As the kids finished up their dinner, Poppy went into her's and Branch's bedroom to check on her husband, smiling when she saw he was sleeping peacefully in their bed just like she had told him to.

     She was happy to see he was finally getting the rest he deserved, giving him a quick kiss on the forehead before leaving the room.

—————

     Once the queen of pop got back into the kitchen, she couldn't help but laugh when she saw Azalea standing up on a chair, holding out the dirty dishes for Shimmer to lick clean.

(Drawing by Natalyartsandstuff)

     "What are you doing?" Poppy giggled, the little four year old looking up at her with a smile.

     "Shimmer and I are helping with the dishes," she announced proudly, placing the plate she was holding into the cabinet.

     "Well thank you, sweetie... but that's more of an adult job," Poppy said, walking over to pick up Azalea in her arms. "Why don't you and your brother go play for a bit, while mommy cleans up? Ok?"

     "Ok, mommy," Azalea giggled as her mother placed her down onto the floor, the young troll quickly running off with her brother, both of them heading into the living room to play with their toys.

     Poppy giggled, looking down at the little Cuddle Pup who still sat at her feet, looking up at the pink troll, waiting to be given more dishes to lick the food off of.

     "You too, Shimmer," she laughed, the pup letting out a quiet whimper of disappointment before walking off to play with the kids...

Half an hour later
—————

     "Ok, kids," Poppy announced, drying off her hands with a towel as she walked into the living-room. "Time for... bed?"

     The queen of pop was shocked to see the room was empty, both kids nowhere to be seen...

     "Azalea?" she said, looking around in confusion. "Twig?"

     Where were they...

—————

     In Azalea's bedroom, the young child slept peacefully in her bed, her father sitting in a chair beside her as he read softly from a her favorite book.

     "And then the littlest troll finally discovered that being safe... was the most fun thing of all..." Branch read softly. "The end..."

     "Branchifer!"

     "Ahh!" Branch gasped, flinching at the sudden harsh voice as he quickly turned his head to see his wife standing in the doorway, her hands placed angrily on her hips.

     "Oh... Pop... Poppifer..." he stuttered, faking an innocent grin as he looked over at the love of his life. "What are you doing in here?"

     "I could ask you the same question..." Poppy replied firmly. "Why are you not asleep?"

     Branch gulped at the anger in his wife's voice, slowly shutting the book he was holding as he rose up to his feet.

     "Well... I... I was..." he started. "But... but then I woke up... and I realized it was the kid's bedtime... and you know how Azalea loves it when I read her to sleep, and..."
"Branch..." Poppy interrupted with a sigh. "I know you love our kids... and I know you love me... but we love you too. And you know that if you need to rest... we won't blame you for missing our usual traditions..."

     "I'm fine, Poppy," Branch stated, placing the book onto one of Azalea's shelves before walking towards the door. "Besides... I'm going out anyways and..." He froze in place at the sound of his own words, regretting them instantly. Why the hair did he say that!?

     "Wait... you're going out again!?" Poppy asked in shock. "Branch! You can't keep going out this late at night! What are you even doing out there?"

     "I'd... uh... rather not say..." he muttered softly, turning back to her as he nervously rubbed the back of his head in shame. "But I promise... I'll be back soon. I just need to do something real quick."

    "You need to sleep, Branch..." Poppy said in concern, looking straight into her husband's crystal blue eyes.

     "And I will sleep," he said, giving her a slight grin. "When I get home..."

     "Can't whatever this is wait till morning?" she asked.
"Well... it... it's kinda something that has to be done while no ones around..." Branch stated nervously, looking away from his wife in slight fear of her figuring out what it was that he was doing. "They'll be too many trolls around in the morning... but like I said..." He looked back at her, giving the pink troll a reassuring smile before continuing. "It wont take long. And then I'll sleep for the rest of the night."
"And morning?" Poppy added firmly, still worried he wasn't getting enough sleep.
"And morning," Branch assured, giving the love of his life a quick kiss. "I love you, Poppy."
"I love you too, Branch... please... come home soon..."