°Flower = You°

Chapter 5

The group made it home after a few hours of walking. They were dirty and tired but safe.

Poppy took out her cowbell and hit it until trolls were rushing to where they were.

Upon seeing his daughter, Peppy let out a watery but relieved laugh and immediately hugged her.

"Oh my sweetheart! I'm so glad you and your friends are alright! Where did you go, what happened?"

The gang proceeded to tell him everything. Even about the date.

".......then he jumped out of his window. That's it..." Poppy finished.

Peppy didn't know the troll they described, but that didn't matter now. They all assumed Tide had the same fate as Creek.

He faced the crowd of trolls that gathered around them.
"Thankfully our queen and her friends are alright!"

They all cheered and quickly dispersed, seeing that the group of friends needed space and rest.

"Okay. We can talk more tomorrow, yes? For now, you all go home and get some well deserved shut eye."

He made sure each of them made it back to their pods safely.
Branch was the last one to be dropped off and with reason.

"Branch, I can tell this whole ordeal stressed you out to great lengths but I just need to know. Do you truly love my daughter?"
Branch looked up at Peppy with the most sincere expression he could muster.

"Yes Sir. I really do. She's the greatest thing that ever happened to me and all I wanna do is make her happy."

Peppy stared at him for a moment before giving him a gentle smile.

"None of that 'Sir' business boy. You call me Peppy alright?" Now go get some rest." Peppy said.

Branch smiled tiredly and bid him his goodbye.

------------------

Poppy woke up late the next day but that was to be expected.
Her body was well rested but her mind was still trying to recover from the events of yesterday.

Her heart ached somewhat for the troll they met and lost shortly after. They could've tried to help him.
If only.....

She shook herself out of it when she realized the road her thoughts were drifting to. The Poppy I know always stays positive even in the face of tragedy! She thought to herself.

She tidied up herself and proceeded to go outside where she saw her father waiting.

"Good morning sweetheart." he said, hugging her.

"Good morning Dad." she replied with a smile.
"I can see you're definitely better, so I wanted to ask you something."

"Okay, what is it?" she asked.

"Despite all the bad things that happened yesterday, how was that date with Branch?" he asked. He had a feeling he knew the answer but he wanted to hear it from her.

Poppy blushed. It felt a bit embarrassing to talk about it with her dad.

"Well I had a good time! The food was great and we actually got along really well. I think he was going to tell me something at the end of it all. You know before I was..... Yeah.." she finished.

Peppy looked at her with sad eyes.
"I'm so sorry that memory has been tainted Poppy." he said.

"It's okay! What matters is that we're all safe now. Speaking of we, I wanted to go check up on my friends." she replied.

"Well don't let me stop you. Come find me if you need anything okay? I love you, Poppy." he said, smiling tenderly.

It's times like this Poppy was really grateful for her dad.

"Thanks dad, I love you too."

With one last hug they parted ways.

Poppy was about to head to Branch's place when she noticed what looked like a letter stuck to the side of her pod.
Curiosity got the best of her so she took it and opened it.
Poppy felt a smile creep into her face as she read.

In the garden of my life is you
standing out amongst the flowers.

The single most beautiful sight
vibrant and eye catching.

The sweet fragrance
that is uniquely you
caressing my nostrils
and reeling me in.

What I especially love
is your prickly thorns.

While I may get pricked occasionally
it's usually for my own good
often grabbing my attention
and reminding me
to handle such a treasure
with great care.

You're beauty, sweetness, and sass
are incomparable
just like the rose.

You are my rose.

- Branch

Poppy felt a tear slide down her cheek. She wanted to get to him now more than ever.
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*Earlier that morning*

Branch sat at his table staring at the last picture he had of his grandmother.

"What do I do grandma." he asked, even though he knew he'd never get a response.
After what happened yesterday, Branch felt a surge of protectiveness over Poppy.

What if something worse happened. She would never know how much he cares for her.

Anything could happen in this crazy world, so would it be best to just get everything out there as soon as possible.
Yes it is he thinks.

In that moment also, he decided that he should start letting go of the past.
It had always been painful for him to look at roses. They were tied to the memory of loosing grandma Rosiepuff, since he had used one as a makeshift microphone on that day.

As painful as it might've been, he ran to the back of his home where (ironically) a rose bush sat and picked one.

He made it back inside and grabbed a pen and some paper. He sat back at his table and placed the rose next to the paper.

He had never shown his poetic skills to anyone except when they helped Bridget with Gristle, but Poppy was special and he wanted to give her his best.

Before he wrote he glanced over at his grandma's picture one more time.

Answers don't always come in the form of verbalized words
He thought to himself and smiled.

________
So basically, this chapter is the reason for the story's title.
Also the poem is not mine, I just found it and fell in love with it!

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, Angels~