Of course not," I said warmly, lifting her hands to my lips and kissing her knuckles between my words without so much as a twinge of self-consciousness. "Poppy, I love you so, so much. You mean more to me than anybody in the world. Because of you, I truly understand what it's like to be happy, and I won't ever forget that. If you died tomorrow, I would be very sad, but I wouldn't stay that way. I won't go gray again, Poppy," I said with calm certainty. "Not like before. You don't ever need to worry about that."

Her gaze was soft and trusting. "You promise?" she whispered.

"I promise," I vowed earnestly, giving her a heartfelt smile of pure appreciation for everything she was, and everything she tried to be. "You've changed my life for the better, Poppy. You taught me how to get back up again when things go wrong. You gave me the courage to keep on trying, to have hope, instead of giving up."

Tenderly, I rubbed my thumbs across her fingers, feeling her tension slowly leaving her. "And it's not just me, Sunshine. All these years, you've been an inspiration to everyone. You're more than just my Sunshine; you're everyone's, bright and beautiful, shining your radiant light through gray stormclouds. And I'm not talking about Cloud Guy."

I raised my eyebrows drolly and her lips curved in an involuntary smile at my joke. For some reason, she had always found the feud between me and the irritating, sock-wearing cloud highly amusing. It was about time that paid off.

As always, her beautiful smile made my heart soar. I let myself fall into her gorgeous rose-colored eyes, with their thick long lashes. Her lips looked so sweet and kissable. Overcome with passion, I bent to give the back of her hand a long, passionate smooch, earning myself a silly lovestruck giggle.

I grinned up at her as I declared proudly, "You are a force of nature, my love, sweeping me along on one incredible adventure after another. You taught me how to see the world with joy." My tone softened, reflecting my quiet wonder. "And I honestly feel like the luckiest troll in the world."

She melted. "Aww, Branch…"

"You are my dream girl," I murmured, deep and slow. "My queen. And you…are so…beautiful…"

There was that magic again, that special magic that only happened between the two of us. I could see that she was just as caught up in it as I was, leaning toward me, her eyes shining with hopeful anticipation. She glanced at my mouth, then back up to check my eyes. I nodded and a spark of excitement lit up her whole face, the last of her melancholy forgotten.

When our lips came together, I closed my eyes as a hot rush of feelings threatened to overcome my heart. I was kissing the girl I'd been dreaming about for seven long years.

And she was kissing me back.

I could still hardly believe it was actually happening to me, but if this was a dream, I didn't want to wake up.

Author's Note:

Sorry for the cliffhanger! 😉 I wanted their first kiss to be really meaningful, and reminiscent of the first movie, where no matter how bad she felt, Poppy couldn't help but respond to the love Branch was offering her.

I decided based on the image of the drop of blood that we see on Satin's finger in Trolls World Tour, and by my own sense of aesthetics, and artistic license, that Pop trolls' blood generally matches their basic skin color; pink, blue, green, etc. And it has flecks of glitter in it, to show their relationship to the glitter trolls, just like their glitter-freckles do.

In answer to last chapter's riddle: I chose the title "A Mess of Scrapbooks" to mean four things: a "group" of scrapbooks, the physical messes made by Poppy's supplies and the broken box of scrapbooks, and especially, the "mess" of Poppy's emotions.

I really want Poppy to appreciate Branch's bunker, because I hate to think that all the work and dedication Branch gave to it over the years was wasted. I was quite pleased when I realized that, at the end of Trolls World Tour, Branch's bunker was most likely invaluable for feeding and housing the Pop trolls while they rebuilt their village. I'm sure it helped remind the other trolls how lucky they were to have a troll like Branch as Poppy's right-hand man, and earned a lot of support for him to be King someday.