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"Queen Poppy, this place is amazing! You've done a fantastic job. I barely recognize the tree from all those years ago!"
"And making peace with the Bergens?! Very impressive. You're the best queen the pop trolls could ask for."
"But most importantly, you make Branch happy. You've taken care of him, something we should have done a long time ago. And we couldn't be more grateful to you for that."
Poppy smiled at the compliments, a light blush dusting her already rosy cheeks, "Thanks guys, really. And call me Poppy, you are my boyfriend's brothers after all. But Branch has done so much for all of us, and for me personally, he deserves all the happiness in the world. Especially after all he's been through-" the pink troll covered her mouth, but the damage had been done. Three pairs of sorrowful blue eyes were looking back at her…and one pair of curious, worried violet eyes.
"What do you mean…?" Floyd tilted his head, not really sure if he wanted to know the truth of what had happened after they'd left. JD, Bruce, and Clay all looked away shamefully, "Guys what aren't you telling me? Poppy? Please? Tell me what happened to my baby brother…please." Even though he knew Branch wasn't a baby anymore, he was still Floyd's only younger brother, so of course the "baby brother" mentality would take a little longer to fade.
Poppy bit her lip, weighing her options. It really wasn't her place to tell Branch's story without his permission, "I think that's something you need to ask Branch."
"We haven't seen him in two days," Bruce huffed in irritation.
JD added, "He was pouting so much on the bus about being a family again and now he's avoiding us. How does that make any sense?" He griped alongside his younger brother.
"I mean really?"
"How childish."
"Will you guys just SHUT UP!"
Four pairs of wide eyes turned to look at the owner of the voice, the silence deafening. Floyd had never raised his voice in his life, he was the calm, quiet, sensitive one. Apparently even he had his breaking point, "Honestly I don't blame Branch for taking some space away from us. We did abandon him for over 20 years. I'm sure things will change soon enough, but really? We all failed him as big brothers. If Grandma hadn't been here to take care of him…what? Why are you all looking at me like that?"
His three brothers refused to speak, unable to even meet his eyes. A soft hand rested on top of his and he turned to look into a pair of sad bubblegum eyes, "Floyd…Grandma Rosiepuff is gone."
"Wh-what? What do you mean gone?" His eyes began to fill with tears. Poppy led the four brothers to a nearby cluster of mushrooms and they all sat down.
"She was eaten by a Bergen…"
"When?"
"What?" Poppy tilted her head to the side, "What do you mean?"
Floyd stared into her eyes, "When? How long ago?" JD, Bruce, and Clay also looked at her expectantly.
"Um…awhile ago…" Apparently that answer wasn't good enough for them, "When Branch was five."
All four brothers gasped. Clay was the first to comment, "So…that's what he meant…" Floyd's eyes snapped to his lime-haired brother.
"What are you talking about?"
"On the bus…he said…he said that after grandma got eaten there was no one to take care of him. I didn't think…he was that young."
"You guys KNEW?! And you didn't think to tell me? We've been back together for over a week and you didn't think to mention this to me?" For once in his life, Floyd was pissed. Beyond pissed.
"That's not the worst of it," Poppy added, a tear sliding down her cheek as she remembered her boyfriend before she was able to connect with him. All eyes turned back to her, "He pushed everyone away after that. He stopped singing, stopped dancing. He just…stopped being happy…"
'Oh well, might as well tell them everything. Sorry Branch.' She looked to each of them in turn, finishing on JD, "For the last 20 years…Branch turned grey…"
"Branch went…grey?"
Poppy nodded slowly, and the only sound was a choked sob from Floyd, "He felt responsible for his grandma's death. He had been singing loud enough to catch the attention of the Bergens, then she pushed him out of the way and got captured herself."
"So…Grandma was taken right in front of him when he was five years old?"
"Yes."
"And we weren't there for him…" Clay whispered. John Dory opened his mouth to speak but Poppy cut him off.
"We all tried to help but he just shut us all out. He lived in his bunker all alone, just coming out to forage and try to protect the village from the Bergens. For the last 20 years he tried keeping all of us safe, but wouldn't get close enough to anyone for him to rely on."
Bruce bit his lip, "And now? He's not grey anymore…I noticed his colors were more muted though…"
"I got my True Colors back thanks to Poppy."
"BRANCH!"
All eyes whipped up to a point behind Poppy's head to see said troll standing on a rock ledge with his arms crossed, one eyebrow arched as he looked to each of his brothers. As his gaze fell on his girlfriend, his eyes softened and he held out a hand to her just as their hug-time bracelets went off.
The pop queen jumped into his arms and hugged him tight, burrowing her face in his neck, both of them staying like that for a full minute after the bracelets stopped glowing.
"Are you ok?" she murmured into his chest.
"I'm…better," he responded, kissing her forehead before pulling back a little, looking at his brothers with an unreadable expression, "So…since you couldn't find me, you decide to bombard my girlfriend instead?"
"Branch no, they-" Branch pressed a finger to her lips and winked, unbeknownst to the other four trolls. She buried her face back into his chest to stifle a giggle. She liked this new, teasing side of her boyfriend.
"Well?"
His brothers shifted uncomfortably, rubbing their arms or shuffling their feet. Floyd was the first to meet his gaze. Just as he was about to respond, he saw Branch smirking down at him and had to bite his lip to stop from laughing himself.
"Well…?"
Branch quickly dropped the smile when the other three trolls looked up, "Dude, we're so sorry, for everything," Clay started, "For leaving you on your own…"
"For not even thinking of how it would affect you…" Bruce added.
JD finished, "And for still treating you like a baby all these years later…"
Grin gone, Floyd took a step closer, "We never should have left Branch. It was the biggest mistake of our lives. Can you forgive us?"
Branch pulled away from Poppy and hopped off the ledge to stand in front of them, "How do I know you guys aren't going to just run off and leave me again?" He spoke seriously, and his brothers realized that he really feared they would abandon him again. The Queen walked up next to him and gave his hand a reassuring squeeze, letting him know that no matter what, he'd always have her. He squeezed her hand back in gratitude.
JD, Bruce, and Clay walked closer, lining up next to Floyd.
"There's nothing in the world we can say to make you believe us, and that's our fault. All we can do is show you that we won't walk out again, and hopefully you'll learn to trust us again in time." Branch was struck dumb by JD's heartfelt apology.
"I guess…I can start trying to forgive you guys."
"That's all we want is another chance."
"We don't deserve it, we know that, but we'll take whatever you're willing to give us."
He gave them a firm nod, and they quickly pulled him into a tight group hug before he could protest. Branch groaned as his girlfriend giggled, "Poppy, please don't encourage them…" The pink troll just laughed harder before burrowing into the center of the pile to squeeze her boyfriend.
After a minute of struggling, Branch was able to break free, dusting himself off as he sat on one of the empty mushrooms, pulling Poppy along with him, "So, you wanted to know how I got my colors back…" and he regaled to them the story of him and Poppy, from the rescue mission in Bergen Town all the way up to John Dory finding them at the Royal wedding.
Floyd, Clay, Bruce, and JD just sat and listened with rapt attention all the way through.
Clay let out a small chuckle, "Our little Branch has done more in the past six months than all of us have done in the past 20 years."
"Yeah, he really is amazing, isn't he?" Poppy grinned up at him with a wistful smile, "I don't know-"
"Queen Poppy! Queen Poppy!" A young trolling ran up to the group and tugged on the hem of Poppy's dress, "It's story time! C'mon!" Poppy rolled her eyes fondly and shook her head. Giving Branch one last kiss on the cheek, she allowed the small girl to drag her away.
"See you later, Branchifer."
"Have fun, Popifer," the blue-haired troll watched her disappear into the distance with a soft smile and deep purple cheeks. He sighed and turned back to his brothers, each of them giving him knowing looks. Bruce even wiggled his brows suggestively.
"Oh shut it…"
"But we didn't say anything…Branchifer," JD teased. Branch groaned.
Floyd sat down next to Branch and patted his younger brother's knee, "We really are so proud of you Branch. You've grown into an amazing troll."
Branch smiled back at each of his four older brothers, "Thanks guys. That means a lot to me. Truly."
And at that moment they all knew that things would be okay. They were back together again. And being together was all that mattered.