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Branch was going to put the blame on Poppy. He was not taking the blame for this or else his brothers would never let him hear the end of it.
“Branchhhh,” Poppy whined, looking at him with a pout, “How was I supposed the wormhole would close after we stepped through?”
He turned his head, knowing if he faced the full force of his wife’s pouting face he’d cave in a second and forgive her.
“Brancifer, Bitty Branch, My Brancifire.”
He turned at that, raising an eyebrow and staring as she winced.
“That last one was bad wasn’t it?”
Sighing and opening his arms he tried not to flinch at the ear splitting screech Poppy let out as she dived forward and wrapped her arms around him, snuggling close.
“What is it? Adventure number 34?”
“Mhmmm,” she hummed, letting Branch drop her.
Her toes curled into the bark of the branch they were one, before dropping down to her knees to better look through her hair. Branch stare at her softly as she pulled out a scrape book and rapidly flipping through the pages.
“35, we had that one with Bruce Jr last year, remember?”
“No, no I remembered that one, what was 33 then?”
“That was the one where we got stuck on that island with Barb and Holly for three days because the storm blew Sheila down.”
“We’re counting that?”
“It was an adventure!”
“Most of it was just me making us a shelter and getting us food while we waited.”
“And you looked amazing while doing it.”
Branch tried not to blush. They had been together for nearly seven years and married for four, he should really not blush when Poppy spoke about him like that. He was just happy none of his brothers were there, it didn’t matter he was almost 30 now and married.
“Ok, we need a plan, we have no idea where that wormhole led us.”
“One step ahead of you Branchifier,” she opened a well worn scrap book with blocky letters on the front reading What to do when you start an unexpected adventure.
“See step one,” she said, opening the page and showing little cut outs of her and him, “Is locate your Branch, very important step.” she nodded.
“Second step is-make a scrapbook while your Branch makes a fantastamazing plan.”
She pulled down on the tab and a little speech bubble popped up over the felt Branch with the words “I have a plan!” in sparkly blue letters.
She looked up at him with wide eyes and a smile, waiting for him to say the next part. Branch felt his lips twitching into a wide smile at the scrapbook, before fondly rolling his eyes.
“Ok, well we landed in a tree, so we can either head up and get a look at what is around us or head down and see if we’re anywhere familiar. If we’re still in the forest the view would be better at the ground because we’ll only see tree tops. We don’t know what type of wormhole it was, if it brought us to a different world or place, so be on the lookout for anything.”
With that they began their descent down, hopping between the branches with practice ease. They danced between branches and leaves, using the momentum of the falls to twirl around each other with small smiles. They handed on different heights taking a moment to pause trying to pick up any sound of movement every few leaps. It was as they got closer to the center of the tree that Poppy stopped, tilting her head and squinting at the colors she could see through all the green leaves.
“Is that? Branch are those pods?”
“Oh,” he came to a halt next to her, stepping just in front of her to look down at the colorful bulbs. “I wonder if we just stumbled into this world's Pop village?”
“Let’s go see!”
“Poppy wait!” He said , using his indigo hair to grab her before she could jump, “If this is another world, we should probably remove our crowns, we don’t want to confuse anyone.”
Nodding along they both took off their leaf and flower crowns, their symbols of Pop royalty and tucked them into their hair. Hand in hand they dropped landing on the thickest branch that went through the middle of the village. It looked like Pop village, but faded, the bright color pods were shades lighter, like they were sun-bleached. The sounds and music were there but muffled and hidden. The trolls stopped what they were doing, turning to look at them, and with a sinking stomach Branch realized even without the crowns they stood out like sore thumbs. All the trolls were desaturated like they were recovering from being gray, not a single one was as bright of colors as they were. With a pit forming in his gut, Branch turned to try and see outside of the trees, catching sight of gray stone and a glimmer of glass.
They were back in the troll tree.
They were back in the troll tree and in this place they weren’t friends with the Bergens yet.
“Who are you?”
Turning at the sound of the voice he was met with a sight that made his heart ache. He couldn’t study the face in front of him though he knew who it was, instead he turned catching the sight of the breath leaving Poppy’s lung and the way she curled forward as if she’d been struck.
Reaching over he curled an arm around her and drew her close before facing the queen before him. Poppy wouldn’t be able to speak, not when they both reconized her from the well worn, well loved scrapbook Viva kept.
Standing tall and proud was a Pink Troll with bright yellow hair. She wore a familiar blue crown around her hair and a confident but welcoming smile.
Before Branch could think of what to do or say Poppy started hitting his arm.
“Branch, Branch, look.”
Pointing just behind the queen was a huddle of trolls, that made Branch nearly choke. There were two adult trolls at the front both with blue fur but different shades. The man was had the same stocky build JD, Bruce, and Branch shared, with a splash of minty greenish blue hair that he had only seen in pictures. Next to him was a taller slender blue figure with ponytail of purple hair that faded into a deep red at the ends. They were shielding four boys- four achingly familiar boys. A green haired teen with goggles strapped across his head was trying to push past the adult, frowning at Poppy as she pointed and squealed at them. A slightly younger teen with his own deep plum purple hair was being pushed behind the man. While Branch couldn't make them out completely he could see the tips of the red and yellow hair at the very back.
Branch’s eyes drifted up to meet a pair just like his own.
“Poppy, I think we’re in the past.”
Poppy lasted about four seconds after he told her they were in the past before she darted forward.
“Oh my god! Look at how cute you’re brothers are! There so itty bitty!” She cried, reaching forward to squash Floyd’s face, dancing around the worried adult troll with a practice ease Branch had forced on her.
“Branch come here, this is the only time you’re going to be the oldest instead of the youngest, bask in the glory!”
“Poppy, please let go of Floyd.” He sighed, bobbing his head in greetings to the now amused queen as he tried to pull his wife away from his brothers.
He ignored the annoyed and confused muttering of his brothers even as he could hear the sharp inhale from the woma- his mother.
“No," she pouted, squashing his face close to her chest to hug his head "he’s my second favorite after you.”
Floyd flushed at the praise, eyes wide as he looked between them.
Branch steadfastly ignored his parents as they tried to talk or say something, instead reaching forward to grab his wife and pry her from his brother.
“And omg Clay your hair is so yellow and soft!” she reached forward, snagging Clay by the arm just as he let go.
Shaking his head he shot his brothers an apologetic look, shrugging when Spruce glared at him when Poppy moved on to gushing about him.
The adult troll- his father- coughed, looking between Poppy and Branch either questions in his eyes. Branch counted down in his head already knowing that-
“Omg that’s the same look JD gives Branch!”
She hopped from foot to foot in front of the adult trolls “Brancifer you look just like your dad!”
He tried not to blush at that or react at all. Looking passed his family at the neighborhood instead mentally calculating how far apart the pods were from each other and how many pods were here compared to the village and anything else other then his family right in front of him.
“Hi! I’m so excited to meet you!” She declared, “I’m Poppy, I’m Branch’s wife- I don’t see him so he might be an egg right now, but that’s okay! You can meet Big Branch!”
He offered a wave, glancing between his parents trying to not make it obvious they were strangers. He’s glad grandma wasn’t there or he knows he’d be bawling like a baby.
He tried not to wince at Poppy’s wording, catching Clay’s eyes who were wide with an inkling to what she meant. He turned his head away and met the sight of their audience.
"Does..." Clays voice came out soft and hesitant, stepping around their mom to look at Poppy, "Do you not know mom and dad in the future?"
Poppy chuckled nervously at his gaze. He wasn't sure if it was even worth it to continue she had made it obvious neither knew the older trolls. Before Poppy could say something more damming or worse try and lie, Branch looked away from his brothers heated gaze.
A good chunk of the Pop trolls were gathered watching the exchange with all- he could hear the whisper of confusion at how colorful they were. But what caught his eye was King Peppy walking to stand besides his wife, a little trolling of 9, the pink and yellow Viva at his feet peering out at them with wonder. What a wonderful distraction.
“Poppy,”
He tried, knowing that no one but him understood what she was saying she was speaking so fast, arms waving.
“Popifier,”
Branch wasn’t even sure she was taking a breath between sentences she just talked so face.
“Poppyseed.”
She stopped. Face scrunching up with displeasure as she turned on her heel, arms crossed and a flash of annoyance made her scowl.
“No, that is not you’re nickname for me- that is JDs and Clay’s, you can’t use that one.”
Snorting he nodded his head towards the royal family, smiling when he could tell the moment she caught sight of her sister.
“Oh”
“My”
“God!”
“Is that Viva?? She’s so cute I’m going to die!”
She hopped around her family squealing. Branch took the moment to look at his brothers with a small grimace.
“Sorry, she gets excited. It was worse when John showed her my baby pictures.”
“YOU HAD A PERM AND IT WAS SO CUTE, AHHHHH.”
“Poppy,” he said softly, smiling softly and tilting his head in a specific way, the signal they had made up for big universal troll meetings that meant Poppy needed to take a moment.
She slapped her hands over her mouth and let out a muffled squeal.
Branch walked over so he could face all the trolls without putting anyone to his back. Poppy skipped over to stand next to him, linking their hands together and swinging them slightly as they stood.
“Hello, I’m Branch, this is my wife Poppy. We accidentally stepped into a wormhole and it seems we ended up here… by the look of my brothers we’re a little over 25 years in the past.”
“Aw Branch, that was so nice!”
Poppy crossed her legs and pulled out her giant foldable picture frame and then the second. Ignoring the stares of her parents and sister as she said goodnight to the snack pack and their siblings.
Branch smiles faintly at the routine of it all. Laying down into the nest of blankets the King and Queen had given them. They were in the royal pod, directly in the middle of village ‘square,’ it was the pod Poppy was hatched in but one she had no memory of. It was decorated with bright colors and multiple pictures of Viva and her drawing hung on the walls. They didn’t have a guest room, the idea very foreign for the pop trolls of this time, so they had taken extra pillows and bedding and made a space in the middle of the entertainment space.
Eventual Poppy lays down and turns to face them, ready for their nightly updates and talks. Their whispering like their use to when a sibling visits, but Branch couldn’t help but try and listen to make sure none of the trolls from the past are trying to listen.
“This is so weird.” Poppy whispers in awe, scooting closure to grab his hands and hold them close.
“The weirdest.” he agrees easily.
For several minutes they bask in the silence, staring at each other trying to figure out what to say.
“You're gonna cry first.” she annoyances, poking his nose.
“Nu-uh”
“The second you see your grandma you're gonna cry and all your brothers will know you're a cry baby before you even hatch.”
“Poppyyyyyyy,” he whined, wiggling away from her as she smiled widely. “Mean, abuse, my wife has betrayed me. I will never recover. I’ll have to move in with Bruce and become a beach bum.”
“You hate the beach.”
“A beach bum that hates the beach.”
They giggle, smiling widely at each other. As he catches his breath Branch wiggles forward, pushing his forehead against Poppy’s.
“Beach bums aside. How are you feeling? Are you okay?”
Poppy purses her lips before flopping onto her back, staring up at the pod’s roof.
“I only knew mom from Viva’s stories, from the scrapbooks she made and what we got when we cleared out the tree. Dad is… Dad is so scattered now its hard getting anything out of him.”
Branch hummed, pushing himself up to card his fingers through her hair as she spoke.
“It’s a lot. Its a lot to be here, I don't have any memories of the tree before our escape. But now we're in a cage and the air feels…”
“Stale.” he offered her sadly.
“Stale…stagnant. It's all new to me. I have to be there for you, I want to be there for you. I know you have memories of being in the tree, just like I know it can't be easy for you to see your parents, least of all your brothers like this.”
“Poppy-”
“Part of me wants to try and fix the stuff with the Bergens now, we can save so many trolls but that is scary . What if I do something and I’m never born or you’re not born! I can’t be in a world without you.”
“Hey those are sounding like Branch thoughts not Poppy thoughts.” he argued.
“I think we need some Branch thoughts though.” she argued back.
And Branch didn’t know what to say. Honestly he didn’t think it would work if they tried to show these Bergens happiness, he was sure it was dumb luck and the fact Gristle and Bridget never ate trolls to begin with that was their saving grace. But he was the pop king, and every bone in his body wanted to save as many trolls as possible. But changing things… Poppy was right, while he was sure he was an egg right now, either just forming or about to detach, Poppy’s egg wouldn't exist for another year and a half. Getting the trolls out now would change things. Especially with Viva and Clay being so much younger. If trolls did get left behind or separated their would be no one to lead them. Even if none of them got separated would Peppy and Valley even have Poppy’s eggs under different circumstances?
He turned his head, meeting the weary eyes of Queen Valley, peeking at him through the door.
“Do you want a Branch answer… or a King of the Pop Trolls answer?” he settled for.
Poppy sat up at that, knowing that when he separated the two it was for a big reason.
“Both.”
“As Branch I agree, it’s too risky to try and save everyone now, there's no telling the outcome will be. If you’ll be born or if this Branch will ever be like me… I’d like to think with my parents to keep us mellowed out and no pressure, my family won't fall apart… if they never left and I never go gray I’d be fundamentally a different Troll. You would be different too, if you're born with your mom and Viva’s influence you wouldn’t be the Poppy sitting here with me. Branch votes no.”
“And the King?”
“As the King I made vows to protect our people. I spent my whole life protecting Pop Village. If we can get even one more troll out of the tree alive then we have an obligation to do so.”
She nodded, leaning into him.
“Then we have our choice.”
Kissing her head, he met Queen Valley’s gaze with his own solemn eyes.
“We do.”