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Grandma's pod in the old Troll Tree brought back a familiar sense of comfort to Floyd. It had been over twenty years since he'd last been there. Though covered with a fine layer of dust and the colors a little dimmer, it still felt like home.
He sighed as he looked around. "Wow... everything still looks the same."
"Yeah," Branch said, hopping into the pod behind his brother. "I haven't really done anything with the place. We've only recently just started making the tree look nicer as a sort of tribute to the Troll/Bergen Friendship Pact."
Floyd gently placed a hand on the nearby wall. He remembered growing up in this pod. Watching his brothers running around and roughhousing, the long nights spent practicing their singing and choreography, the smell of warm cookies baking.
Branch looked over at the sound of his brother stifling a sob. Tears were threatening to spill from Floyd's eyes. Branch had seen Floyd cry plenty of times, he was called the sensitive one after all. But this time near about broke his heart.
"Floyd-"
"I'm fine," the magenta haired Troll said abruptly, wiping his eyes. "Just... a lot of memories... a lot of regrets..."
Branch walked up to him and placed a hand on his shoulder. "I get it... but at least there's new memories to make, right?"
Floyd smiled. "You're right..."
Branch took a look around the pod. "Y'know, if you're gonna be living with me, it might be a good idea to grab some of your old stuff from here. You don't really have anything, do you?"
Floyd shook his head. Throughout his entire solo career he'd never actually had a home of his own. Most of his days were spent in a tour bus or crashing at the nearest hotel. He didn't have many possessions of his own. Luckily, Grandma never threw out her grandchildren's things after the band broke up. Branch could never bring himself to do so either. So all of the boys' things had been sitting in the pod gathering dust ever since the escape.
"I brought some boxes, we don't have to get everything today. Don't wanna overwork ourselves or anything," Branch said. He tried to secretly glance over at Floyd after that, but his brother instantly picked up on it.
Ever since his rescue, Floyd's health hadn't exactly been the greatest. Almost dying from having your talent forcibly sucked from you did that to a Troll. He got tired much more often, and couldn't over exert himself too much. The last time that happened he'd fainted, sending all his brothers spiraling in a collective panic attack.
But it had only been a little less than a month since it all happened, so there was still hope he would get better. That was the whole reason why Branch offered his bunker in the first place. Totally not just because he was scared of his brother living alone. He would never admit that. But Floyd knew his baby brother.
"I'll get started packing up the kitchen stuff. With one more person around I'll need a few more dishes," Branch said with a smile.
"You really don't have to do this for me," Floyd began, but Branch immediately shut him down.
"No. Don't start that again. You're staying with me. End of story."
"I just feel like I'm being a burden or something..."
"Floyd, I built that bunker for us!"
Branch shyly kicked at the floor.
"I even put one of your old posters up in one of the rooms..."
Floyd cracked a smile. "Really?"
Branch couldn't help but smile back, before instantly changing back to his nonchalant demeanor. "Well it was a cool poster, y'know. My Chemical Trollmance was a great band."
Floyd rolled his eyes. "Well, if I move in, I guess I can help you build that water slide."
"Oh definitely, it'll be the crowning jewel of the whole place."
The two shared a laugh together before grabbing some boxes.
"Okay, like I said, I'll start on kitchen."
"And I'll get some living room stuff packed up," Floyd added. "I bet that bunker could use some of Grandma's touch."
"It'll go right along with Poppy's then, I can't walk two feet without finding glitter on the floor."
Branch headed into the kitchen to sort through the dishes and silverware. Floyd stayed in the living room, walking up to the couch and dusting off some of the pillows. He picked up a familiar quilt and began to fold it when something caught his eye. The old record shelf!
Floyd let out a soft chuckle as he knelt down in front of the shelf, thumbing through the old vinyl. There was BroZone stuff of course, their first album, the first single with Branch. Then there was the music Grandma used to listen to. A lot of pop rock and such. Floyd pulled a single off of the shelf and smiled. Man, Grandma used to love this one.
He stood up and turned on the record player, luckily it had recently been cleaned off. He carefully sat the old record down and set the needle over it. A short, soft crackling sound emitted from the speaker before the song started up. As it played, Floyd went back to packing, humming along.
While Floyd was busy in the living room, Branch started digging through drawers and cabinets, grabbing all the dishes he could find. Maybe it was a little too much for just two people, but he planned to have more people over hopefully, friends and family. All of the brothers had a dinner set for sometime in future, so better to have too many dishes than none at all.
He heard something crackling in the living room and his ears perked up. Floyd must have started the record player up, of course he did. Work was always better with a little background music. He went back to his task, not paying much attention to the song playing in the living room. When Branch had something to do, most other things just blended into the background.
He stood up to reach a stack of dishes in the top cabinet. In the other room, the music got a little louder as it reached the chorus.
And I need you now tonight
And I need you more than ever
And if you only hold me tight
We'll be holding on forever
Floyd's head snapped up as he heard the sound of several dishes hitting the floor and smashing into pieces. Scared that Branch might've gotten hurt, he ran to the kitchen, immediately out of breath the moment he got there.
"B-Branch?! What happened?! Are you okay?! Are you-"
He stopped when he noticed the younger Troll on the floor, leaning back against the wall, hyperventilating. His eyes were wide open and his skin had lost its soft teal color, now a depressing shade of gray. Floyd was terrified.
"Branch!"
Branch didn't even seem to notice that Floyd was there. His hyperventilating only seemed to get worse, and Floyd was scared he'd pass out or something. The older Troll knelt down next to his little brother, trying to process the situation and figure out his next move.
"Branch... Branch look at me. Focus on me. It's Floyd. I'm here, you're okay..."
Branch finally seemed to notice his brother's presence. He was still panicking, though his eyes were locked onto Floyd's, the terror in them heartbreaking. Floyd reached out gently, but then pulled back.
"Can... Can I touch you...?"
Branch thought about that question for all of two seconds before rapidly shaking his head.
"Okay... okay, no worries. Just look at me. Watch how I'm breathing, okay? Slow, in and out..."
Floyd demonstrated, taking a deep breath in and then letting it out.
"Copy me, just like that... in and out..."
The words finally got through to Branch, and his took a deep breath in, but quickly let it out.
"Little slower than that, it's okay. Just a little slower..."
Floyd did it again, trying to get Branch to follow the same steps. Branch took in another deep breath, holding it for a few seconds, before letting it back out.
"That's great, you're doing so great Bitty B."
The old nickname slipped out of Floyd's mouth accidentally. But this time, Branch didn't mind it. It made him feel safe. He breathed in and out again, more slowly this time, and finally stopped hyperventilating. He then reached his arms out. Floyd recognized the motion. Branch used to do it all the time as a baby, whenever he would want a hug but couldn't use words to signify as such. Floyd leaned in and wrapped his arms around his baby brother, hugging him firmly yet gently. Branch sighed, closing his eyes as he leaned into his big brother's touch.
The teal color of Branch's skin slowly began to brighten back up, though his hair stayed the same gray color. That was fine, it would come back later. The two stayed like that for a while, in silence, just hugging each other.
The silence was finally broken by Floyd. "So... can I ask what happened...?"
Branch's eyes opened back up, he looked absolutely exhausted by the ordeal he just went through. "It's... It's a long story..."
"I have nothing but time, Bitty B."
Branch's gaze drifted to the floor. "I just... I heard the song... and..."
Floyd's eyebrows furrowed together. "The song? Oh, you mean the record I was playing? I saw all the singles and remembered how Grandma used to love that one."
Branch smiled weakly. "It was her favorite song... that's why I was singing it for her when... before she... when she..."
His voice broke. That's when Floyd understood what he meant. Over the last month Branch had gotten better at opening up, and talking about his past and his feelings. Though the brothers didn't have the entire story yet, they all knew that Grandma had been taken to be eaten on Trollstice, and that Branch had witnessed the whole thing. They never had understood why Branch blamed himself so much for the incident, especially since he'd only been around four at the time.
"What do you mean that's the song you were singing?"
Branch pulled his knees up to his chest. "It was all my fault, Floyd... if I hadn't been singing that song I would've heard Grandma yelling for me... she wouldn't have pushed me out of the way... she wouldn't have... died for me..."
Floyd's heart broke. Now he understood. Branch had been singing that day and must not have seen the Bergen. And Grandma, being the selfless, big-hearted woman she was, gave her life to save his.
"Branch, no. That wasn't your fault. Grandma would've done that for you a hundred times over. She would've done that for all of us. She loved us with all of her heart..."
Tears pricked at the corners of his eyes. "If anything, it's my fault... I should've never left... I should've been the one who stayed... instead I just 'listened to my heart'... I never even got to tell Grandma goodbye... or say I loved her..."
Branch rested his head on Floyd's shoulder. "She knew..."
That did it. Floyd started crying and couldn't stop for a good while after that. Branch just sat there in the comfort of his brother's arms. The two stayed like that, finding solace in the other's company.
"You're really good at helping with panic attacks..." Branch mumbled softly.
"Yeah... I've had my fair share."
"I guess it runs in the family."
Floyd chuckled softly. "You could say that again..."
When Branch didn't come home to his bunker that night, Poppy went to go check on him. Finding her boyfriend asleep, curled up in his brother's arms, it took all her restraint to not take a photo.