Chapter Text
Prison wasn't exactly a walk in the park, but Veneer never once thought it would be.
He was completely prepared to pay the full price for his and his sister's crimes. Velvet was obviously not pleased at her brother's "betrayal" as she put it. She hadn't spoken to him even once since the night they were arrested.
Despite everything, he genuinely missed her.
But Veneer learned to distract himself from the broken relationship. The prison had several classes inmates could take, new hobbies to learn so that eventually they could lead normal lives once their sentences were over. One of the available classes was dance lessons, and Veneer signed up almost instantly.
He remembered how back when he and Velvet were little and they used to make up silly dances for fun. Sure they might not have been anything groundbreaking, but the talent was there. Only instead of working to perfect that talent, they opted for the more wicked choice of stealing Floyd's.
Floyd.
Veneer often wondered how the little pink haired Troll was doing now. The last he had seen of him, Floyd had just been revived from his near brush with death. A death that Velvet and Veneer himself would have caused.
God, how could Veneer have let it all get to him? He constantly tried to excuse his actions because of his love for his sister, which started out as true. But once they had entered the spotlight, the fame, the money, the possessions. It took over his rational thinking, and in truth, made him just as bad as Velvet.
If Veneer ever had the chance to see Floyd again, he would definitely apologize. He didn't care if the Troll would never forgive him, who would? But he still wanted him to know how truly sorry he was.
But for now, he was doing his best to redeem himself. It was paying off, slowly but surely. Initially, his and Velvet's sentences were to be fifteen years. That included the Trollnapping, torture, and fraud. So by the time they would be released they'd both be in their early thirties.
However, Veneer had some time knocked off of his sentence. He had been the one to confess for their crimes, and plead guilty at trial. That in itself took away a few years. Then there was good behavior and community service, both of which Veneer did well with. In all, he was looking at a now eight year sentence, with eligibility for parole.
Velvet was not so lucky.
Her refusal to accept what she did was wrong, along with her brash behavior meant she was going to be serving her full sentence with no parole. Knowing that Veneer was going to be released long before her only made her resent him that much more.
They shared the same cell but that was it. Veneer was lucky to even a grunt of acknowledgement from her. But maybe that was a good thing. He didn't need her toxicity ruining his new life that he was trying to build.
So why did it hurt so much?
Velvet was nothing but rude and cold to Veneer their entire lives. He really should have cut her out as soon as they were arrested. But Veneer just couldn't do it. He longed for those small moments of happiness they used to have together. Gossiping, talking about the latest fashions, watching music videos. He just wanted a normal relationship with his sister, no manipulation or bullying. It was just unlikely to ever happen, and Veneer was slowly coming to terms with it.
He still kept that small spark of hope in his heart though.
It had been a little over two years since the performance at Mount Rageous. Velvet and Veneer were both now eighteen, and still serving their sentences. Veneer had just finished dance class for the day and was looking forward to relaxing in his cell. His skills were definitely improving, no doubt about that. He often thought about maybe trying to get a job as a backup dancer once he was released from prison.
He entered his cell to find Velvet already there. They locked eyes for a single second before she just huffed and turned away. Honestly, it was better than before. At least she acknowledged him more often now.
Veneer gave her a small smile before setting his water bottle down on his bed. He was planning on reading a book he'd gotten from the prison library before dinner, when there was the jangling of keys at the cell door. The twins looked up in confusion, wondering what the guard wanted with them.
"Inmate 08231978," the guard called out, his voice gruff. Veneer stood up and shyly raised his hand.
"Yes sir...?"
"Come with me. You have a visitor."
Veneer's eyes widened in surprise. A visitor? In the two years he and Velvet had been incarcerated, no one had ever visited them. Their parents had passed away not long after they became superstars, and they never really had any friends. All they had were their fans but there weren't many of those either, understandably.
Velvet's face contorted into a miffed expression when she heard her brother had a visitor and not herself. When Veneer looked at her she just rolled her eyes and scoffed.
"Vel, I don't know who it could be, honest!" Veneer said. He didn't want her to hate him any more than she already did.
Velvet didn't give him an answer. She waved her hand as if to shoo him away, clearly irritated. Once again, out of the many times she acted like this, his heart broke a little more.
Veneer followed the guard out of the cell and down the hallway to the visitation room. As they walked, he wondered who could possibly be there to see him. Their parents were dead. A former fan? Maybe, but that seemed unlikely. What if it was that cute reporter that interviewed him and Velvet? Probably for a scoop on what it was like being a celebrity behind bars. Veneer shook his head. He doubted it, that guy had much better things to report on than him.
So who on earth could it be?
Veneer got his answer as he was seated at the desk, behind a plexiglass wall. There was a telephone on a hook next to him and he picked it up. So far, he couldn't see anyone on the other side of the glass, and he quickly wondered if this was some kind of prank.
"Veneer?"
The gentle voice came through the speaker of the phone. Veneer leaned forward slightly, trying to see who was there. The phone on the other side of the glass was sitting on the desk, and from behind it, the sight of familiar pink hair caught Veneer's attention. He couldn't believe it.
It was Floyd.
Floyd noticed Veneer's shocked look and smiled. "Hey. Can you hear me okay? Phone's just a little big for me, but I think I got it."
"Y-Yeah. Yeah, I can hear you," Veneer replied, unable to keep the surprise out of his voice. Floyd was actually here, and talking to him. What was going on?
"Well uh..." Floyd began, awkwardly rocking back and forth on his heels. "How have you been?"
"Oh, uh, good!" Veneer answered quickly. "Well, y'know, I'm in prison, but other than that, it's been alright here."
"Right, right..." Floyd said, nervously chuckling. "How's that working out?"
"Well, I've been working hard. I'll be up for parole soon and... Oh! I'm taking dance lessons here, it's one of the hobbies inmates can pick up. The instructor says I'm getting pretty good."
Floyd's eyes lit up. "Dance lessons? That's really cool!"
"Yeah," Veneer agreed. "Definitely easier than stealing a Troll's talent or something, heh..."
There was a brief bout of awkward silence. Veneer didn't really know what to say, and neither did Floyd. Veneer's gaze locked onto the little Troll's once vibrant pink hair. It was still the same color, just slightly faded, and with a white streak running through it.
"Is... that from..."
Floyd was confused for a moment before realizing that Veneer was pointing to the white streak in his hair. "Oh, this? Yeah, it never went away after what happened."
Veneer was instantly filled with guilt. He did that. Well, it was mostly his sister's doing, but he was just as guilty. Floyd noticed and tried to brush it off as nothing.
"Oh, don't worry about it! Actually, I think it looks pretty cool-"
"Floyd, why are you here?" Veneer asked, cutting him off.
Floyd shrugged. "I just... I don't know... I wanted to see how you were doing."
"But why?" Veneer repeated. "I was horrible to you, I was horrible to your brothers! My sister and I nearly killed you, and now you're visiting me here in prison? If I was you, I wouldn't want to be within five feet of me!"
Floyd looked down at the desk he stood on, thinking. If he was honest, he didn't really know why he was there himself. Well, he had an inkling of an idea.
"Veneer... I always thought, during the entire time you and Velvet had me captive, that you had some good in in. And I can see it now, even more so. I just wanted you to know that... I forgive you."
Veneer sat back in his seat, shocked. Floyd... forgave him? No, he had to have heard wrong. There was no way anyone, let alone Floyd, could forgive him.
"You're joking. This is some kind of prank, right? For a TV show or something?"
Floyd was sad that Veneer didn't believe him. "N-No! I would never joke about something like that. I really do forgive you."
"I still don't understand why you would ever forgive me though!" Veneer exclaimed.
Floyd's voice grew soft. "I think everyone deserves a second chance... especially you. I know you regret what you've done. And that shows that you are worthy of forgiveness. That you are worthy of a second chance."
Tears threatened to spill from Veneer's eyes. No one had ever been this nice to him since... well, God knows how long. And this kindness coming from the one person who should hate him the most... it was just too much.
"T-Thank you, Floyd..." Veneer said softly, barely able to raise his voice above a whisper for fear of just breaking down and sobbing.
Floyd smiled. "No problem."
"I just wish I could tell your brothers how much I'm sorry as well," Veneer lamented. "Although I doubt they'd ever come here. M-Maybe you could tell them for me?"
Floyd sighed and tapped his foot against the desk. "I would... but that really seems like something you should do yourself."
"Right, right..." Veneer nodded in agreement. "It wouldn't mean the same coming from you. If I want to own up to my mistakes I should do it myself. Is there any chance at all that they might come here?"
"Highly unlikely," Floyd said. "They're... difficult sometimes."
Veneer gave him a half smile. "I understand. It's no problem."
Floyd went silent, thinking to himself. He really wanted his brothers to know how much Veneer regretted his actions. But they'd never agree to a visit. There had to be some other way.
"Veneer... you said you're up for parole soon, right?" Floyd asked. Veneer nodded.
"Yeah, a few months from now. Why?"
Floyd took a deep breath. "When you go on parole, I want you to come to Pop Village with me. You can meet my brothers there, and we can talk this all out."
Veneer was immediately nervous. "I don't know... Do you really think that's a good idea?"
Floyd shrugged. "It's the best idea we have right now. My brothers definitely won't come to you... so you gotta go to them."
The idea of meeting up with Floyd's brothers made Veneer's stomach tie in knots. But he needed to do this. He needed to apologize. And whether or not any of them forgave him or not, he would at least feel a little better knowing they had heard him out.
"I'll do it."
A soft smile broke out onto Floyd's face. "Really?"
Veneer nodded. "Yes. I want to do this. I need to do this."
"Good. Good! I'll uh... prepare my brothers for this. Just let me know when you'll be out for parole and I'll get everything arranged."
The two chatted for a little while longer before eventually parting ways for the day. As Veneer headed back to his cell, and Floyd left the prison, they both could only think of one thing.
How on earth were they ever going to get the bros to forgive him?