A/N: angst angst angst angst A N G S T
basically what could've happened if Branch did end up telling Poppy what was bothering him in the beginning of TBT :) shamless branch trauma dumping and Poppy being the bestest supportive girlfriend ever
now cry because I sure almost did for the poor goober

“If you're having feelings, you can talk about them with me.”

Hearing that shouldn't have bothered him as much as it did, or at all for that matter, especially because it was coming from the person he found comfort in most, who was offering him to confide in her with this promise.

And because it was her he felt like he had not a single reason to hold anything back, but adding onto the fact that opening up was still incredibly new to him, despite having gotten his colors back three to four years ago and yet still recovering from all the damage that caused him to lose them and the life he could've had for twenty plus years, she was right.

There was something he wasn't telling her. 

What was he supposed to say though? Not only was it such a heavy weighed and difficult conversation to come forward about, but he didn't want her to immediately think he was hiding this from her for reasons other than it wasn't something he's talked about since.. well, quite literally the day it happened, which was such a long time ago.. even a little before he grew into his bunker days.

The record he was holding in his hands just earlier was Brozone, yes, but they were also so much more than that. And he wished he could say that with all the gratitude in the world.

It also now occurred to him that she was apparently a huge fan of them, which made an invitation for a larger amount of unpleasant emotions and much more of a stump in the middle of the road for him. What if she didn't believe him? He felt like that would honestly be much worse than her getting upset at him for hiding this for so long, and it wasn't even like he was ever trying to hide it– at least not before. It was just never a relevant subject to bring up or talk about, which thinking back on it now he'd be forever grateful for, because he was honestly extremely choked up with so many words he didn't wanna say.

Right now, the two were actually supposed to be headed to their Bergen friends, Bridget and Gristle's wedding very soon, but things were of course put on pause when the queen caught her boyfriend looking in distress while holding something, and now instead he was in the position where he felt obligated to speak about it.

His eyes averted hers for what felt like forever until he decided to take another quick glance, seeing a longing look in her expression as she waited for him to answer, adjusting her hands in his every few seconds as if to try and encourage him to, before she eventually just spoke up in that nauseatingly sweet voice,

“It's okay, you can tell me.”

It hurt. It hurt how much she cared. And it hurt how much he cherished it, no matter if he tried to make a front about it here and there. The way Poppy cared was just so different from everyone else. Not even just because she was his girlfriend, but it's just always been that way. She's always been one of the only trolls who was truly able to keep him grounded and at ease besides his grandmother, even without trying sometimes.

That factor on its own was enough for him to decide she deserved to know. He wanted more than anything to confide in her and let her know he trusted her, especially because he normally tried to avoid venting to her. But it just.. it still wasn't easy. He couldn't just talk about it, he hadn't spoken nor thought about it in years and now that it's being brought back it all hurt so much more; he was scared of what talking about it would do for him and what reactions it would possibly bring.

And it just wasn't her problem. He didn't wanna burden her with all that he had to carry.

It was all too much.

“I.. I don't.. I‐I can't..” 

He didn't even know what he was saying, he just knew the thought of talking terrified him. 

“Branch–?”

She felt his hands slowly leaving hers, whether it was intentional or not, and saw he continued looking at everything everywhere but her.

“No.. no..” he mumbled even quieter. 

Why was he so scared? Now she really had to know, needing it more than wanting it because it seemed to be something affecting him really badly.

“Hey.. look at me,” she spoke up again lightly, holding a firm but gentle hold on his hands.

He sighed, her ear twitching when she heard the lightest shake in it, but eventually found that his eyes were back on hers finally.

“You can tell me anything, you know that right? I don't want you to think you can't ever talk to me, no matter how you think I'm gonna react. I want to know if something's bothering or hurting you.

She didn't know if that's what it was all about, him about her reaction, but regardless it was bothering him, and she wanted to help however she could. She also just wanted to be better at communicating as well, especially in situations she wasn't used to finding herself in, but she cared a lot so of course she was more than eager to improve, so she figured she could do that while helping him too. It was something that was still new for both of them, truthfully. In different ways, sure, but still new nonetheless.

He saw his look soften from its previous frightened one a little, and she began to light up on instinct, holding a warm and inviting smile.

“You can't be my support system and expect me to not be yours either! We're in this together Branch, always.” She perked up, giving his hands a gentle squeeze.

He was always looking out for others a little more than himself, wasn't he? A lot of times he couldn't really help it, it was just an instinctive thing he grew to have and it just kinda attached itself to him. Growing up as a survivalist, he already knew how to look out for himself, but in other ways, not particularly, such as learning to love and forgive himself.

Another reason he was grateful for Poppy.

After a bit of more silence, she lit up a bit more when she noticed his ears would lift up a little, and watched hopefully as she heard him sigh quietly, detailing that it wasn't as shaky like before as another one up.

..

“Okay.. you're right..”

He looked down once more but only for a few seconds and looked back up at his wonderful girl, staring and smiling patiently to let him know she was ready whenever he was.

“..I.. well..” 
He started, then paused again, not knowing where or how to finish.

However he would though, and no matter how long he took to initiate the much needed discussion, she would wait for him, and she would listen. She always did. Maybe not so much emphasis on the listening part, but nowadays if she didn't it was either with good intentions behind such, or she genuinely just wasn't aware; Ninety nine percent of the time she would make it her duty to keep her ears open when he needed it most. It was something she knew she wanted and had to get better at after having been ignorant towards his feelings during their world tour and even a little before, while unfairly expecting him to be attentive towards hers the whole time.

It was a responsibility she wanted to keep fulfilled not just as the queen, but as his best friend and now girlfriend. She was always there, but the day they stopped being friends was the same day she learned that being there with someone, and being there for someone, were two completely different things.

They were a team.. and she wanted to continue doing everything she could to prove that.

He kept quiet as he turned to look behind him, looking back at the record again, which Poppy would quickly catch onto.

Brozone? What problems could they have been causing him? 

Was it the song? Did it remind him of something, like his childhood perhaps?

Did he.. know them?

Yeah, that last one! It had to have made sense, didn't it?

Gently, she squeezed one of his hands before she would ask in a mumble.

“..brozone?”

And just hearing the name again struck him in what he felt was his heart, noticeably wincing a little. She then knew she had struck a nerve.

It was them, wasn't it? She knew it! Why else would he have made up an excuse that he was “hate listening” to their music? 

The only part she was waiting for now was.. why?

“..yes..” he started in a quiet mumble of his own, sighing once more, turning back towards her slowly.

He had this ashamed look and looked as if he was trying to hide it.

“They're um.. they're.. my brothers.”

Words wouldn't be able to come close to describe the shock she felt after hearing that. In fact, her face was probably depicting it enough.

Brothers?! Branch had family other than his grandmother?! And they were BroZone?! It was almost too shocking to believe, but she knew he had absolutely no reason to lie about something like this. He even seemed like he didn't wanna admit it! 

She knew his grandmother was the last family member he had, but she also assumed she was the only family member he had, so knowing that he had others made her feel a little better.

But then‐ what was hurting him so bad? 

That was the core question, but she obviously had way more, along with thoughts going through her mind. Like now she was thinking– this meant he was also a Brozone member! Maybe? Possibly? She didn't know which one just yet if he was, but she would figure that out later. 

It all meant so much more now! The longing and gloomy look in his eyes earlier. 

He didn't know or realize that she was so in her head and the silence that was accompanying her shocked expression began to worry him.

“Poppy?” It was his turn to gently squeeze her hand now.

And right then and there, she shook her head slightly and stared at him with more focused eyes, not even herself realizing how caught up in her head she was and nearly forgot the situation at hand. There was so much she wanted to say but decided to say the first thing that came to mind.

A little against her better judgment, excitement began to take over, and a wide smile slowly started to appear on her face. How couldn't she be at least a little knowing he was related to BroZone? She was ecstatic for him!

Seeing her smile, he didn't know if he should be worried, scared or—

“Your BROTHERS?!” She nearly screamed out, her eyes nearly popping out of her head as she squeezed his hands again. “Branch, this– WOW I mean– you have BROTHERS, and they're THE BROZONE! Were you in the band? Or no– you weren't, were you?!”

“I–”

“Is that why you were so upset?!! Man that's such a bummer I'd be upset too if my brothers left me out of their band— GAAASP, no, wait– are they DEAD TOO?!”

Too was crazy.

“N–” 

“SO THAT'S WHY NO ONE'S HEARD OF THEM FOR YEARS! OH BRANCH I'M SO SO SORRY I HAD NO IDEA–” 

“Okay, Poppy, Poppy–” He waved her down quickly.

He needed her to listen, and when she started rambling it would almost never stop. 

On one side he didn't blame her, because it was kind of a big deal (not really to him, but to anyone else it obviously could've been), but he needed to know she was all ears for the.. not so exciting stuff. 

The truth. 

“POP‐pyyyyyy!” He grabbed at her shoulders, finally stopping her.

Just like that, he had her back, and she blinked for a few seconds before chuckling nervously, moving her hair out of her face.

“Sorryyyy, sorry,” she apologized bashfully, “got a little too excited, hehe.. and off track–” she cleared her throat and clapped her hands together, pointing them in Branch's direction.

“Alright Branch, talk to me, no interruptions this time.” She stared at him with a deadpanned look and it looked a little silly, but she was more than serious.

She wanted to know everything. About how he was feeling, about his brothers, however much he could bring himself to tell her.

Though this entire topic was a huge deadweight on him, he couldn't help but smile, just a little at how dedicated she was. Maybe it made and would make what he was about to say, or try and say, slightly less painful. 

Going back to it so he could tell her, he sighed heavily, picking a little at his shorts and vest every so often. He didn't try to, but his eyes would shift away from her every so often. 

Being in full focus mode now, she saw how uncomfortable he was, and nearly forgot how whatever happened must've taken a huge toll on him. She wanted to at least see or let him try and talk about it first on his own before she'd reassure him that if it was too much he didn't have to.

She removed her hands from each other and went back to holding his, offering him another one of her sweet smiles. 

“Take your time sweetie.” She said warmly, rubbing both of his hands gently with her thumbs.

And he didn't know how, but suddenly, he gained more confidence to start talking about everything. Not completely, but definitely more than before.

“Well..” he would start again.. and actually found himself finishing with something this time.

“To answer one of your questions, because, I don't know about the other one– yeah, I was.. in the band–”

Instinctively, he threw his hands up and towards her when he heard her gasp loudly, but eased up when she quickly regained control of herself and cleared her throat once more, throwing her hands behind her back, nodding for him to go on.

“And as you know there were five of us.. I was.. uhm..” he didn't know why he felt so embarrassed about the next part, but there was quite honestly much worse so he just grinned and bared it all.

“..the youngest–”

Poppy's expression grew from focused to now perplexed, as if she was thinking to herself about something. He thought about every brother and the names given to them in the group.. and then it all clicked.

Duh! Why did it take her a minute to make this realization?! Bitty B was the baby, the youngest in the group! So he was Bitty B!

“..you were–”

“Yeeaah‐” he answered for her without letting her finish because he just knew, “I was– Bitty B.. And John, Spruce, Clay and Floyd are my older brothers.” 

“Oh, wow..” She didn't know what she expected, but definitely not him being the youngest, especially with how he had to mature at such a young age. Her boyfriend used to be a little superstar!

Her favorite member had honestly always been Clay, but knowing that he used to be one of the members himself almost had her changing her mind.

She'd come back to all that excitement later though, right now she wanted to stay focused.

“So..” she took a small step closer, “how was it?” 

“Hm?” 

“..performing with them? Did you enjoy it?” 

He had to think about that question and how he'd answer it for a quick second, even if he already knew the answer. It was just the story around it that made it complicated, so it left him in a bit of a jumble. 

“Oh.. I loved it more than anything,” he chuckled quietly, “one of the greatest childhood experiences and experiences in general I ever got to have. I mean, singing? With my brothers while thousands of trolls cheer us on? What more could I have wanted, right?”

She gave him a gentle smile and nod in response, continuing to listen.

“We were superstars, sure.. but in my little imaginative and excited mind, it was dancing with and impressing my brothers that I looked forward to more. I looked up to them so much, and.. I did all that I could to live up to the talent they had, and to show them.. how much I admired them, even if from time to time it got a little stressful.”

Poppy's smile began to falter a bit, but she didn't let it fade completely.

“The band life for me wasn't super long, and we've only ever had one performance. I don't know if they had started things before I was born and I don't remember every single thing, but I can recall some things, like.. them bringing me up to the stage for the very first.. and what would be last time when I at least.. two years old?” Poppy questioned in her head what last time meant in her head, but let him continue to find out, “Clay used to joke around and say I'd break into dance when I was still in my egg before we'd get to that level, but– I'm still kinda unsure about that– probably should've asked Floyd, he would've told me the truth–”

A smile would itch the curves of his lips a bit when he heard his girlfriend stifle a giggle, rolling his eyes playfully before continuing.

“but anyway, my role in the band was being a backup vocal and background dancer, and we'd keep this all up for a little less than a year. Everything.. went down after we had our first performance.”

He found himself taking another pause, knowing what he was about to get himself into, scrunching his face slightly as if he was in some sort of pain and looking away again.

“Are you.. okay to talk about it?” She asked the question, wanting to catch his painful gaze and ease him.

Slowly, he'd pull himself together and would then turn his attention back to her. It wasn't something he wanted nor thought he'd ever dive back into, but he already started, and he wasn't gonna back out now. If he did, it would just continue to bug him until he finally brought it back up. 

And he'd already decided before that she deserved to know. She was so patient and understanding towards him and wanted to do her best to help him get through the rest of this painful trip down memory lane he was currently enduring. 

He guessed that it wasn't just because everything that happened took a gigantic toll on him and the rest of his life, but he's never truly talked about it to anyone, that made it all nearly unbearable to bring up. He'd shove the memory of it in the back of his mind, sure, but the weight of it all never actually left. 

It hurt, but all things considered.. maybe he needed this.

“Yeah.. yeah I'm okay,” he nodded, offering a smile that he'd hated to admit wasn't a hundred percent genuine, “don't worry. I.. I want you to hear this.” 

Poppy looked as if she was going to say something else, but she held herself back to let him continue, if he wanted her to hear. 

“One night, we.. were rehearsing as normal. Well, not so much me, I was more nervous this time, but.. because I knew what we were going for that day.”

“What's that?”

“..ever heard of the perfect family harmony?” 

Poppy had to take a second to think, but not any longer than that, as it clicked to her right away. 

“Oh yeahhh! Isn't that a legend? I heard no one's ever been able to reach it!”

“Yep, you'd be right, not even us..” He mumbled, “but that's what ruined everything.” 

Poppy was filled with nothing but concern hearing this, and immediately put herself back in focus mode to be able to listen intently.

“..that same night.. was the night we were having our first big performance. John Dory, my oldest brother, kept pushing the idea that we have to have everything perfect or we'd be nothing. We had to be perfect, and I didn't realize it before but thinking about it now, but.. I think there was some sort of tension, or- stress coming from everyone in the room, some more.. obvious, than others– I mean, how could you expect four little kids to be perfect, on stage, in front of a large amount of people?”

He lowered his voice a bit for this next part.

“..in his defense though, he was.. also still a kid at the time, and being the oldest of course that was probably way more pressure, but– not once did he think about or consider how we might've been feeling, or at least tried to reassure us, so it just kinda made things worse, you know? And even after all this I.. I still don't understand how things could've led up to how they did.. I mean, we were so happy before then.. we were brothers. We still had the band back then for a little while and- things obviously weren't perfect, but.. at least we cared about each other. It was a little easier to see that when we weren't in the band yet though. We bonded a lot more then, and- still did during the band truthfully, just until, well.. John Dory began to take things more seriously.”

Branch gulped a little and furrowed his eyebrows, as if meaning that things were about to take a darker turn. He felt a gentle hand squeeze his again and sighed, pulling himself together again. 

“..the day he found out about the perfect family harmony, was the day things changed. Our bond with him started to get distant, and he started to slowly shift into this.. moody and– hostile teenager. It wasn't even just him though, everyone started to change. It wasn't as obvious before but, it was running it's course for sure. Everyone individually, and our bonds. Clay wasn't as much of a jokester like before and started getting passive aggressive tendencies, Spruce would separate himself more if we weren't doing anything band related or even tried here and there to get out of certain things if he could.”

Pausing again, he'd smile for only a split second when he thought of what to say next.

“..the only thing I'd say didn't really change all that much was.. me and Floyd's relationship. We were closer than the rest of the brothers and honestly just had more in common. I loved all of my brothers, but, me and Floyd.. we just understood each other best.. he understood me.”

Poppy smiled a little at this and felt her heart do small happy dances. It was nice to know that it wasn't all terrible, and that he at least had some sort of comfort while this was all happening. 

“That's so sweet, Branch..” She mumbled softly.

Branch gave her a warm smile back before continuing.

“When things started changing and tensions began to grow higher, he'd always do his best to either distract me or reassure me that things would be okay and that nothing bad would happen, that everything that was happening at the time would slowly blow over and that it's just stress. Pff, I mean, of course he was wrong, but.. I appreciate that he tried to help me anyway, how much he cared..”

“What do you mean he was.. wrong?” Poppy asked quietly.

Branch sighed heavily, the shake in it making its return. He knew what was about to come next.

“At one point in the middle of our performance, we actually came pretty close to hitting the perfect family harmony, but– and I'm not completely sure what happened or how it happened, maybe as soon as we were there the stress came back and had a part to play, but the vibe suddenly started to fall off.. and so did we. It all just went downhill from there. Lost our balance, came crashing down, and ended up all tied up. Well, except me, but– you can imagine how I felt after all that..”

Another short and painful pause followed with more avoided eye contact.

“..felt like I messed up everything.” he mumbled almost quietly.

“Oh Branch,” Poppy almost immediately interrupted him as if she knew that's what he was gonna say, “it wasn't your fault!” 

“You weren't there, Poppy.”

“I didn't have to be,” she protested, “even if you were the cause, you didn't mean to.”

“Yeah, well.. it didn't matter if I meant to or not, because it was what caused all of my brothers to go their separate ways in the first place.”

He didn't even fully realize what he said until he noticed Poppy's shocked reaction.

“They all.. left?”

“Um.. yeah.” 

He wasn't sure if the lack of emotion he had now was because he was trying to hide it, or if he was so used to being left alone that he'd slowly start to become numb to the pain.

“Branch.. you.. you were just a baby!” 

He didn't know why, but he just had to chuckle a little after hearing that. Maybe because he knew that in the situation it was everyone's last thought, no matter if they meant for it to be or not.

“That wasn't good enough of a reason for them to stay, apparently.”

He then thought maybe he wasn't so numb, a burning feeling in his eyes starting to circulate, which he'd of course ignore.

“A few minutes after our– failed performance, we all went back home in silence, until John Dory eventually broke it– and then a big fight between him, Spruce and Clay broke out.. so much was going on at once, both around me and in my head. John was pissed off that no one supposedly followed his lead, Spruce and Clay were pissed off that they even had to follow his lead, Floyd was trying to stop the fight, and I.. I just had to stand there and watch it all go down, while I was also stuck in my own two year old mind about how I ruined everything.”

“Branch..”

“And then before I'd even know it.. they'd all just.. leave. Without any second thoughts. They were gone, just like that. I don't remember every single thing that was said beforehand, but.. they were along the lines of not wanting to be perfect and how the band used to be fun, and right then and there they'd all just walk out. It all happened so fast but at the same time it felt like an eternity, if that makes sense?”

Poppy nodded.

“Heh..” Branch gulped again, holding a sad smile as he did his best to basically force everything in him to hold back what he didn't wanna admit were tears.

“..I wish I could say Floyd stayed.”

“Oh..” Poppy mumbled softly, “Branch I..”

“I don't know why, I-I really thought he'd stay,” sniffle, “I mean I practically already thought my other brothers hated me even if they didn't show or say it. Again I don't remember every single thing, but it went sorta like.. he said we're no longer in sync, which, thanks, totally didn't get that from the fight, and– how they've all grown up and that they needed to go. I didn't and still don't understand what any of that was supposed to mean or how it was supposed to make me feel better.. I mean.. they just left. We were kids, I was a baby. Of course I wanted all of them to stay, but for Floyd to go too, it was like.. a huge part of me suddenly died.. and it's still gone.”

Slowly, he looked down at himself and gently pulled on the vest he was wearing for their friends’ wedding they'd be going to soon.

“The green vest like this that I always wear? ..it was his. And he gave it to me before he left, promising he'd be back. But… its been twenty plus years since I've seen any of them. No calls, no visits, anything. I had thoughts of throwing it away here and there because I was so upset, but.. it was the last I had of him, any of them. I knew I'd regret it later if I did, no matter how betrayed I felt.”

Poppy followed his gaze down to his vest and gently linked her hands with his that were still playing with the leaves on his vest, both focused on the movement of their fingers now while it was silent for a little again.

“..was your.. was your Grandma involved in any way?” 

Her voice was husky this time around, for once not holding it's normal high pitch even when it's low, the silence allowing it to also sound more crisp. So easily both this and the question itself gave Branch shivers that he'd hope she didn't notice.

“Yeah. Well.. she usually left a lot of the band stuff to us, but.. she would assist every so often with little things, like helping with certain lyrics or getting things ready for certain events. Mostly though, she would just care for us like we were her own. We didn't really have our parents in our lives, well– at least I've actually never seen them or never been told anything about them, not even Grandma's spoken up about their whereabouts. I had my own wonders about it and still sometimes do admittedly, but.. I guessed it was all pretty much a story for another day.. I was happy that we at least had her.”

He had to move one of his hands from off of his vest to wipe the tears he couldn't keep forced away from off of his face.

“Honestly, without her.. things probably could've been a lot worse. If Floyd was busy, wasn't feeling well, or even if I just wanted her comfort, she was always there with open arms. This was especially helpful when things started getting more serious in the band. Arguments started getting more prone to break out, and some got so bad to the point she had to get involved. It wasn't a daily thing thankfully, but- as time went on it would start happening often.”

Branch let go of his vest but didn't lift his head up, allowing his hands to stay in hers.

“..she couldn't stop it this time though.”

Poppy lifted her head slowly.

“But.. she did comfort me a lot after everything happened. She kept telling me they'd be back soon and I believed her, I kept believing her. Because everyday that's what I thought about.. them hopefully coming back someday. Even after Grandma was taken away from me I still had a tiny bit of hope, but then after a while.. I just gave up.”

“I'm really sorry, Branch.. so.. you've really been alone all this time?”

He simply nodded.

“Had to raise myself since Grandma wasn't in my life anymore. Well, technically, I didn't– I did have potential support systems– and of course you'd never leave me alone–” 

“And never will.” She winked goofily but wholeheartedly, able to find a smile in her, and get the smallest one out of him.

“But.. I just chose to never reach out. Trusting people was the last thing I ever wanted to do, and.. I figured why would anyone wanna help a grey troll anyway. I assumed maybe only you kept coming around because you just felt sorry for me, which was part of why I was so cold.. besides from distancing myself because I didn't wanna put my trust in anyone again.”

She gripped his hands gently in hers and leaned in a little to whisper.

“I hope you know that's not true.” 

Hearing this and being so close to her, he relished in her affection and pressed his forehead against hers softly, raising her hands to his lips to kiss them lightly, lowering them a bit to continue what he was saying.

“Not only that, but– I thought if I dared get close to you, you'd eventually give up on me and forget about me, leaving me behind. I mean– you were the princess, you had so many friends and people who admired you– how couldn't I have thought that?” 

“I'd never!” She protested again, except with more hurt in her voice this time. It pained her that her poor lovebug used to grow up with the mentality that he was unimportant, having it eat away at him for years.

“I know hon..” he sighed softly, hating that it was starting to affect her too, “I shouldn't have been feeling these things at such a young age, but– life just wasn't so kind to me for whatever reason.”

“I know..” Poppy mumbled, pressing her face into his knuckles, “I hate that you went through all of that, you were so young..”

Branch just kinda shrugged, as if to say he was used to it or that it was honestly just whatever.

“I wish you'd let me in so I could've been there for you, but, then again– I totally get why you didn't– I was there for you but didn't try to understand you, I was kiiiinda pushy and probably would've just got on your nerves more, heh..”

Branch snorted quietly and squeezed her hands.

“Yeah, probably. But.. I did kinda appreciate the company sometimes, I guess? Being alone was all I knew after my brothers left and I lost Grandma and I thought being so used to it the solitude may as well have been my paradise, but.. being too deep and lost in my thoughts was never the greatest.”

“I bet..” Poppy mumbled, holding his hands to her heart.

“Yeah, basically, if you didn't show up and annoy me as much as you did, I'd still be closed in and think these terrible things about myself and the world..” he shuddered a bit talking about his past mentalities, “about how I didn't deserve love or.. happiness.. and that everyone I got close to would eventually leave me–”

That was it, Poppy couldn't take it anymore.

“Oh Branch!” She whimpered and threw her arms around him, hugging him tightly.

A little caught off guard, he'd stand there for a bit while trying to recollect himself before wrapping his own arms around her, squeezing her gently while rubbing her back.

The fact he was saying most of this almost so casually was what hurt her more. This isn't something he should've been used to! No troll should have ever!

She didn't care that Brozone was her favorite childhood band, knowing that Branch was in so much pain because of them now had her looking at them a certain way now. Not necessarily of hatred or anger, but.. utter disappointment. Even if they didn't direct their actions towards him and were kids themselves, it was still unfair for him to have to go through something he barely understood because of their own personal feuds. 

“You deserve everything! They shouldn't have left you behind like that! I should've been– I–”

“Poppy, no, hey,” Branch stopped her when he heard her about to talk about herself and mumbled softly, rubbing her back some more and squeezing her tighter when he heard her voice crack. The last thing he wanted was for her to cry. 

“you're one of the best things that's ever happened to me, okay? I don't know how much deeper of a trench I'd be caved in if it weren't for your insistence. And I know.. everyday I wish they would've tried working things out instead, but.. don't worry, I promise I'm over i–”

“Are you..?”

He swore he could feel the slightest pang in his heart after she asked that. He knew the answer very well, this was just his first time ever admitting it.

“..honestly, no.. I'm still upset at them, every single day. But what can I do? They're gone.. I literally had and have no choice but to get over it.. or at least try to.”

Poppy leaned on his shoulder, sniffling quietly.

“..I'll give them this though.. they did allow me to see that family is anything but perfect, just like Grandma's death taught me that the world isn't all cupcakes and rainbows.. heh, remember that?”

Poppy let out a sad giggle, and Branch was a little glad he got her to cheer up a bit.

“Yeah.. I do.”

There was a bit of silence as he just held her in his arms, rocking her ever so slightly as he listened to her soft, warm breaths.

..

“..do you miss them?”

Branch stopped everything at that moment, his eyes widening a little. It wasn't like he just stopped either, it was like.. literally everything just stopped. He'd never even considered asking himself this question after all this time. He knew he was upset with them but.. he never figured it was also probably because he missed them.

Or.. was it his past self that missed him? He had to really think about it for a hard second.

Did he really miss the trolls that left him behind as a baby?

“I.. w-well..”

Spruce. The only reason he knew anything about romance and soon later became passionate about, which he of course tried to lie about at first. The most they bonded was if Spruce was to help him with improving his vocals, or if he was nice enough to give him advice on his own, such as how to keep the fans engaged for example. That was the most he really knew or got to know about him, and he sometimes wished he'd gotten to know more.

Clay. He truly was a fun boy and did live up to his name, leaving Branch with sweet memories of him getting tickled and improving his choreo, but he also had a slightly quieter side that he felt like he had to push away for the better of the band that the youngest member never really brought up. The only reason he knew of this was because whenever they bonded, he'd see this different side of his come out and even caught it being pushed away before they'd get started on band related things. Truthfully, they were a little closer than he was with Spruce, though Spruce and Clay had a close bond of their own he'd see from time to time.

John Dory. The only father figure he had and probably would've ever had. Though they mostly bonded through their music or band rehearsals, moments of comfort with him weren't often and he was anything but the perfect older brother, they were some of the most memorable moments and gave him more of a reason to look up to him. Him leaving probably hurt more than Spruce and Clay. It was like seeing his actual father who he knew nothing about walk out.

And Floyd.. dear, sweet Floyd.. nothing hurt more than seeing him walk out. Where would he have been without his love and comfort? Thinking about it now.. he may have just been all of his brothers combined. He was considered the sensitive one, sure, but he was also fun, helped him improve and offered him advice, and had his own fatherly traits that Branch would never forget.

Maybe.. maybe he did miss–

..

Then it really hit him.

The vest.

Why else would he have still had it if he didn't miss them.. at least a little.
 
..
 
When you miss me,
 
you can wear this.
 
It'll be like I never left.
 
..
 
It was pointless fighting back the tears anymore.

Trembling in her arms, ever so slowly he started to let out sob after sob, gripping her tighter without even realizing.

Before he knew it, his face was completely buried in her shoulder, every scar that they'd left him with breaking him down at that very moment. 

That was enough of an answer for her to know. Of course she completely wrapped herself around him, squeezing him with everything she had in her. He was so strong, her love was so so strong, and he'd held on for this long. She knew he needed this more than anything. She wished more than anything she would've tried to understand why he was the way he was before so he would know he would've had someone to lean on, no matter how many more times he'd continue to push her away. 

The past could never be changed though, which drove her to want to continue to make up for everything more, which was just continuing to be there for him now. 
Right now, he was bawling so much that he thought he'd eventually pass out in her arms. While he was, she swore in her head she heard him mumble things like “Floyd..” and “Dad..”, causing her heart to squeeze more. He hadn't cried like this in so long, and Poppy would just barely ever see him shed a tear. It was a bigger word than painful for both of them.

He didn't expect to take this extreme turn into his memory lane trip.

I'll.. keep..

Why wasn't he a second thought?

Walking..

If it wasn't about him, why didn't they come back?

On broken glass..

He would've done anything and everything for them.. why couldn't they?

For you.

After a few more heart wrenching minutes of letting out all of the sorrow that he'd been holding back and pushing away for so long, he just laid there and rest against his girlfriend's shoulder, breathing heavily as he was trying to catch all of it back. 
Stroking his hair gently, it was her turn to rock him in her arms now.

..

“..Cause you're a sky.. you're a sky, full of stars.. I'm gonna give you my heart..” 

She'd sing to him in one of the softest and purest voices he's ever heard from her, holding his head closer on her shoulder as she pressed her face into his hair.

He could've sworn he heard her sniffling away her own tears.

“..Cause you're a sky, 'cause you're a sky, full of stars.. 'cause you light up the path..”

..

“I don't care, go on and tear me apart..”

“I don't care if you do, ooh-ooh, ooh..”

'Cause in a sky, 'cause in a sky full of stars.. I think I saw you..”

To say he was grateful for her would be the biggest understatement ever.

His breathing began to grow a bit calmer this time around, and he'd exhale quietly, closing his eyes for a bit to recollect himself once more as he listened to her soothing voice.

Soon, he'd pull himself off of her shoulder, feeling his face heat up and ears lower when he realized it was coated in tears.

He was about to apologize for getting them on her shoulder, but she just smiled sweetly at him and reached up to his face to gently wipe the rest of them away, tears of her own being apparent. 

“Thanks..” He mumbled, leaving one hand on her waist as the other reached behind his neck to scratch.

“Always, Branch.” She mumbled back, putting her own arms back around him.

“Woah, man, I.. haven't broken down like that in years, heh.. I guess I really needed it.” He confirmed his thoughts from earlier, feeling a sudden weight get lifted from off his chest and shoulders. 

“I know it probably wasn't easy, but.. know that I'm really proud of you, not just for talking about this, but for everything. ”

She leaned in to nuzzle her face with his.
“..my little superstar..”

His heart was never not touched around her.

“Thanks Poppy..” he mumbled again, nuzzling her back as he reached up to wipe away her own tears, “it.. does feel pretty good having finally talked about it, especially with someone I can actually say I trust. Really, you have no idea how much I appreciate you.. I'm glad you're still here.”

“I'm more than happy to be here.” She mumbled softly, offering another smile before placing a short and sweet kiss on his lips.

“You'll be happy to know that you're stuck with me for the rest of your life.”

“Oh joy,” he joked, able to find the smallest smirk in him and earning a giggle from her as he kissed her back, before mumbling ever so quietly,

“More than you'll ever know.”

For the next few minutes, they stayed in the comfort of each other's arms after undergoing that huge trauma dump, needing it more than anything. 

“..oh, shoot–” Branch suddenly said out loud, looking at her with slightly widened eyes.

Looking up at him now, she stared at him with confused but concerned eyes.

“What?”

“Bridget and Gristle's wedding! We were supposed to be making our way there, ugh–” he started to look side to side in a slight frantic, “I'm sorry Poppy, I–”

“Hey hey hey!” She quickly eased him, grabbing hold of his shoulders to get him to look at her.

“Don't worry about it! If anyone asks, we– just ran into a bit of trouble, that's all!”

“But, you were supposed to help Bridget–”

“Satin and Chenille are with her, I'm sure it'll be alright. They'll understand that we were a little late. Besides, I wanted to know what was upsetting you, and I don't regret asking.”

She reached to take his hands again.

“There's no rush either. We can stay behind for a few more minutes. Your health and wellbeing is more important.”

Branch sighed and lowered his head a bit, squeezing his hands in hers lightly. It was true after all that he really didn't have the energy to be around anyone else right now. It was like she was involuntarily reading his mind.

“I really, really , love you..” He mumbled, looking back up at her slowly.

She smiled wide at him and threw her arms around him again, placing a huge kiss on his cheek.

“And I really REALLY love you!” She said happily.

He smiled back at her with what he could gratefully say, a genuinely happy smile of his own.

If he didn't have anyone else, at least he knew he'd always have her.