Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

Sometimes the greatest act of love is an act of defiance.

At least that was what Floyd kept repeating to himself as he sneaked around the place that had been his home for the last couple years.

He had been left behind during the actual attacks on the other Tribes despite some Hard Rock Trolls demanding him to be present and participating in them as some kind of loyalty test but Barb had vehemently refused to bring him along and maybe it was just because she was afraid he would prove those Rock Trolls were right to doubt him all along or maybe it was her way of doing something kind for him; Floyd couldn't tell.

Either way it just cemented his resolve to follow her to the end of the earth...

That resolve lasted until he saw what was left of the Pop Trolls arrive on an Angler bus and be put in cages with the rest of the other Tribes.
When he had heard one of the Funk princes tell the rest of the prisoners how the Pop Queen had a plan to stop the Rock Trolls, he had dismissed it as just an intimidation tactic because the Troll Tree was destroyed, Pop was gone…

They were supposed to all be dead and yet they were here, bright and annoyingly loud; Floyd tried not to look directly at them, fearing that he might recognize someone or maybe fearing that they might recognize him.

It was in that moment that the realization really hit him: if Pop was still alive and apparently thriving then… he might still be alive.
How could he keep him that way?

He could probably ask Barb to just not do anything to his brother… she did like Floyd… he thinks; specially since he is the breathing proof that sometimes, Pop Trolls can be born with the capacity to appreciate good music.

But what if his brother doesn’t forgive him for siding with the ‘bad guys’? The only reason that Floyd had made peace with this whole operation is the fact that he has been around the block a few times and has seen the worst of all the Tribes but especially Pop and even then, just this week he had written an album worth of songs about dealing with guilt, feeling guilty and failing to deal with guilt.

His little brother… he was too tiny to comprehend half of the things that happened in Brozone… that happened to Brozone.

And what if Br he followed the path of their parents and began to have children young and by the dozen?!

Or what if…

He left the dungeons before he could continue spiralling, he ran away from the urge to look for someone he might know like one of his brothers just to be met by the sight of the Pop Queen, the young, probably even younger than Bran Barb, Pop Queen, ... and suddenly the answer to all of his problems had presented itself; the Pop Queen had a plan and if he played his cards right he might be able to protect his whole family; those who he thought he had lost and those who he had found along the way.

Honestly Barb and Riff should have never left him alone till the deed was done because even after all those talks they had about the plan, even after he finally admitted to himself that he was perhaps a little bitter towards his former tribe, they should know that Floyd sometimes can’t help to hope for things that were never meant to be and hope, even if it’s just a little makes him stupid.

"Psst, hey Miss Pop Queen" Like he said hope makes him stupid; which is the only reason he is hanging from the ceiling looking at the young pink Troll that his husband's best friend had claimed was enemy number one. "I'm sorry to interrupt your alone time but I was wondering if you would be amendable to do an exchange"

"Why would I make a deal with a Rock Troll?" The young Queen pouted in a way that Floyd had no right to find cute but did anyway.

“Well for one I can and will sneak you out of here” He knows that he does not look like the sneaky type but that is no reason for the Pop Queen to look that skeptical and he will prove it with his second offering: “aaaaand because I am willing to give you this" Floyd pulls the hot pink String from where it was previously camouflaged in his hair.

It had been concernedly easy to retrieve it from Barb's guitar, he only had to play the part of the sweet, helpful, homemaker looking for his husband and most Rock Trolls were not only happy to point him in the right direction but let him into rooms he had no business being in, even as the husband to the Queen’s right hand Troll.

To be fair, he purposefully chose to only approach Trolls that he knows that, even after all these years still saw him only as Riff's arm candy.

"The Pop String!" The pink Troll ran towards the bars that encased her in the small cage, trying to get a good look at him and the String.

"Shhhhhh!" He dropped carefully to the floor in front of the prisoner "Do we have a deal or not Miss Pop Queen?" Honestly, he was getting nervous about this; he had the whole thing planned but the executing part was proving to be kind of nerve wracking.

"...And what do you want so much that you are willing to do all that?" Floyd is suddenly hit with some kind of weird feeling, as if the Pop Queen was trying to impersonate someone else, which makes no sense because he doesn’t know her at all, but for some reason he was certain that exercising caution was uncharacteristic of her.

"Well, first of all I will get you out of here and in exchange you will only have to help me look for this one Pop Troll..." Something flashes on the Queen's face, she takes a step back from the bars and looks him up and down distrustfully, judging.

If this was any other circumstance, Floyd would believe that the other Troll was judging his outfit (He is dressed in an oversized, white, crochet mesh sweater, black ripped shorts and a huge belt and in his expert opinion he looks very cute ) but there was something else there, something he would dare to call protective; it makes him feel like she was trying to figure him out.

"What would you want with a Pop Troll?" She sounded like she was trying to growl but he knew firsthand that Pop Trolls were not used to growling so the first times could be difficult.

"I don't want to hurt him if that is what you are thinking!" Well not intentionally but it was not for him to decide how his brother felt about seeing him again. “He doesn't even have to meet me if he doesn't want to" He would love to see him, to hug him, to hear what happened in his life, to be part of that life... but again that was not his call. “I just want to know that he is okay and happy."

"So you will get me out of here and return the Pop String to me, just to know how someone's doing?"

"Well not exactly; I will get you out of here and I mean not only the cage but the whole venue for the info” He walks closer to the cage but keeps his body angled towards the door as a warning. “I will give you the Pop String if you give me your word that whatever you do with it and your freedom will not hurt the Rock Tribe, Queen Barb or Rock music”

Yes hope makes him that stupid sometimes.

“Where have you been?!” He winced a little as her tone goes loud and high “It’s you guys that are attacking the other genres, not the other way around!”

“And it’s why I am willing to help you, but I am not going to stand by and let Pop erase and ignore anything that isn’t happy, colourful and …perfect!” Floyd was not going to lie, saying that to a Pop Troll specially THE Pop Queen, was very cathartic; every time he had aired his grievances with his former Tribe he was met with enthusiastic nods and cheers from the Rock Trolls because it reinforced their opinion that Pop was annoying and shallow but saying it to someone that really knew and probably believed the lie and life of Pop… “I know you guys don’t mean to harm anyone but it’s what you always do…”

She looks stricken at his words, it almost made Floyd feel bad; she was young, she probably didn’t even remember the Troll Tree and with the Pop Trolls ‘Celebrating The Good Times’ mentality it had probably never been explained to her in any meaningful way; this was probably the first time that she had been outside of her bubbly village; she didn’t deserve to be judged by the actions of those that came before her.

He is about to apologize when something seems to click in her mind as she looks at him, it makes him nervous.

“You are a Pop Troll” She whispers.

“What?! No!” His heart pounds in his ears, no one had accused him of such a thing in a long time, specially not without previous knowledge of his origins; his mind is dived in between finding out what in his whole appearance or speech gave him away while another that sounds suspiciously like J.D. is telling him that he is wasting time arguing with the younger Troll while he should be practising escaping. “I don’t know what it gave you that idea but you are wrong” He puts the Pop String back into his hair, it’s the perfect camouflage since his hair is just a little bit darker… maybe that gave it away… nope he is not going to think like this; he has met other Rock Trolls with pink and magenta hair. it’s not exclusive of Pop Trolls.

“I don't know, but I’m sure about it! There is something about you that kind of reminds me of my best friend, except that you are less grumpy about it than he is… And you know and care about a Pop Troll! It makes s much more sense, you infiltrated their ranks and now….” Her ramblings are exited and so loud that Floyd cringed.

“Queen Poppy!” He finally interrupted when she ignored his gestures to speak in a lower voice “I did not infiltrate the Rock Trolls, I am not a spy and most certainty I am not a Pop Troll” He emphasized the last part to make sure she understood what he considered was the most important part of his whole speech. “Now do we have a deal? Because the time is ticking and once Queen Barb is ready to start her show I can't do anything to help you”

“I accept” She extends her paw for him to shake but when he cautiously reaches to take it she takes it away “With the condition that you Pinkie Promise that this is not a trap”

"Are you crazy?! the glitter and power resulting from a Pinkie Promise would bring security down on us!" He whispers frenetically, in panic, he should have known that Pop Trolls always were and always would be a little unhinged.

"You are a Pop Troll!" She celebrates in his face, her overbite showing just how excited she is. “Hickory, told me that Pinkie Promises are a Pop Tribe thing, at first he didn't even knew what a Pinkie Promise was… can you believe it?” Floyd didn't know how to feel about this insistence to label him as Pop, on one paw this made the younger Troll more comfortable trusting him but on the other paw it would feel manipulative to let her think he is something he was not.

"I'm not a Pop Troll" He stops her “... not quite" He begins to work on the lock of her cell, trying to ignore the feeling of her curious eyes on him as he works " I used to live at the Troll Tree..." He admits reluctantly, if only to make sure she trusts him.

"How does a Pop Troll end up in Volcano Rock city?" He has half in mind to protest again about the label, he has been a Rock Troll for almost 20 years but the fact that he is at least a little bit Pop seems to comfort the Queen.

" Well your majesty that's a really long story" One that he has never ever told to anyone.

"Oh, just call me Poppy and if you haven't noticed, I'm nothing but a captive audience right now" She to emphasize her point she leans on the bars of her cell with a bored huff.

"Umm, well ..." He can't believe he is even talking this much; usually he is not as open with his past as he is being right now, maybe it's because this is the first Pop Troll he has interacted with in a while, or maybe it's because Queen Poppy has an air of friendliness that just invites him to speak (Maybe it’s because the last Troll that looked at him with that amount of wonder was Bran). "First off you run away from home trying to make it as a solo act..." The door makes no noise as it opens, freeing the captured Troll "You end up signing what at first glance looks like a great deal in 'Las Joyas' but has a ton of hidden clauses that make you practically a slave to your manager, who then makes you do all kinds of things so you can repay your 'debt' which leads to making a lot of regrettable and unhealthy choices just to cope..."

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

Floyd was absolutely wasted and giving his all to the dance floor after one of his performances.

It had been a good show, not an excellent or a remarkable one, just one of the many he had scheduled for this week; lately performing has become such a chore; he wondered if it was just the natural course of things, that even with his passion for music, all of it would inevitably become as boring and mundane as any other job.

He tried to drown those thoughts in the loud music, it was so loud that it was giving him a headache, he was tired and wanted to leave; he would leave, if he just had a place to go… he knew very well if he went back to his apartment to rest he would have nothing to do but stare at the selling and think about how little he enjoyed anything these days, so instead he stayed in the club to drink, dance and keep those thoughts away.

Other Trolls watched him with cautious interest. It was obvious in some cases how much they wanted to come closer... To pull him closer; despite that he danced alone. No one really wanted the problems that came with dating an artist under Cash's Management.

Floyd was pretty, he had a beautiful voice and knew how to party but ...
He was not worth it.

Suddenly there was a tall Troll in front of him, not swaying, not dancing, not even clapping to the rhythm of the music, just staring at him while awkwardly standing in the middle of the dance floor.

"Can I help you, cutie? " The other Troll is totally his type so the flirt comes out naturally but even if he wasn’t his type, he couldn’t afford to be rude to a potential fan; Cash has eyes everywhere, Floyd is never truly alone, and any mistake could give his manager the leverage to finally make Floyd sell something he can’t afford to lose.

"I umm… just wanted to dance ... With you" Floyd almost stops right there, because this Troll sounds sincere, not like someone that is too drunk to know better, not like someone who was dared to ask him to dance, but someone that genuinely wants to dance with Floyd… uh that hadn’t happened in a while.

" Then let’s dance" Is the only thing that he can think to answer because apparently he is so starved for any type of positive attention that his famous silver tongue gets tied at the first indication that someone might be genuine with him.

" I can't really dance" The other Troll looks away, embarrassed as he hides his paws on the pockets of his ripped jeans; he is definitely some kind of Rock Troll which fascinates Floyd, who even after five years of leaving the Troll Tree hasn’t interacted a lot with the different tribes. “Sorry I just… I will leave you alone now” The other Troll is about to walk away which is the opposite of what Floyd wants, so even if he should know better by now Floyd does something that he has been doing less and less during these last couple of years and reaches out…

"Well, if you can’t dance then… what can you do? "

The next thing Floyd knows, he is waking up in an unfamiliar bed with a stranger, one big, mean headache and a cheap ring on his finger.

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

"You fell in love with a Rock Troll” Poppy coos, looking at him with stars in her eyes and one paw over her heart as the other accepts his help climbing down the slippery rocks of one of the less used passages in the volcano.

"Well... not immediately" He has no way to know that, as he barely remembers what happen that night but he would like to think that there was more to them than just a drunk hook up gone right.

"But you did, right?" She looks so hopeful that Floyd can’t deny her that.

"Yeah, eventually" Poppy cheers. "How could I not? he just..."Floyd sighs unable to stop his heart from melting at the thought of his sweet, clumsy husband.

"He was your prince charming that swept you off your feet " The young Queen cups her own blushing cheeks as she sighs dreamily, it's perhaps a very exaggerated reaction to an admission of love from a Troll she just met which leads Floyd to believe she is thinking of someone else.

"He certainly did... in his own special goofy way" He can remember Pop’s easy, soft and fluffy perspective on falling in love, which is not bad… it’s just different from his own experience with the emotion; he wonders what his brothers would think of his … complicated love story. “He just understands me, you know? There doesn’t need to be any words between us because he just…”

“He knows you” The young Queen suddenly looks sad, like a realization just hit her “He is always there, listening and supporting you.”

“Yeah” He smiles kindly at her trying to comfort her while she is going through something she only knows. “And when you meet someone like that… you should hold on to them.”

“You really should” When she looks up to him, Floyd can tell she came to a resolution about what was troubling her.

Whoever won the heart of this Queen better be prepared because they are about to face the storm of her love; he hopes it works right for them.

It did for him.

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

He freaks out as the stranger he had woken up besides looks on a little confused; Floyd should probably calm down and talk to this cute stranger but how can he? he had to read the marriage certificate (a fluffing marriage certificate) to learn the name of his now husband (His name is Riff which is an amazingly cute name for an amazingly handsome specimen).

His freak out is cut short by Riff offering him an aspirin and a bottle of water that he got from Songstress knows where... both him and his new husband are in their underwear and covered in what looks like edible glitter, this is usually not a problem, the problem is that Cash is going to have his pelt when he hears about this; after all the manager is always going on and on about how half of Floyd's job is being desirable an unattainable or something like that.

"It's okay, we will figure it out" Riff has a smile that makes Floyd's chest a little tight; drunk Floyd makes terrible decisions with impeccable taste.

"I don't think you really understand, I am managed by Cash" He pleads with the handsome Troll, who he is sure isn’t going to be as nice as he has been once he understands in how much trouble Floyd got him in; Floyd might be pretty but he is not worth it. "Cashew? the sleaziest manager in the whole industry?" He adds once it's obvious that Riff has no idea who his manager is. "He is not going to be happy one of his money-making machines got hitched without his approval." Riff frowns deeply as he drinks from his own bottle of water. "Oh my god he is going to add soooooo many zeroes to my debt"

"Hey, I understood like half of what you are saying but it's obvious that you are very worried about something, so what about this: we can go downstairs, figure out where we are, after that we can walk to this amazing bakery I found yesterday, get breakfast and then go to the city hall to see if we can do something about the marriage thingy..." He offers his paw to Floyd who can't help but take it, he has just met this Troll, and he is already half in love with him.
Riff seems to be very attentive and understanding; he hasn't dismissed any of Floyd’s very real concerns despite not sharing them and instead is trying to redirect them toward something they could do...

Did he just find the perfect Troll? Has Drunk Floyd achieved what Sober Floyd could never? Wait, does this mean that he takes better decisions while drunk? Sober Floyd decisions, led him to a slave contract and a life away from his family, Drunk Floyd decisions on the other paw...

He has to stop himself from ogling his new, very rational husband.

"We should probably get cleaned up first" Floyd giggles, looking away from Riff's intense stare.

"Oh right..."

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

The volcano castle is built of Troll-made and natural tunnels that ran all the way around the main volcano in the city, they are so complicated that half of them are still unmapped; it was very easy to get lost in them if you didn’t know where you were going.

Luckily for Poppy, Floyd had spent most of his free time from the moment he and Riff moved here, memorizing as many of the less well-known tunnels as he could from all the different maps of the castle that were available in the library to prepare himself for when his easily distracted husband got inevitably lost in the tunnels.

It happened at least a couple of times in the last two years, especially since Riff had been technically promoted from a simple intern to Queen Barb’s intern and basically his right-hand Troll; that kind of promotion also came with a bigger apartment in a completely new part of the castle, which meant they both had to learn a new pathways.
It also meant Floyd was an expert on the secret tunnels that ran through the volcano, which was very convenient when one was trying to sneak a prisoner from under the whole Hard Rock Tribe’s noses.

“So you said that you left the tree to pursue a solo career” Poppy seems to have taken a shine to him, maybe it’s that he is the first friendly face she has seen in a while, maybe it’s because they are both kinda pink, or maybe because she feels a sense of kinship after he unintentionally guided her to realize she was in love with someone; whatever it is she seems to want nothing but ask question after question “Which implies you were part of a group before …anyone I would know?”

“Not really, we were just a little family band; it was never meant to be that serious and it was only good for making us fight “ Floyd specializes in choosing parts of the truth that will get most creatures off his back and besides it feels right to reduce ‘The Band’ to an unnecessary detail in his life story; Brozone consumed his and his brother’s childhoods, it should not be given any more chances to feast on his life. Besides judging by her age, Brozone was a little before her time. “It was just supposed to be a thing to give us a place in the Tribe.”

“It actually sounds like it pushed you away from the Tribe” It was weird, but Poppy seems to be coming into a lot of realizations during this escape.

“Don’t worry about it, I found the place I belong” Floyd would normally be all for personal growth, but he rather not deal with a Pop Queen who is going through a crisis while he is trying to get her out.

The Pop Queen does not look convinced with his statement, she is probably having a difficult time with the idea of someone born in Pop finding their place away from her Tribe; that is okay, Floyd also had a difficult time with that idea at first.

“The Pop Troll you are trying to find…?”

“My little brother” Floyd admits quietly, he is not ready to say his name out loud, he hasn't done it in almost 15 years, but also, he is not ready for whatever reaction The Pop Queen could have to it. What if her only reaction is stare confusedly at him and tell him that there is no one with that name in the Pop village?

He is not sure if he could continue with his mission if that was the case; so far hope is what keeps him sane and going so it’s better to keep that name close to his heart and the illusion up.

“So you had to leave your brother…” This information makes Poppy’s whole energy to waver, which doesn’t makes sense for Floyd, Pop Trolls tend to only hatch one Trolling per household, which usually means they are not very good understanding or empathizing with sibling bonds; then it hits him… there used to be another princess, one that he vaguely remembers from his Brozone days; she was closer to Clay’s age than his; whatever happened to her, he doesn’t know but something must have because now Poppy carries the crown.

“Relationships, especially family ones are complicated” He offers kindly trying to be as vague as he can be, he and Poppy don’t really know each other, and he doesn’t really want to get in between whatever family issues she obviously has or let her in the Brozone family drama but he still wants to give her comfort and assure her; he blames dumb big bro instincts and all that. “The important part is to always remember that sometimes you love someone even if you don’t like them very much at the moment”

Floyd would also say that the key to family relationships, just like with any relationship, is trying, but he fears the hypocrisy of that whole statement would choke up the words in his throat.

After all, what would he know about trying? He gave up ever contacting his big brothers after going back to the Troll Tree; he knew he had failed all of his brothers one way or another, they were better off without him, and he bets they thought it too because no one had reached out to him either.

“That makes no sense at all! A sibling is an eternal friend! It’s the strongest bond in the world!” He tries to shush her, nervous that her enthusiasm is going to get them caught but she seems to be on a roll here. “I am going to reunite you with your family and once you hug it out you will realize I am right!”

Some things could not be healed with hugs and his family was probably one of those things, especially if his brothers still refused to address the child star trauma they all but hopefully Bran the youngest had.

Despite knowing this Floyd doesn’t contradict the Queen of Pop; she didn’t know him or his brothers, but it was nice to see her smile and be excited about something.

She was naïve and bright. He could totally see why Barb would hate her…

She did not seem to get it, but Floyd hoped she soon would.

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

“If you could go anywhere where would you go?” The silence between him and this stranger that he had apparently married was driving him insane so he blurted the first thing that ran through his mind, which turned out to be a stupid first date question that he had read in a book or something.

“Like on vacation or…?” Riff appeared confused but at least he hadn’t outright made fun of Floyd or walked away, so he is gonna take that as a win.

“Like you know, whatever… a place that you wish you could go to?” The other Troll hummed, tilting his head as he thought his answer over.

Floyd took that moment to inspect him, from the top of his black beanie to the claws on his paws, he was definitely a Hard Rock Troll, which made him immensely more interesting to Floyd, who since he had found out about Rock music had been so intrigued by it and the culture that revolved around it; what a shame only Rock Trolls could visit Volcano Rock City, Floyd had heard amazing things about it.

Maybe Riff would be amendable to telling him about it once they had had breakfast.

“University” Riff’s sudden answer brought back Floyd’s wondering mind to the moment. “I mean I would like to be attending University not just visiting or passing through…” Riff mumbled nervously when after a few seconds of his answer Floyd didn’t reacted to it. “I mean it’s kinda lame … can I change my answer? “

“That is actually really cool…” Floyd reassured him with a paw on his arm and a gentle smile; he can’t believe that this Troll would think that an answer like that was lame, it is the most interesting answer that Floyd has gotten with this question, his other dates had always answered exclusive parties or luxurious places that they think he would be impressed by, no one had been that genuine about it. “What would you like to study?”

Riff lighted up immediately, it was something beautiful to see.

“Oh, amm…” He looked really surprised by the follow up question so it took him a few seconds to figure out his words “Right now I am a drum tech but like, I would love to be a sound engineer or even a producer someday…”

“You play the drums?!” Floyd had met his fair share of drummers but never a Hard Rock drummer and yes there was a difference, thank you very much.

“ I’m not that good…”

“You are good enough to be a tech and besides the fact you want to study audio engineering and production? You must know your fair share of tricks, I have so many questions…”

“Aaaaaah wait, ummm Floyd?” Riff stopped him before he could go into his tirade of questions about Double Bass Drums sets.

“Yeah?”

“If you could go anywhere where would you go?”

All cheeriness that Floyd had been feeling dropped and it almost made him feel cold, he immediately begun to formulate a fake answer, something simple enough so Riff, a Troll who barely knew him couldn’t tell it was an outright lie, but… Riff had been honest with him; he had shared something about him that he appeared to be a little insecure about and what kind of husband would he be if he repaid that kind of vulnerability with lies? But how do you tell someone that you want to go to a place you are not sure it exist anymore?

“Home… I would like to go home”

Maybe someday he will delve on the in the intricacies of the difference between the Troll Tree and the place he misses but today is not the day.

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

They finally make it out from the passages to the huge storage unit where Floyd had hidden a cart that he was going to use to smuggle Poppy out of the venue.

It was full of equipment boxes and instrument cases that Floyd had been pretending to be moving around for his husband and Queen Barb.

"Okay Poppy I need you to get in here" Floyd guided her to his own black guitar case " It will be a tight fit but it's safer this way" If something went wrong and he had to abandon the cart, no one would even bat an eye at Floyd hauling this case everywhere he went, as it was a common occurrence. "It does not close all the way, see? “ He points at the slight gap that remained even with the latches closed, it was a byproduct of use and time that he hadn’t had time to repair “So you will have plenty air and you can even see a little of where we are going but you need to be really quiet because we need to walk past some Trolls” He opened the case and waited but the Queen seemed to hesitate to get in “This is the only thing I could come up with".

"It's not that... I actually wanted to talk to you some more and hear more about how you met your husband" Was she pouting?

It must be that what is left of an older brother in him, awakened by the hope of seeing his little brother again that made him feel the need to offer a compromise that brings back the younger Troll’s smile.

"Tell you what Queen Poppy; you promise to be quiet and still for a few minutes and I promise you to take a less used route so I can continue with the story as soon as I can " The young Troll looks at him with stars in her eyes, which feels like filling his own chest with molten lava... it has been a long time since someone looked at him with amount of trust and admiration.

What is he doing? This kid is not Br his brother, she is not his responsibility, as soon as she is out of here and he is given what he wants, she is on her own, he shouldn’t get attached entertain her; she doesn’t even know his name.

He ignores his thoughts; once Poppy is hiding in the case and they made sure that all her hair was not trapped on the hinges or visible, Floyd is on his way.

Most Rock Trolls don't pay him a lot of attention; it was not that rare to see him running around, he had been living in the city for more than 10 years and his novelty had ran out quickly, some of them just smiled and waved or stopped briefly to fist bump him but no one really had time to stop to talk this close to show time, which was a good thing because Floyd was not good under pressure.

Which is why as soon as he hears a voice that he absolutely recognizes he takes a turn to one of the less used corridors and parks his little cart behind some busted amps for extra coverage before grabbing his guitar case and jumping into a secret tunnel that is hidden behind all the equipment, he quickly checks for other Rock Trolls who might have stash themselves there for a small nap but the passage appears to be empty today, thankfully; they were almost out and no one seems have even noticed the Pop Queen had gone missing which was good but Floyd was not going to take any chances by encountering anyone who had any reason to talk to him and delaying his mission.

"Okay, we can take a small break here" He told the younger Troll, opening the latches before he took a seat on one of the broken amps laying around.

"I'm alright, I don't need a break" Called the Pop Queen not pushing the lid completely off herself, just popping it up a little so she could look at him from his guitar case, her sunny disposition and messed up hair brought a smile to Floyd's face; she was very endearing and Floyd had always been a little weak around younger Trolls.

"It's not for you, it's for me, honestly this has been quite the workout" Floyd had been living in the city for most of his adult life and had moved to the main volcano two years ago but from time to time he still got stifled by the natural heat of the city specially when he had to drag a bunch of heavy instruments around. “Beside we might as well rest while we wait for some of the traffic in this side of the castle to die down a little”

"I have a question" Poppy looked at him intently like she was trying to figure something out.

"Okay?" Floyd tried to keep his eyes on the younger Troll but his ears on the voices outside of their hiding space.

"Are you... Were yo..." She seemed to be fighting her own curiosity, biting her lip, opening, and closing her mouth multiple times. Normally Floyd would not have let her wallow in indecision but there was something about her demeanour that told him he really didn't want to pressure her on this one, for both of their sakes. "...Why didn't you just run away?" Floyd stared at the younger Troll for a few seconds, confused about the question; he was not sure that was the question she initially wanted to ask but at the same time, what did she mean by that? Floyd had done nothing in his life but run away from all of his problems, he was a coward like that "From Cash, I mean"

"Oh... um" Floyd needed a few seconds to re-calibrate himself, of course Poppy meant Cash, she didn't knew of the death of his parents, she didn't knew of the pressure of the band and Floyd literally withdrawing emotionally from it because he could not take more fighting or about abandoning the same baby he had always used as an excuse to not take of himself ... she didn't knew about the strangers and substances he did before Riff or all the other stuff he had done just to cope with what he thought was the death of Pop and Bra... that didn't mattered because today he was choosing to not run away from that because Pop was alive, his brother was, if the heavens were forgiving alive and he would help them stay that way. "Well at first it was because I didn't really know what he was doing, every time I was pushed to do something I didn’t want to do or when he did really sketchy things I was tricked into believing this was something normal that most Trolls in the show industry had to go through and I had been just too young to notice it before; so I dismissed it like it was normal stuff you had to deal with, as a solo artist" He had felt so mature when Cash had treated him the way producers back in the day had treated John; it took him a while to realize even back then, there had been something wrong with that picture "When I realized what was happening it was too late, he had the master tapes of all my music, the rights to it all and I couldn't..."

He remembers when he finally wised up about Cash and confronted him, how he got torn down and mocked, how from then on, all his hard work, his heart and soul, was exhibited in the mantel of Cash's office, wrapped in a pretty pink box: a trophy for Cash and a reminder for Floyd that he was just a pretty decoration, that can and would be tossed aside once there was something better and shinier to put up there.

"And you couldn't bear to leave your music behind..." Poppy finished for him, a sad, understanding look on her face.

"Yes" He was not technically lying, she was right… partially; that was the safe, PG version he told himself when he couldn't face the rest of the truth; the less virtuous part of it.

The part where he became vain and arrogant and enjoyed life a little too much just to find everything came with a hefty price tag that he could not pay and that even if he decided that his soul and heart were not worth that life and ran away, he had nowhere to go.
He was too ashamed and scared to go back to the Troll Tree; ashamed because he really had nothing too great to show after all those years and afraid he was going to immediately be shoved back into being Brozone’s Floyd.

And while being a sad caricature of himself for the adoration of the Pop Tribe was slightly better than being a slave to a greedy manager, he was sure he would only make it so far before he was dragged back like a misbehaving pet; at the end of the day, no matter how talented and popular he was, in the eyes of the people and the authorities of 'Las Joyas' he was just another debtor, no better than any gambling addict that hadn't known where to stop.

" This Cash guy sounds like the worst" If Poppy sensed that there was more there, she didn't pressure him which Floyd appreciated.

"He was" He sighted, he couldn’t hear any of the voices that made him hide and he was worried if he continued to waste time, his window of opportunity would slam on their faces so he got up on his feet. "C'mon back in the case, we should hurry before someone realizes neither of us is where we should be" Poppy pouted up at him again, probably confused about how brief their stop had been but followed his instructions without another word and soon enough they were back on track to getting out of here.

Everything was going well, they were more than half way to where they needed to be, Floyd could finally believe that everything is going to be oka...

" Floyd! "

Busted... he thought he had avoided him but it seems that he had not… maybe if he pretended he had not heard anything, he could make a quick getaway, through another passage and lose him in the maze that was the castle, but his plan was foiled when he heard the voice call again...

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

"Floyd!" The amazing warmth that he had been filling Floyd from the moment he woke up besides Riff evaporated by the sound of that stupid, squeaky voice, accompanied by the smell of that cheap cologne that choked him up as a convertible stopped just by them "Baby bird! we have been looking everywhere for you! get in the car you have a party to practice for" He forces himself to relax, to project the 'there is nothing wrong about what I am doing' that he had mastered from a young age but had perfectioned in this last years under the watchful eye of his jailer manager.

Cash could not know there was something out of the ordinary or who knows what kind of problems he would bring for Floyd and Riff.

He had been living in a fantasy world since they had left the motel where he had woken up with Riff; how could he not? when the other Troll was so perfect in every way Floyd could think of: Riff was funny and respectful and handsome and a bit of a clumsy mess but he was the first creature that he had met since he arrived to this forsaken town that genuinely wanted to talk about Floyd's music.

They had had a great time at breakfast; his little show of sincerity had gone a long way in the breaking the ice department and it had been rewarded with Riff’s enthusiastic conversation about his drum set and his work as a sound technician; Floyd loved talking shop and gear with other musicians (which was something that most Trolls were surprised to find out about him) and from there it seem to be no barriers between them, they talked about literally everything that came to mind, from books they had not finished reading because they got too distracted and chores they absolutely hated doing to most annoying places to get a paper cut. They had also flirted… A LOT.

Riff had a casual way to see the world that marvelled Floyd, who always had a problem managing what he was feeling and not getting overwhelmed.

Riff made everything feel more manageable.

Floyd was having the time of his life and he really didn’t want it to end but there is no way he could refuse a direct order from Cash, especially when he was driving a car full of his brawny friends that could, would and had dragged Floyd to the car before, resistance would only make them angry and probably win him an uncomfortable trip in the trunk.

Which wasn’t a thing he wanted to happen in front of the guy he had been flirting with.

"We are actually in the middle of something" Riff interrupted him before he could get his thoughts out of the lovesick fog that he was in and think a way to get out of this situation.

It was like taking a cold bucket of water to the face, kind of refreshing, because no one had stood up for Floyd since he had left home but also a horrible way to wake up from a beautiful dream.

Riff smiled goofily at him and Floyd could not help but to answer with a nervous smile; this Troll was so perfect it was going to kill him, maybe even literally if the look Cash was giving him was anything to go by.

"Well I don't know who you think you are but Floyd is My Artist and I get to decide where he goes and what he does" Cash gave Riff a dismissive look like he couldn't believe someone like him had dared to talk to the manager, let alone contradict something that he had said.

So, there should be a way to disarm this absolute mine of a conversation before it exploded but Floyd couldn't just figure out how to do it before anyone brought up the....

"Well I am his husband and we have places to be" Oh there it was: the glorious truth in all its destructive glory.

"I'm sorry you are his what?! " Cash looked from a flushed Floyd to an stoic Riff and his face turned purple with anger "Floyd get in the car now"

Floyd made a totally subconscious move to follow the order like he always did but he was stopped by Riff wrapping a protective arm around him, that made a knot form in his throat, it had been a while since he felt safe in someone's hold.

The magic of the moment died down when Cash growled furiously.

Welp, if there was a time to grovel for forgiveness it's now.

"Cash just give me a second, okay? this is all a misunderstanding" He can feel Riff's frown directed at him and he knows that maybe, just maybe he should not be dismissing this situation as quickly as he is, especially because he could tell that there are budding feelings waiting to bloom on both sides, tangled in this mess of a marriage but he needs to take control of the situation before something else is said and the hole they are currently in gets deeper; Riff will understand once Floyd explains, he is confident of that, for some reason "I just need some time to fix..."

"Ten thousand at one..." His plans get immediately crushed at the obvious threat; his debt is already too high to keep adding to it like that.

"Cash please" He can feel Riff stiffening beside him, rising to his full high the way he had seen some Rock Trolls do while preparing themselves for a fight, which was the least thing he needed; the authorities were all in Cashew's payroll, one call and Riff would be in a lot of trouble just for trying to help Floyd.

"Ten thousand at two..."

Floyd quickly untangled himself from his new husband, giving him the most apologetic smile he could, trying to convey how sorry he was to cut their... breakfast-divorce date? early.

"I have to go, but I will find you later okay?" He really had no idea how he would manage to do that, if they had already checked out from the 'honey moon' motel they had woken up (It apparently had been included with the wedding package or so the receptionist had explained to them) but he really did not have time to figure it out when Cash was grinding his teeth behind him.

Before he can think better of it he kisses Riff's cheek, then he gets into Cash's convertible where his disgusting friends make him sit in the middle of the seat so one of them can throw an arm around his shoulders while the other places one of his paws on his knee; if Floyd didn't knew better he would say that they were only doing it to spite his new husband but sadly this was just the everyday routine he had resigned himself to.

There were tears burning in the corner of his eyes but he didn't let them fall knowing it would only make things worse so instead he chose to glare at his lap as the car raced down the empty streets of this horrible city and away from the only good thing that had happened to Floyd since he left home.

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

"Lollyrock wait up!" Aaaaaand he is using cutesy nicknames… nope; he can't just ignore this absolute menace of a Troll.

"Riff!" Floyd laughs as his husband hugs him from behind and twirls them around.

"Were you ignoring me?" Riff asks him once he sets him on the ground keeping his arms around Floyd, something he only does when nobody is around… if he only knew that there’s a Troll in his guitar case.

"No I was just deep in thought" Floyd is not the best at lying but he is awesome at distracting Riff so he compensates his lack of deceptive skills by fixing some of the messy hair that escapes his husband's beanie in a way that he knows that makes it really hard for Riff to think. "Did you need me for something, darling?" He asks as nonchalantly as he can while trying to hide the fact that he is currently in the middle of committing treason.

"I..." The beanie covers his eyes, but Floyd is sure that if he was able to see them, Riff's precious grey eyes would be glazed over. "Umm..." His husband hums as he slumps on Floyd's smaller body almost making him fall to the floor.

"Riff!" Floyd playfully pushes him away, laughing, the taller troll takes a step back but keeps his hold on his husband giving him a goofy smile, just happy that Floyd is happy.

Oh Strings and muses above Floyd hopes he is forgiven for what he is doing now and for whatever he does next because he might not survive if this wonderful Troll was to leave him.

"...What was I saying?" His husband tilts his head like he always does when he is thinking, making Floyd giggle fondly "Oh yeah! I heard you were looking for me!"

Okay Floyd was ready for the possibility of this happening, he is lucky Riff is the one that tracked him down instead of Barb, the Queen of Rock is not as easily distracted as his sweet husband; now it’s time to see if he can stick the landing.

"Oh yeah! I found your lucky drumsticks, plus those guitar picks that Barb really likes" If by ‘find’ he means he totally hid them to buy time for him to sneak the Pop Queen out while Riff and Barb were too busy looking for their special stage gear; everyone knows that Rock stars have their rituals, things they need to have or to do before performing; by messing with that he probably already delayed their performance a little.

"You are a life saver! we can't go onto the stage without them; Barb is literally turning the dressing room upside down looking for them; when I left she was tearing the couch to pieces to find them" Floyd winces promising himself that if he survives this he will personally clean Queen Barb's dressing room, it might ease the guilt a little.

"What can I say? It's an important night, I could not let you get on stage without the thing that gives you luck" Floyd needed to focus on anything but Riff's open and honest face or he was going to confess everything, so he forces himself to look away, return to his cart and grab the little bag that held the drumsticks and the box of guitar picks he had stolen, just to give himself a moment to gather himself, he tells himself to think about his brothers and the few friends he had when he was a child, about the Pop Queen and her contagious smile as a way to steel himself to face his husband’s cuteness, only to turn and smack right into the taller Troll's chest.

"The drumsticks are awesome but I like to think that I have other things to bring me luck on stage" Riff smiled wonkily as he pulled on the chain around his neck from where a small half heart pendant engraved with the letter 'F' hanged; all thoughts about other Trolls, betrayal and treason left Floyd’s mind as Riff reached out to complete the shape of his pendant with the matching one, engraved with an 'R' that decorated the choker Floyd always wore. They slotted together with a soft ‘click’ and just like that the two Trolls were linked together, the long chain Riff wore compensated for the short reach of the half on Floyd’s choker and damn if that didn’t made Floyd want to reach for his journal to continue to pen love songs about this Troll. "I also like the ... other thing" Riff looked away letting his necklace go but he kept close, the complete heart pendant hanging between them, his cheeks were alight with blush making Floyd's heart race.

"The other thing...?" Floyd teased, he absolutely knew what Riff was referring to but he just wanted to watch his shy husband squirm a little bit, if only to regain some kind of control after the other Troll had almost melted him into a puddle with his tender actions.

"You know the thing..." Floyd only responded raising a single pink coloured eyebrow "The thing you do right before I go on stage...?"

"You mean when I give you a good luck kiss before you go on stage?" Riff only responded with a timid nod making Floyd laugh before he brought the taller Troll's face down so he could brush a kiss on his nose. "You are smoother than you think, dear." Floyd tugged his pendant slightly, separating the heart in two pieces and letting each half return to their respective places.

Riff only responded with a dopey smile that showed all his wonky teeth before grabbing Floyd's paw and pulling him away from the cart and away from the exit that had been his objective all along.
The molten lava that had consumed his insides immediately froze, which almost made Floyd flinch.

"Oh! ammm wait! I need to...!" He made some vague gestures to his cart, trying to quickly think of a way to send Riff away for a few minutes so he could lead the Pop Queen out of here before going wherever his husband wanted.

"You can leave it there... no one uses this corridor anyway..." Riff looked at the smaller Troll, his eyes jumping from his husband to the end of the corridor, where Floyd’s finish line was marked by a big, bright red emergency exit, his confusion transforming quickly into concern as he makes some kind of connection. "Lollipop? " His brother better be alive, well and rich enough to pay for a good funeral because betraying this Troll might kill him. "What is the matter?"

"I...I..." I am committing treason against you and the whole culture that adopted me after I lost everything because even if I told you and the Queen that I had made peace with what we were doing, I just found out that maybe my brother is not as dead as I thought, which might have given me feelings about the whole thing... "I just needed a moment"

"Did someone...?"

"No!" That was the worst part, wasn't it? Everyone had been extremely nice all along, even the Trolls that had pushed for his loyalties to be 'tested'; some of them might just see him as a nice decoration but Trolls even Hard Rock Trolls are nice to pretty vases and such. "It's just that today is the day you know? We have talked about it but..." Floyd shrugs. "I just needed some air"

"It's cool if you wanna go home" Floyd gives his husband an skeptical look "Look it would be so metal if you stayed, I love when you cheer me on during concerts and it would be even more metal if you performed with us but if you don't feel up to it..." Riff scratched behind his ear as if he was trying to make up his mind "We could go home..."

"Out of the question, no, this is a monumental moment for you, for Barb, and for all Rock Trolls... including me" This was true in more ways than the obvious, whatever happens today, whoever comes on top; this day will change everything.

"Umm history is cool and all that but we could also go home and make some popcorn in the lava pit and it would also be pretty cool" Riff shrugged like he wasn't casually suggesting to miss out on the biggest opportunity of his career just because Floyd was having feelings.

Floyd was very tempted to take on that offer.

"You are very sweet and I am charmed but today my husband is making Troll history and he can't be late" He bops the taller Troll on the nose with the bag that contains his drumsticks and the stolen guitar picks before handing it to him; the final count down for the moment when Barb realizes the Pop Queen is not where she is supposed to starts now, as Riff has the items in his paws "I will be fine" He says more to himself than his husband as he gathers the resolve for the next thing he must do "I just need some fresh air and to strum some strings…” He sends a prayer to whoever is listening for strength and for the Troll inside his guitar case to be quiet before throwing said case on his back.

His prayers are partly answered as Poppy makes no sound at the sudden movement and his arms and back doesn't immediately give out at the added weight of another Troll but he is not sure how long he can keep this up “and I will be right back with you, ready to be your supportive partner” He pretends to be unbothered by the literal and figurative weight on his back as he smiles as brilliantly as he can to his husband.

Once the Pop String and the Pop Queen are out of here and he knows for certain if his younger brother is alive he can wash his paws from most of the Pop Tribe (he still has to figure out what he will do to save his brothers if whatever the Pop Queen has planned fails but that is a problem for future Floyd), he is giving them a fighting chance which the bitter and angry part of him thinks is more than they deserve after they let him and his brothers destroy themselves and their family for the Pop Trolls’ entertainment.

It had been a hard pill to swallow to realize the reason why it had taken him so long to see that what Cashew was doing was wrong was because there was little difference between Cash's expectations of him and what he had been used to as a child.

"Metal" Riff smiles down at Floyd, his paw lightly squeezing the pink haired Troll's shoulder before letting go "Then I will go to stop Barb's destruction train and I will see you backstage..."

Riff has never been very publicly affectionate with Floyd, not even after years of a loving, stable marriage, he has always been too shy for that, but he has this expression, this nose twitch and small smile combo that lets his partner know that he would like a little affection even if he doesn’t know how to ask for it verbally.

"Of course, after all you wouldn't want to go on stage without your good luck kiss" Floyd cups his husband's face in between his palms and ignores how much his calves burn when he stands on his tiptoes to tenderly kiss the corner of his mouth "There you go, a little preview, just because you are really sweet"

Floyd gives him a last fond look before he begins to walk away, he doesn't really want to but his back is really going to give out if he has to carry the Pop Queen any longer, he only makes it halfway through the corridor before he has to turn to look back because he can still feel his husband eyes on his back; Riff is still standing where Floyd left him, his face completely flushed as he pushes his hair and beanie up with a single finger, revealing one of his stormy eyes.

"What is it?" Floyd can't help but feel self-conscious at his husband’s stare.

"Nothing I just... You really rock my world Lollirock"

"And you absolutely rock mine..."

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

"What is this?" Bellowed Cash as five Hard Rock Trolls kick his door open, march through his office, growling to anyone who even tries to stop them and I throw a bunch of old laundry bags in his desk.

"Floyd's debt money, it's all there and you can count it" Riff doesn't even bother looking towards the manager or his brawny friends, he just walks towards where Floyd is sitting on the couch besides Cash's new girlfriend, manicuring her claws "Let's go..." He smiles at the smaller Troll as he offers his paw to him.

Floyd could barely nod, leaving the nail file and polish on the side table as he slowly got up, reaching for Riff's paw as a sunflower reaching towards the sun; he was not really sure what was going on but he wasn't going to deny any opportunity that he got to be away from Cash, his snobby new girlfriend that treated him like a maid and his leering friends that didn't respected his personal space or boundaries.

"Floyd! Don't you dare walking out of here Baby bird!" Cash shouts, even as he is elbows deep in a laundry bag of jewels.

Floyd's knees involuntarily lock in making it impossible for him to walk anymore, he looks up at Riff in horror; he has spent two years in terror of Cash and his threats so it's sad but not surprising that his body is conditioned in some way.

Riff just shrugs, throws Floyd over his shoulder and continues to walk out.

"Wait my music" Floyd makes grabby motions to the pink box on the mantle as they pass by it on their way out.

If those laundry bags really have what Riff says they have that means that his music is no longer Cash's and he would be damned if he leaves it here.

Riff grabs the box and putts it under his arm, then he hitches Floyd higher on his shoulder so he is more comfortable and he continues on, the other Rock Trolls falling into formation around him, making sure no one stops him.

Floyd is terrified and exited and so nervous he could puke but he is still Floyd, so he blows a little kiss at Cash's incredulous face, making the all Rock Trolls laugh.

"Riff your man is funny" There is no malice in that statement, just amusement but the fact that they are complimenting Riff for something Floyd did just reminds him of the way people talk about him to Cash, like he is more a possession than a living being.

It makes him shrink back into Riff, who seems unbothered by the way Floyd almost cuddles into his neck like an expensive, needy scarf; the only acknowledgement he makes about Floyd's mood change is that he begins to rub circles in his back with the paw that secures the smaller Troll into his shoulder, which is really comforting for Floyd, who is certainly overwhelmed by everything.

They take the elevator down to the lobby, all of the other Trolls keep their eyes firmly on the elevator doors, not daring to look at Riff and Floyd as they practically awkwardly cuddle in the back, but from his place over Riff's shoulder Floyd can see the almost amused expressions they wear, reflected in the polished metal doors.

They finally make it to the lobby that is weirdly empty for this time of the day; Riff steps out of the elevator and keeps walking towards the exit, two of his friends run ahead to open the double doors, while the other two Trolls stay behind in the elevator pressing the buttons to every floor in the building.

Floyd is too focused on what the other Trolls are doing that he almost jumps out of his skin when Riff moves his paw to the back of Floyd’s head, cupping it and gently keeping it down as he climbs to the back of a black Beetlevan; the doors close behind them and Floyd only has a few seconds to adapt to the sudden change of light before he is carefully set down on a bare mattress besides the pink box the holds all the music he has composed since he left home.

He looks up to Riff a little confused about this turn of events, this is not how he expected his day to go but it's just on brand with these last two days which coincidentally is the length of his relationship with Riff.

The taller Troll gives Floyd an awkward smile before jumping over one row of the van's seats and leaning over to whisper to the Troll in the driver seat, who looks back to Floyd briefly before looking ahead and turning the ignition on which seems to jump start a frankly amusing amount of chaos as the rest of the Rock Trolls climb onto the van, loudly laughing, talking and even fighting; they seem to be pretending that Floyd is not there even when he can see them looking at him from the corner of their eyes, almost as if daring each other to acknowledge him.

Floyd is kind of grateful for their reluctance to approach him as he is very overwhelmed and would like a minute to just gather himself and what is happening, so far: he had been thrown over someone's shoulder, carried away from his evil boss' office, put in the back of an unmarked black Beetlevan which now seems to be speeding out and away from ‘Las Joyas’.

This feels like one of Grandma's romance novels and not one of the ones she kept in the living room, but one of those she hid in the back of the bookshelf in her bedroom, those that Clay and Floyd were not supposed to know about.

Clay had taken one cursory look at the summary of one of them and had dropped the book with a disgusted expression on his face but Floyd had read it from back to back before going back for more from grandma's secret stash.

But only because he found the premises of those books entertaining it didn't mean he wanted to be the protagonist of one, he is pretty sure most of them had terrible character development...

"Hey Floyd" Riff seems to have finished his conversation with the driver and is now climbing once again over the seats but not approaching him, keeping as much space between them as he could, acting completely different from how he had acted in Cash's office, where he had been commanding and confident and if Floyd dared to say… Hot.

"Hey Riff" Floyd had wished for this moment since the moment he was forced away from this Troll but even then he had not figured out what he wanted to do with it, especially since he never imagined he would have an audience, as the rest of the occupants of the van seem to have gotten over their reluctance to look at Floyd and were now openly staring at him from behind Riff's head.

"Amm so, we might have broken into your apartment and taken all your stuff" Riff pointed out the boxes around them making Floyd realize he recognized some of the things that popped up from the lids "Even your mattress..."

"The mattress wasn't mine, it came with the apartment" Floyd stared at Riff for a second before dissolving into giggles.

"So we might have stolen more things that we thought" Riff looked towards all the other Rock Trolls who laughed as each of them held aloft a different things from ashtrays he recognized from the bar that he was playing the night he met Riff to what looked like a very expensive wineglasses he had no idea where they had found.

The laughter in the van died down as Floyd patted the spot besides him on the apparently stolen mattress, inviting Riff to sit by his side, the other Rock Trolls kept their eyes glued to the interaction (all except for the driver, who seemed very interested in the road ahead).

"You really didn't have to do all of this" He whispers trying to get as much privacy as he can as Riff lets himself fall into the small mattress

"What do you mean?" Floyd gestures all around them, to his meagre possessions that only fill like a box and a half and then his paw lands in the pretty pink box that he had asked Riff to take with them "I'm sorry, I didn't really asked you what you wanted to do about it I just... we had to leave today and I could not leave you with that Troll..." Riff shrugs as it's no big deal, but Floyd knows how much money those laundry bags must have had; it gives him a headache to think where Riff could have gotten that amount of money.

"You barely know me" The pink haired Troll lets himself fall into his back, distracting himself from his husband's earnest face by looking at the weird marks on the ceiling.

"I really like what I know" Riff carefully lays down besides Floyd, he is so tall that the fit across the tiny mattress is very awkward for him, but when Floyd turns to look at him he smiles tenderly as he offers his paw to the other Troll "I would like to know more if you let me"

Floyd is trapped in between telling him he isn't really worth all of that and making a flirty comment about how Floyd would let him know every part of him if Riff just kept giving him that smile.

He instead goes with a third option; the worst one that actually ruins the soft mood that was developing around them.

"I’ll pay you back, every single jewel..." He promises desperately; he keeps making promises to this Troll he doesn't know how to fulfill.

"Okay" Riff, the perfect, amazing Troll that he is, seems to understand Floyd's emotionally constipated answer to his heartfelt confession and just keeps offering Floyd his paw. "But first let me take you home, okay?"

Floyd can feel his eyes fill with tears as he finally tightly grabs Riff's paw.

"Okay."

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

"You are a cute couple" Poppy whispers from his back " I mean I couldn't see much... nothing really, it's more of a vibe thing than anything but you sounded very cute together"

"Thank you" Sighs Floyd, he can't say much more as he focuses his last reserve of energy pushing the emergency door, taking a few seconds to be sure to keep it slightly open with a heavy rock so he can go back inside once he needs to; he hopes he doesn't throw his back for this; despite his looks, he is not as young as he used to be.
He finally unloads the guitar case on the floor as carefully as he can and opens it to find a young pink Troll smiling up at him.

"Oh my stars! We made it!" She cheers as she jumps around, probably happy to be free from that cramped space, Floyd can only watch with amusement as he drops to the floor for a bit of well-earned recovery time. "I can't believe we are out!" She gives him a quick, tight hug before running around some more taking in the sights of Volcano Rock City for probably the first time

It reminds Floyd of simpler times in his family's pod, how they would all run around trying to get ready for whatever they had planned for the day; he can almost hear his brothers calling out from different parts of their home, asking if someone had seen this or that thing they needed, the memory is so vivid that it takes him a while to notice that Poppy has stopped moving around and is now looking at him expectantly.

"Sorry what?"

"Now what?"

"Well" He gets a postcard out of his hair, it shows a small but detailed map of the city " You just have to take this path to the edge of the city where you will find the river, then you only have to walk river up, from there I assume you can trace your steps back to wherever you came from or to wherever you need to go" He had already used his favorite metallic pink marker to highlight the path she needed to follow.

"You are not coming with me?" Floyd winced at her words; it was too reminiscent of the 'You are not going to leave me too...' that still haunted his dreams.

"I can't, I am where I belong Queen Poppy" He stands up and grabs her paws in his "I don't know if you heard but I got someone waiting for their good luck kiss before they go on stage so..." He gestures to the door they had just crossed.

"But your family?" Floyd winced at the reminder that the word brought to his mind two conflicting images; two very different groups that wanted two very different things from him.

"I... Without all of the Strings Barb can't really do anything so they are safe for now" He wasn't really sure what he would do to keep them that way but he was not afraid of improvising if it came down to that. "I trust you and your plan will do the best to keep them that way" He tried to smile confidently at her to ease some of the guilt he felt at leaving her.

"Plan?" She looks a little confused at his words; she probably didn't expect a Rock Troll to know about that.

"Yeah, look, you don't have to tell me anything about it; I don't want to know, the only thing I ask is that you don't hurt or retaliate against the Rock Tribe..." He can see her smile sinking in a way that makes him feel uneasy..."You have a plan, right?"

"I..." She seems to think it for a little while before smiling at him brilliantly "Yes of course I have a plan!"

He wants so bad to believe it…why doesn't he believe her?

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

"I sorry for ruining your Bachelor weekend" Floyd whispered as he leaned against the Beetlevan besides K.J., one of Riff's cousins and the reason they were in ‘Las Joyas’ in the first place.

The older Rock Troll looked surprised that Floyd had approached him directly while Riff was busy feeding the BeetleVan but smiled at him regardless.

"You ruined nothing Baby Pop" K.J. nodded towards most of their group where they were rough housing on the mud. "Nothing creates bonds or cures a hangover like improvising a daring rescue"

"Do you have much experience with improvising daring rescues?"

"Nah but I have plenty with hangovers" He winks at Floyd making him laugh. "So what is next for you Baby Pop?" K.J. asks once his laugh died down, he is not looking directly at Floyd but still gives the impression that he is getting the older Troll's full attention. "I mean Riff told me he plans to take you home to the... Troll Tree?"

"Yeah I told him to just drop me off at the closest CaterBus station but he refused to even hear me out" Floyd had tried to assure him that he didn't have to go through all the trouble to take him home, especially with K.J's wedding being in less than a week from now.

"Yeah no, not only his parents would have his pelt and ours, if they knew that he left any young Troll, let alone his husband by themselves at a bus stop" Floyd blushed deeply at the mention of his relationship status with Riff. "But Riff would rather eat his own drumsticks than abandon you, his partner on the side of the road"

"It's not like that" The way that K.J. was talking about Riff and Floyd's nuptials made it sound like they were more than what it was.

"Is it not?" To be honest he didn't know how to feel about his abrupt marriage, one paw, Riff, so far was a dream come true for Floyd who had always dreamed of marrying someone like Riff, but on the other paw... he doesn't want to saddle Riff with someone like him just because he was kind enough to help him.

"We are going to get a divorce as soon as we are able" The older Troll gave him a look that Floyd recognized as the same his look his brothers used to give him when he was a little Trolling telling them how he was going to marry that cute boy from his story book and live in a cotton candy pod with him. "No really! I don't want to intrude in your lives more than I already have!"

"Let me ask you something...How old were you when you ran away from home Baby Pop?"

"Unimportant"

"So basically a child, go it" K.J. looked at his groomsmen in the mud, still playing around like Trollings "Wow kid no wonder you ended up with that dirt bag manager..." He straighten his back cracking his joints a little "I'm so glad we scammed the stuffing out of him!"

"Wait what?" K.J. didn't even acknowledge Floyd, he just whistled loudly to get the other Rock Trolls’ attention.

"Okay mud time is over! go wash up; we still have a long road ahead of us and my aunt Alice will have our butts if we get mud all over Pansy's interior!" The Groomsmen stared at the groom for a second before grunting and untangling themselves from each other.

"Whatever you said to the little dude, man?" A violet haired Troll that had previously introduced himself as K.J.'s friend, Smith asked, walking towards the cooler they had left by back of the van "He looks spooked, and I don't think your cousin Riff is gonna appreciate you harassing his man"

"I... what?" K.J. turned to Floyd his eyes calm but analyzing "I suppose Riff never told you that just like a tenth of those jewels were real?" Floyd shook his head nervously.
He had wondered where all those jewels had come from, but he had quickly pushed that thought aside as the thought of what Riff had done for him was too big for him to process.

"Hey, don't sweat it man" Snare, another of Riff's cousins quickly intervened, he was soaking wet for some reason. "They were really good fakes; I would be surprised if that idiot realizes they are fake this week"

"Oh yeah, they looked so much like the real deal" Eddie, Snare's brother continued as he dumped a water bottle over his head to wash out the mud. "They almost fooled us and no one knows rocks like Rock Trolls"

This made Floyd think of the displays that decorated most of the high end Casinos in Las Joyas, a show of wealth, a bait to tempt creatures to gamble away their money in hopes of winning the jackpot; they usually were filled with fake gems so close to the real deal that it wasn't uncommon to hear about creatures trying to steal them and he wondered what Casino had woken up to an empty display or a barren prize window.

The fact that Cash hadn't immediately realized that he had been given fakes instead of the real deal should have soothed some of his nerves, especially since they were now thousands of kilometres away from Las Joyas but still the possibility that someday Cash could find him and drag him back to fulfill his contract had him on high alert.

"You got nothing to worry, kid" Pistol, another of K.J's friends called from where he was cleaning the mud from between his fingers with a towel "I mean now you are married to K.J's bean pole of a cousin; that officially makes you a Rock Troll which means you fall under our law and protection and I would really like to see that worm try to explain his predatory contracts to King Thrash..."

This made all of the Hard Rock Trolls laugh.

" Oh man, he would be signing himself to be turned into some new fuzzy slippers for our king’s old feet." Tommy added, as he offered Floyd a bottle of cold water and a smile, he was the shortest of Riff's cousins but that still made him half a head taller than the Pop Troll. "Or a new coat for Princess Barb"
Floyd took the water bottle and in return gave the Rock Trolls a shaky smile.

"Thank you guys"

"You will be okay Baby Pop, you are one of ours and Rock Trolls are protective of what is theirs..." K.J. laughs tousling Floyd's pink hair, making some of it fall into his face.

"Thanks for that now it will take me a long time to make it behave"

Something that most fans didn't know was that only the oldest and the youngest of the Brozone brothers had naturally straight hair, leaving the three middle siblings to straighten their hair to achieve the classic uniform look that made the fans go crazy.

Since walking away from Brozone, Floyd had stopped most of his straightening routines and instead chose to let some of his natural curls show, he liked them for the most part.

"You should let it down; it looks cool like that" The rest of their group nodded or agreed vocally to what K.J. said.

It made sense that Rock Trolls thought his hair looked better like this, as they seem to prefer having some kind of bangs or curls falling into their faces one way or another.

It looked cool... on Rock Trolls.

"I'm not a Rock Troll like you" K.J. gave him a look that made Floyd feel like he was passing judgment on the younger, smaller Troll; after a few seconds he smiled a familiar goofy smile that seem to run in the family.

"You know Baby Pop not all Hard Rock Trolls are born from Hard Rock Trolls and not all Hard Rock Trolls raise Hard Rock Trolls, you get me?"

"Not at all" Floyd tried to fix his hair but it kept falling back over his face.

"You will don't worry" The older Troll’s attention was called to something over Floyd's head, whatever it was it made him laugh "Meanwhile do me a favor and at least try to leave it down a little, Riff-Raff seems to like it" He nodded toward Floyd's husband who seem to have frozen on his way over, his mouth wide open as he stared at the soft curl of Floyd's new bangs, the attention made the shorter Troll blush and unconsciously he began curling his hair around his finger; which for some reason made everyone laugh. "You will be okay Baby Rock"

 - - - I<< II >>I - - -

It feels wrong to hand over the Pop String to the Queen of Pop for some reason; Floyd tries not to linger on the thought because he knows that at the end of the day it's only right to give her music back to her, even if he is not really confident she is going to be able to protect it from Barb.

He stares at the pink String in his paw; it might not be the music that beats in his heart, but he will always have a soft spot for the music that he used to share with his brothers; the music that hurt him but also the music that raised him.

"Are you sure you don’t want me to pinkie promise or do whatever Rock Trolls do?" She must have read his hesitance as a sign he didn’t trust her and maybe he shouldn’t trust her; this was a naive kid with so much learning and experience ahead of her and so desperate to prove herself... which was not ideal, but he could not do anything about it.

"Poppy..." Her pink eyes winded, surprised when he used her name alone for the first time instead of her title "Please don’t hurt my Tribe and music; I know that what we did was wrong but... they are the only reason I am alive" He adds all the sincerity he can into his words hoping that they will be enough to seal this promise.

He could not make her Pinkie Promise and make her Cross her heart was not ideal, not only because he wasn't sure it would work on a non Rock Troll but also he didn't thought thunder and flames were any more discreet that lights and glitter but at least he could try to appeal to the sympathy she had for him and any good will he had won through the day.

"I... I promise you I will do whatever it takes to make sure your home is safe" She stares at him solemnly as she takes the String and hides it in her hair.

"Thank you..." He knows that she has to leave before it's too late so he has to ask about his brother, he knows that even if his brother is dead it will give him the closure that he has been chasing for 15 years; he just needs to get his name out and then he can run to Riff to lick his wounds and ponder on whatever her answer is.

Except that he hasn't allowed himself to even whisper that name for so long that he sometimes wonders if it'd be possible to forget how a word sounds when said out loud.

"So I guess I'm not going to get a name" Poppy seems to be ignorant of his inner turmoil and reluctant to leave him for some reason.

"You don't need it really"

"Maybe your brother will tell me your name" The casual reminder of the question he still has to ask makes him shudder.

"Yeah maybe, or maybe he will pretend he has never heard of me"

"He is your brother! I bet he will be very happy to know you are alive and well" Floyd hummed in vague agreement, he doesn't think his little brother would ever wish him death or pain, in his core the baby was always a very gentle, kind Troll but not wishing terrible things upon someone does not equal love and forgiveness and their family had been cursed with a temper that so far no member had been able to escape, he rather prepare himself to be met with anger and indifference than to be surprised by it. "I bet that as soon as I find him he will..."

"He probably will tell you he never needed me" He thought about the fiercely independent Trolling that insisted he could get dressed on his own just to come back to sheepishly ask for his help when his head got stuck on the wrong hole of his t-shirt. "And he probably doesn't need me now" Floyd didn't mean to be rude to the adorable pink Troll, but he knew himself and remembered how easily he got swept away by Pop's natural and sometimes irrational optimism.

"Aggg you sound just like my best friend! He is always going on and on about preparing for the worst-case scenarios and 'Thinking about the rational outcome’” She groaned dramatically making Floyd laugh.

"It sounds like you two actually compliment each other" He smiled at her softly, but his smile soon soured when he remembers what he still had to do "Poppy... about my brother" She waited patiently as he visually struggled to get out his words "His name is Bra..."

A pitching screech pierced through the quietness of the night, the Pop Queen stared around confused at the noise while Floyd could only feel his horror rise till it almost made him feel nauseous.

"You need to leave now!"

"What?"

"That is the alarm... they know you are not in your cell! Just follow the map I gave you! Hurry!" He turned to run back inside, maybe there was something he could do to stall them?

As he reached the door, he turned back to look at the Pop Queen who hopefully was swiftly making her way away from the castle, and she was except that she was running in the complete opposite direction to what he had marked in his instructions.

...She was going to get caught.

"Me and my stupid, wretched heart!"

Chapter Text

The Tree was dead.

"Floyd..."

"No, don't say it..."

The welcome sign that advertised Trolls as some 'delicious’ shortcut to happiness and celebrated some bizarre holiday called 'Trollstice' should have been enough for him.

The sight of what once was a vibrant, noisy Tree that now was nothing, but a hollow corpse surrounded by trash and misery, should have been enough for him.

His grandma’s name carefully engraved in a childish scrawl at the very bottom of a long list of names that covered what looked like a shrine in one of the upper levels of the Tree, should have been enough for him.

But Floyd had continued foolishly hoping, begging, to be proved wrong.

Walking around the dry branches of what had once been his home, his feet unconsciously carried him down a very well-known path to his Grandma's Pod; it almost surprised him to find the soft pink Pod looked almost intact, especially since most of the Pods that once hanged from every branch in the tree now littered the roots of the Tree, trampled and rotting.

He remembered the day he had walked out of this door, hoping he would have the strength to someday return.

During his darkest days back in his mediocre one room apartment he used to fantasize about standing outside this same Pod; barely touched by the glow of the soft light coming from inside, he would take a deep breath, and the air would smell like grandma’s pie, the sound of his little brother's childish, bright laughter would give him the courage to cross that threshold and...

He normally stopped that fantasy there, not daring to even imagine what was left of his family; but this was not a fantasy, if anything this was his worst nightmare and he found himself rooted on the spot, not able to walk inside or walk away.

He startled when Riff took his paw.

"C'mon it’s better to not just stand in the open like this, I think I hear some of those... things waking up" Riff began to carefully lead the way towards the Pod, if Floyd had wanted to, he could have stopped him, but he just let himself be guided inside.

He knew he could not do it on his own; this place probably held some answers he was not sure he wanted, but also now that his companion had mentioned it, Floyd realized he could also hear whatever inhabited the town surrounding the tree, wake up; there were grunts and slamming of doors and the sound of feet being dragged... what a miserable existence this place painted.

Stepping inside was like entering an alternate version of the place Floyd had spent a big part of his childhood in; it was exactly the same just slightly to the left.

"It even smells the same..." The pink-haired Troll looked around the abandoned space, taking in the small changes that had occurred in the last almost six years since he had been here.

"How can you smell anything besides the dust?" Riff said scrunching his nose as he sneezed again and again.

"Let's say I know what to look for under the dust" Floyd giggled as he got a handkerchief out from his pocket and offered it to the taller Troll. "Besides it's not like a six Troll Pod was ever that clean to begin with"

"Yeah, I do get that..." Riff took the offered cloth with a smile and cleaned his nose.

Floyd smiled softly at him before letting go off his paw to walk closer to the walls were some old photos were still hanging; it appears that grandma had taken down most pictures of Brozone; all of the pictures of the band had been replaced with pictures of a little Blue Trolling, he recognizes him immediately; despite everything that has happened to their family it seems like Branch’s smile remains the same: brilliant sincere and beautiful, it makes Floyd’s heart bloom with love for his little brother, he has grown so much since the last time Floyd saw him and in every single photo he is wearing a familiar green fabric around his shoulders… the vest Floyd gave him.

"...It's like I am right here with you..." Branch was growing up and where was him? following big dreams that ended up in tragedy...his eyes jump from one picture to another and every glimpse of his brother makes the painful combination of love and guilt in his chest boil; Floyd's breath stutters as his eyes fill with tears "Bran..." the name gets stuck in his throat, as he stumbles back from the wall that represents his failure; his feet slips on something that rolls away with a crack and the soft sound of bells-

He quickly regains his balance against one of the closest walls.

"Floyd?" Riff doesn't come closer, but he seems ready to act if the smaller Troll made any indication that needed help.

"I am okay" He is not. "I just stepped on something" His fingers dig on the wall, trying to calm his breathing by concentrating in the familiar ridges on the wall, he recognizes the carvings that they used to measure and register the height of each of the kids of the family as they grew up;  his paw explores the wall a little as he tries to process the grief that is suddenly all consuming.

"Uuh what is this thing?" Riff walks towards the small object on the floor, picking it up, unleashes another set of soft bells; the sound feels like it’s directly pulled from a distant memory the Pop Troll and it gives away what the object is before Riff can even show Floyd.

It’s a baby rattle, shaped like a round little bee; it had been a gift from some neighbours, a hand me down from their own Trolling who had outgrown the thing but even then, Floyd's baby brother had loved it, the colours were dulled by the years and now thanks to Floyd one of the bee’s little wings was gone.

"Branc..." He is suddenly choking and coughing violently, trying to dislodge the name from his throat, but he can't, he can't breathe... the Tree, the names on the trunk, the abandoned home... they paint a tragedy that Floyd can’t seem to process; he tries to push himself off the wall and instantly folds at the waist, he is nauseous and his lungs burn; he can't stop coughing or crying.

"Floyd!" Riff wraps his arm around the smaller Troll holding him up as Floyd tries to calm down "Floyd what is happening? please let me help" The pink haired Troll tries to do anything, but he can’t control his body, he is in so much pain that at this point he is only standing thanks to Riff’s arm around him and the paw he has on the wall. "Floyd! Please breath..." Riff's voice sounds so far away he can barely make sense of the frenetic calls; Floyd thinks he might throw up as the grief crashes into him in violent waves.

He tries to focus on his paw on the wall trying to gain control of at least one of his senses it was his brothers always instructed him to do when he was on the verge of a panic attack, but instead of the calming effect this technique used to have on him, focusing in his paw only allows him to be witness of how his colour slowly drains from his body leaving his skin a soft grey.

It only makes him panic more, he lifts his paw from the wall foolishly hoping that it’s just a trick of the light and he is not really going Grey which uncovers the carving on the wall that had been hidden under his paw: it marks the height of the youngest of the Brozone brothers at age six.

A quick glance at the rest of the wall confirms this is the last mark with Branch’s name...That is how tall the baby of the family was when... when he got...

He probably was scared; he probably was wearing Floyd’s stupid vest wondering where his big brother was.

‘Floyd’ He can hear John’s voice in his mind, it’s so clear and sharp that he can almost believe that his older brother is whispering in his ear. ‘If anything happens you stay with Branch, and we will find you.’ That was the rule he lived by every time the family left the house ‘Just don’t let him go and everything will be fine.’ He can remember how it felt to envelop that little paw with his own. ‘You are an older brother now; Branch is your responsibility…’

He was supposed to stay with Branch, he was supposed to be here... but he wasn’t and now they... those monsters, did they know what they had done? Did they even care? They had taken Floyd’s only little brother, his little sparkle, his Itty-Bitty Bee... They had...

"...they ate my brother..." The wave crashes again and Floyd lets himself drown in it.

 - - -          I<< II >>I          - - -

They were lucky and they made it out of the city before the sundown; in the city their pursuers had an advantage, as it was their home field and they were probably more athletic than Floyd had ever been; probably the only reason that they hadn’t been caught was because the Rock Trolls didn’t know the Pop Queen was being guided by one of their own, who was using shortcuts and backstreets instead of the obvious routes out of the city; but even then the fact that they hadn’t been found yet was nothing short of a miracle.

Once they crossed towards the fields of high grass that surrounded the city their escape chances skyrocketed.

The vegetation was thick enough to make difficult the use of flying creatures for transportation so even if they used MotorBeecicles they would be slowed down by the terrain.

“I hate running” Complained Floyd once he could allow them to slow down into a brisk walk, they could not afford to fully stop but if they kept running the Rock Troll was going to pass out; still he kept their paws interlocked in the case they needed to start running again, if he lost the Pop Queen here,  she would most definitely find trouble before Floyd would be able to find her.

“Thank you” Poppy looked annoyingly fresh even after the whole obstacle course they had done “You continue to help me despite already fulfilling your part of the deal” She focused in swinging their joined paws as they walked, it seems to help her to calm down, so Floyd allowed it.

“…I don’t dislike you Queen Poppy… or Pop in general” He admitted reluctantly, his life would definitely be a hundred times easier if he was able to do that.

“You have to be one of the only ones that doesn’t” He didn’t try to deny that; he doesn’t know how much of a lie it would be if he did.

They walk in silence for a few minutes, as the seemingly endless energy of the Pop Queen vanished leaving behind a young Troll that had a very long day.

“You know it took me a while to admit to myself I was in love with my husband” Floyd began, trying to cheer up the Pop Queen; she had been very interested in his love story so maybe a little more of that would distract her from the depressive spiral she was in.

“Why? Weren’t you married to your husband already?” Queen Poppy looked up her eyes alight with curiosity.

“Yeah, buuuut you have to remember that we got married really early on in our relationship” More like a year and a half before they were even in one, if he is honest “And despite thinking he was the greatest, most attractive Troll I have ever met…” He faked a swoon against the young Queen’s shoulder; his silly antics were rewarded by the sweet giggles of the girl. “I thought that he was just trying to help me and after he had given me so much, it felt wrong to ask for more, so I convinced myself I was okay with being his friend”

“And he was okay with just being your ‘friend’?” She whispered, her mood had completely shifted by the power of gossip.

“No, but he didn’t want to push things while I was Grey” Floyd shrugged “He is sweet and thoughtful like that”

“You went Grey?”

Oh Floyd and his big mouth; he had gotten so used to Rock’s emotional honesty that he had totally forgotten that Pop Trolls had all that stigma about Greyness.

“…I did yeah” He stood straighter when he noticed the Queen’s eyes on his down-turned ears, but he didn’t stopped walking or allowed himself to react in any other way despite his instincts screaming for him to run away. “After returning to the Tree how could I not”

“Yes! That is completely understandable, of course” Okay not the reaction that Floyd was expecting but he was not going to complain maybe, Pop Trolls had changed their stances on the whole thing after what happened to the Tree “It’s just that you look very colourful”

Or maybe not?

“Thank you?”

“I’m sorry! I didn’t mean it as a bad thing, it’s just that…” She took a deep breath before trying again. “My best friend just regained his colours after being Grey for a long time and well his colours came back completely at first but they have been fluctuating since then.” She brought their joined paws closer to her eyes as if to compare the colour on them. “You know that Pop Trolls don’t have a lot of information on Grey Trolls so I thought that perhaps it was something normal, specially because he is otherwise physically fine but then I look at you and you are so colourful! so I thought that… perhaps we are doing something wrong, maybe there is something we should have done for him and we didn’t, what if he is hurting and he can’t ask for help, because he knows Pop Trolls don’t know much about Grey Trolls? and…”

“Queen Poppy please breath” He turn to look at her “C’mon breath with me… inhale” He exaggerated the movement of his chest as he took a deep breath, and she copied him. “Exhale… inhale… exhale…” He guided her through a couple more repetitions until she calmed down. “There you go; now, I will happily answer any questions you might have, even if I am no expert in the subject”

“Oh, my stars! Thank you so much!” She made a little happy jump. “I wish Bra…” She almost slipped on the name, but she quickly recovered, Floyd was almost curious enough to ask about that; she had been so open about everything else but for some reason the name of her best friend was guarded as her most precious secret. “…My best friend was here, he is so much better taking notes and thinking of questions than me.” She suddenly looked so miserable that once again Floyd had the urge to reassure her.

“You must really care about him” He gave her his softest smile that normally was reserved for his baby brother and husband.

“Yeah I do” She returned his smile “So Rock Trolls know a lot about Grey Trolls?”

“Well, kinda; every Troll is different but it’s a very well documented phenomenon in our culture.” Poppy nodded along with his words, she seem to be trying to memorize every single one of them “It’s assumed that most Rock Trolls will go even a little Grey in their life… well they call it going Off-beat, because as you know Grey Trolls have a tendency  to struggle with rhythm.”

“Wait Gray Trolls struggle with rhythm?!”

 - - -          I<< II >>I          - - -

"Do you want me to sign it?" When Riff had said that he had something for him, Floyd hadn't imagined this.

Divorce Papers.

"I want you to do whatever you want with it" They were sitting at the small dinner table of the apartment they shared, above Riff's parent's bar.

Normally, they would sit closer together but tonight they were sitting on opposite sides of the table which wasn't very far but still it seemed like an ocean away from each other.

"But would you prefer it if I sign it?" Floyd looked up from the papers for the first time since he had unfolded them, trying to judge Riff's reaction to the question.

The drummer just shrugged, not looking directly at him.

"I would prefer it if you did whatever you think is best for you"

"Do I need to move out if I sign it?" Maybe this was his way of asking Floyd for something like that. It would be just like Riff to be overly cautious about his husband-turned-roommate's feelings, trying to move as slowly as possible to not hurt the Grey Troll.

"No! Nothing needs to change here except if you want it to change!" The taller Troll seemed genuinely horrified about the idea, so he probably wasn't lying to protect Floyd's feelings “...So are you going to sign it?" Riff's black, thick hair normally shielded his eyes from view but in times like this one of extreme sincerity Floyd could get a flash of the mercurial silver from under his hair.

"Do... You want me to?"

"Only if you wa..."

"Aggg this is not taking us anywhere!" Floyd exclaimed, interrupting the cycle, they would probably get stuck in if he didn't stop it right there; it had happened already a couple times, he only needed to understand what Riff was thinking when he gave him fluffing divorce papers "Riff is this your way to tell me you would like to get back into the dating scene?"

It would make sense, even if there was no emotional attachment between them besides being very good friends and roommates, Floyd knew that Riff wouldn't even dare to think about getting into a relationship with another Troll while still legally married to Floyd.

"What? No!” It was almost funny how scared the drummer looked at the notion of being single again, which probably had to do with his mother's proclivity with setting him up with other Trolls when he was single. "I just thought that maybe you would like to, now that the whole legal citizen thing is fixed!"

Oh, so that is what this was all about.

It had been less than a month since Floyd had officially become a Hard Rock Troll, he was no longer just the husband to one but a full-fledged member of the Tribe, which meant that now he could reside in Volcano Rock City with or without Riff.

It didn't mean that Floyd was ready to do something like that.

The drummer had become such a fundamental part of his life since they had met In Las Joyas a year and a half ago; he had given Floyd shelter, comfort and propose when the former Pop Troll's life had fallen apart.

He had been nothing but patient with him as Floyd stubbornly held into his identity as a Pop Troll in a misguided attempt to ease his guilt.

And he kindly held the Gray Troll as he came to the realization that perhaps he had never been a Pop Troll to begin with.

Riff was his goofy, handsome, sweet, rock and Floyd would be dammed if he let him go before he had the chance to repay even a little bit of the kindness he had been shown by the other Troll.

"Oh... well that is sweet of you, but I assure you that dating is the furthest thing in my mind right now" Who had time to think about romance when he had begun to regain control of his life after the Troll Tree " So unless you need me to sign this for any other reason other than you wanting a romantic partner, I would prefer to keep our arrangement going"  He pushed the divorce papers towards the other Troll not wanting to keep looking at them.

He felt a little guilty for occupying a space and title in Riff's life that should have belonged to a special someone; someone who would make Riff feel as loved and cherished as someone as wonderful as Riff deserved to feel.

At the same time, he was afraid that if the dynamic changed a little too much, he would lose what they had; so, he rather they just stayed like this as long as they could, why would you try to fix something that’s not broken and all of that.

"No, you keep it, I already signed it so when you change your mind..." Riff pushed the papers back towards Floyd, his smile a little wistful and sad for some reason.

"Well, I won't..." Floyd pushed the papers away from himself, he really didn't want to think about this anymore.

"If you change your mind" Riff picked the papers from the table, stood up and walked around the table to stand up beside Floyd "You just have to sign them" The drummer folded the papers delicately before handing them to Floyd who reluctantly took them.

With the way they were both treating the document, one would think they were handling a loaded weapon instead of just divorce papers.

"Okay, just promise me that if you change your mind, for whatever reason, you will tell me" Floyd glared at the papers in his paw wishing they would spontaneity combust.

Riff put a paw on Floyd's shoulder and waited for the shorter Troll to look at him before he spoke.

"If that is what you want" Floyd laid his head on the paw on his shoulder instead of answering, he did not want to talk about it anymore; they both stayed there for a second, enjoying a moment of closeness between them until it was broken by a loud crash that came from the bar down below that made them both jump apart from each other "Sooo.... are we cool?" Riff's voice trembled just a little as he tried to regain control of the situation.

"Like an iceberg...." Floyd responded just as nervous, moments like this were not what you called uncommon between them as they were not shy to look for comfort in the other when they were alone, but those moments always left them feeling a little rattled for a little bit.  "Just two friends and roommates..."

 "...Who happened to be married" Riff finished off, it was the way they described their relationship anytime someone had the need to ask.

"Yeah..." Floyd quickly stood up, he couldn't handle another second of staring at Riff knowing that said Troll was staring back into his eyes "I will umm put this out of the way..." Unfortunately it seems that the small space that had existed between their bodies when Floyd was seated was almost none existent with him on his feet; which meant that he found himself speaking almost directly into Riffs shirt "We wouldn't want anyone else to find it and make... assumptions" Floyd looked up which left his face very close to Riff's, the taller Troll was breathing heavily and Floyd could feel the temperature of the room raise up.

"Umm yeah we wouldn't want that... heh" For a second there Floyd had the impression that Riff was gonna lean down to kiss him, which was ridiculous because they were just friends and roommates who just happened to be married for convenience’s sake but at the same time the simple idea of locking lips with his 'friend' had his heart racing "I..." The drummer took a deep breath before taking a step back from Floyd. "I have a study session" He licked his dry lips, and Floyd couldn't help but stare "For my entrance exam... for university"

"Oh yeah umm yeah I also need to... do stuff..." They stared awkwardly at each other for a few seconds not knowing how to end this, whatever it was between them.

"Yeah, anyways see ya later!" Riff loudly exclaimed before robotically walking to the stairs.

"Umm yeah! Later bestie!" Floyd shouted after him.

What the fluff why he had called him bestie?!

This day couldn't get any worse. First: Riff presents him with Divorce Papers because he thinks it's something that Floyd wants, then they have this weird moment staring at each other’s eyes that lead to Floyd thinking... wishing that Riff would kiss him...

And now he can’t stop thinking about how it wouldn't be the first time that he and Riff had kissed, because they had technically done more than just join lips the night they got married; there is photographic evidence (That everyone vehemently refuses to remove) of them making out at 24 hr. chapel, proudly hanging in between Alice and Cymbal’s (Riff's parents) and K.J. and Stone's wedding pictures in Riff's grandma's home.

He used to wonder how they got their paws on that photo, as he didn't even know such picture existed until he saw it displayed; now he wonders how did it felt to have Riff swoop him in his arms and kiss him senseless: were his lips as sweet as his personality? did Floyd felt his heart explode like fireworks or it felt more like melting? Was it like he always dreamt would feel when he kisses 'The One'?

Oh, Sweet songstress did he just thought of Riff as 'The One'?!

He buried his head in his paws and screamed.

 - - -          I<< II >>I          - - -

They were running again.

Floyd really hated running.

It turns out that Hard Rock Trolls had anticipated their moves; they probably already knew of his involvement in the Pop Queen's escape and were acting accordingly.

He just wondered what Riff thought about the whole thing; if he was still in denial of the betrayal or if he was already moving Floyd's skin care products to the guest bathroom.

He knew that his relationship was strong enough to withstand this, because Riff would see it as it is and not as the worst scenario painted it to be; his husband knew him enough to understand that Floyd was just a stupid, hopelessly hopeful man that would do very stupid things for just a slight chance that his baby brother was alive.

Maybe he could convince Riff to shorten his banishment to the guest bedroom by telling him all the running that he had to do.

Riff knew how much he hated running.

"How far do we still have to go?" Floyd didn't know how the Pop Queen was managing so well; with all the running they were doing; Floyd had a good physical condition he had maintained from his boy band days but even then, he was struggling with all the exercise they were doing but for the girl it seemed like nothing.

"I don't know! I am just trying to put as much distance as I can between us and them!"

"Oh okay!" Suddenly the younger Pink Troll began to run faster and faster, dragging Floyd behind her.

Their sprint came to a halt when Floyd tripped on a pebble, twisted his ankle and fell, taking the Pop Queen with him.

"I'm sorry, I should have paid more attention to my feet, are you alright?" He asked, even if he hadn't been the proud brother of a Troll around Queen Poppy's age, his first instinct would still have been check on the other Troll but today he really wanted to blame it in his reawakening older brother instincts.

"I'm fine" The girl jumped to her feet enthusiastically "What about you?"

"Oh, I'm good" He said, smiling to cover the stab of pain coming from his left ankle and knees. "But I think we should take a small break; it won’t do us any good to run around without any idea where we are going"

That was true but also, he just wanted to take a breather and let the pain he was feeling subside.

"Oh yeah that is a good plan" As fast as she had jumped to her feet, she sat herself down in front of him. "You could tell me more about Grayness... or your husband or Rock Trolls in general!"

"In a moment" But I think that we should actually discuss what we are going to do next" She pouted up at him, but he stayed firm they couldn't keep this for much longer, she needed to go and do her thing, and he needed to go back home to face the music.

"Well... what do you want to do now?"

Honestly Floyd just wanted to go home, sit back in his couch with his husband and listen to some or other death metal album to soothe his weary soul.

"Look at Queen Poppy, right now it's not about what either of us wants to do, it's about what you need to do." Her smile turned into a confused frown like if she wasn’t sure what he was talking about.  "Look, I know what I say back there about not telling me your plan and I still don't want to know most of it, just tell me where you need to go, and I will make sure you get there"

"We... I... I just need to go forward." If Floyd didn’t know anything better, he would say that she just chose a random direction and began to walk towards it but that would be ridiculous, wouldn’t it? Just like this whole day had been.

"Forward?" He looks skeptically towards the direction she is following "Queen Poppy I mean no disrespect but the only thing that way is the bogs which are extremely dangerous, especially at night, not only are they full pf predators but there had been rumors about giant worm people roaming around them recently."

"I..." She looked around and Floyd had to wonder what he would do if she ran away from him.

So much for building good faith between them.

"Look I know that despite everything, trusting me might seem daunting but believe me when I say that I wouldn't do anything to hurt you or your friends.”

"I know that! I really do but..." She is visually nervous, so much that Floyd begins to suspect that she is hiding something... he remembers how protective she had been about her best friend; could it be that said best friend was waiting somewhere ready to attack? or were those just the thriller novels he had been reding with Riff talking? whatever the case he should reassure her that he meant no harm.

"Queen Poppy, you made a vow to not hurt my Tribe and now I give you the same promise... I just want to help" He had come this far he wasn't going to abandon her now, but he would rather have all the cards on the table in case Pop had grown duplicitous since the Tree. "Let me help"

"I don’t have a plan"

"What?" Okay that was something he had not been ready for, he had started to mentally prepare to talk his way out of whatever trap she could be laying or lend a compassionate shoulder to a distressed Queen who didn't know who to trust but he had not thought about what would he do if she turned out to be aimless.

"It's just that I am not good with them; this was never meant to end like this I was supposed to unite all the genres in a big party" She tried to explain, her eyes apologetic, probably feeling the change of his mood.

"With the power of what? Catchy melodies and colorful outfits?!" Her awkward smile told him everything he needed to know  “Oh, I need a second..." He turned away from her; he was getting snarky and that would not help anyone; it was not her job to manage his expectations, it was not her fault; he was not frustrated with her but the situation.

He did the breathing exercises just like Spruce had shown him to do when he was a child overwhelmed by the emotions no one was teaching him to manage.

He could feel his muscles relax as he finally got a hold of his emotions; it had been a while since he had lost his composure like that; he should have known that Pop Trolls would be one of his biggest stressors.

At least he hadn't started crying, he was not only an emotional crier, but he was also an angry crier too. To be honest he cried about everything sometimes.

"I'm sorry, I thought I knew what was I doing but I just made things worse" Now that he was calmer he could hear the regret on the younger Troll's voice and he couldn't help but empathize with it, she was young and in over her head "Since I left my Village I have done nothing but to fail dad, my Tribe and even my friends... including you” It was heart melting if not concerning how quickly she had come to consider him a friend even if she didn't knew his name. "Maybe I should just accept that I am a bad friend and a terrible Queen"

"Hey no, none of that now" He turned to look at her, she looked so miserable that it was hurting Floyd's soft heart; Pop really didn't know how to pull the I'm sad but it's okay because I am cool vibe like Rock and Country did; they just looked like a wet cuddlepups left out in the rain "I am sorry for losing my temper" He offered a sincere smile in hopes that she would return it but it seems that she was still feeling too down for that "We just have to think of a way to solve this together" In for pebble, in for the diamond, right? "The Funk Prince seemed very convinced you had a plan; what does he think you were doing?"

She looked at him confused for a second, probably trying to process his words.

"I don't know, I have never been good with planning, except if it’s party planning, I'm very good at that; usually who comes up with the plans is..." Her whole face lighted up "My best friend! before I was captured, we... got separated" There was definitely more to that but Floyd will politely ignore it until it becomes his problem, he rather not be dragged to whatever relationship problems the Pop Queen and her right hand man are having.

"No other Troll got captured after you" And after capturing all the Tribe leaders Barb had lost any interest in going after whatever Trolls were left; she had her leaders and their Strings; she had won. "Which means he should still be out here!"

"We just need to find him; I will apologize and then we can come up with a super awesome plan to rescue the Pop Tribe and save everyone's music!"

With her energetic self back he could feel their path get clearer; he just needed to reunite her with her best friend and his job would be done.

"Now that is the spirit!" He jumped up his ankle still a little tender, but Queen Poppy seemed to be too excited to notice something was wrong "Do you remember the place you got captured?"

"It was by the river; I remember I could see the city behind me!” She looked up to him, a cute serious pout on her face.

"I think I know the place you are talking about!" He extended his paw at her to help her to her feet "C'mon Milady we have a best friend to find!"

They took off running again.

 - - -          I<< II >>I          - - -

 “Riff?” The taller Troll startled almost dropping the microphone he was adjusting in the stand “Hey sorry, to bother your creative process” Floyd gestured  to the set up that was taking over their whole dinner table and most part of the floor of their apartment  “I brought you some lunch, since your father said you hadn’t been down there in some time” Floyd looked for space to set the tray that Cymbal had loaded for him, but it seemed that every place he looked was already occupied by Riff’s equipment and notes.

“No! umm, it’s okay I was just too focused on… Sorry, I will pick up my mess” Riff stood up quickly barely avoiding getting stuck in the mess of cables at his feet. “Wow that is way too much food…” Riff quickly cleaned some of the papers he had on the table just so Floyd could set down the trey that indeed had too much food for just one Troll even if that Troll ate as much as Riff did.

“Oh yeah I think your parents are counting on you to convince me to eat something” Floyd joked trying to ignore the impulse to snoop on the papers that were still on the table; Riff had been kind of protective about his work lately making Floyd extra curious about it.

“You haven’t had lunch yet?!” Riff looked up from where he was already fingering the cheese and crackers that were on the tray.

“I just came from my shift at Hoosiers’ but don’t worry about that, I’m only here to change, I have a gig in The Scratch” Floyd hadn’t even finished sentence before he found himself sitting on the only clear chair in the room, with a beef stew bowl on his hands. “No, Riff I am too nervous to eat right now, I rather go early; Viny promised me he would let me in so I could practice a little before the…” The smell of Cymbal’s homemade beef stew suddenly hit the pink haired Troll so hard his mouth began to water. “Oh, you and your father are evil" He teased his husband roommate who only responded with a goofy smile made only goofier by the fact that his cheeks were full of food. “By the way… I was wondering if you would like to come with me?”

An expectant silence hangs between them for a few seconds before being broken by Riff’s violent coughs, the drummer begins to hit his chest, like he was trying to dislodge something from there, it looked painful, but he held up a paw when Floyd began to stand up to help him.

“To your gig?” His voice sounded a little raw from the cough but also confused.

“Umm Yeah” Floyd moved around his stew with the spoon trying to distract himself from the butterflies in his stomach and the shakiness of his paws “It’s going to be my biggest crowd yet and I feel like you haven’t been to one of my gigs in so long… Not that you are obligated to go! I just really enjoy when you are there to support me as … as like my friend? And I feel like we haven’t been spending a lot of time together… not that I am entitled to your time! I just …” He quickly filled his mouth with the delicious stew to avoid saying something stupid like admitting he missed the other Troll.

“Floyd I would really like to go and be there for you as your friend but I… I have to turn this in tomorrow” Riff gestured to the mess of equipment that surrounded them. “Besides I don’t think your friends like me a lot…”

“If anything, I think they like you too much” Floyd rolled his eyes at the thought of all his friends literally tripping over themselves to impress Riff, who is always oblivious to it all.

The pink haired Troll can see Riff debating with himself as he looks from the disaster that surrounds them to Floyd and back to the mountains of equipment.

“I really need to get this done today” He finally said to what seems like both their disappointment “I haven’t even recorded the voice lines and well you know how long those take me…”

Floyd frowned as Riff continued eating, the drummer’s soft purple ears a little down-turned as he almost visibly drowned in his thoughts.

For Pop Trolls it was weird and rare for a Troll to prefer playing an instrument than singing but for Rock Trolls it was pretty normal, ‘Not everyone is born a vocalist’ as they said.

Riff was one of those Trolls who would rather be behind any instrument (preferably the drums) than a microphone but some of his assignments for school required him to record his own vocals; normally he would go to one of his parents for help or on special occasions he would shyly ask Floyd for his voice but if there was no one available he would simply record his own voice, which took a long time because he always felt so unhappy about how it turned up that he ended up recording it a million of times before finding one that he felt was ‘adequate’.

“Oh… Maybe I could help you with …that?” Floyd gestured to all the equipment and the papers. “I can sing, whatever you need instead of you having to…”Riff hadn’t asked for his help in a while, which Floyd thought was because the more his career advanced the further they seem to be from one another, which left Floyd fighting against the impulse of clinging to his side; maybe if he offered his help he could satisfy his need to regain the closeness they once had "Even if we don't synchronize it usually doesn’t takes us more than half an hour to…”Floyd sensed that something was up with Riff when he stopped eating completely  “Riff?”

Maybe Floyd shouldn’t have mentioned synchronizing when things between them were as weird as they are right now.

For Trolls, no matter their genre; synchronizing the beat of your soul with another is a way to connect and share music, it was something Trolls normally did in large groups, during big musical numbers; doing it one on one was normally a very intimate act only reserved for the closest of friends, family and… romantic partners.

Riff and Floyd had never done it even by accident.

Floyd is about to apologize when the drummer reaches for a paper that was hiding under his mixing board.

“It’s just… It’s a dumb song…” Floyd hates when Riff refers to his work as dumb; the only reason the Troll is not the producer in every and all songs that he does is because the one-time Floyd asked Riff got super uncomfortable before insisting, he was not ready to produce anything commercial, let alone Floyd’s first rock album.

(Never mind that the album was half an excuse to flirt with Riff and write one of two love songs about him)

He doesn’t say anything because Riff deals better with gentle, positive reinforcement than direct compliments.

“Then you are on luck because I specialize in dumb little songs!” Dear muses he needs to get his head straight and stop trying to flirt with Riff when he is obviously disinterested.  “Those are usually the best because they don’t have limits to what you can do” He leaves his half-finished stew on the side and extends a paw towards the drummer; he is not going to pressure him into showing Floyd his work, but he wants Riff to know he is interested in seeing it and that his offer is genuine.

Riff looks up from the paper in his paw; he seems very nervous, but he ends up placing the paper on Floyd’s extended paw with the solemnity of a Troll heading to the gallows.

Floyd tries to reassure him with a gentle smile but then he turns his eyes to the lyrics on the page; his first impression of the song is that there is nothing silly about it: it may look simple and slow for Rock but it’s sweet and witty and definitely a love letter to someone.

Floyd would be jealous, so jealous that someone had left such an impression on Riff if it wasn’t by the fact that something in the wording makes his stupid, stupid heart race, already half convinced that this might be about him.

He swallows his feelings; he knows that if he lets them overwhelm him, he will run away instead of asking the question burning in his heart.

“I am sorry!” Riff interrupted him before he could say anything “I didn’t want to freak you out! I’m so sorry you are basically my roommate! Strings, what was I thinking?! I’m so sorry Floyd I swear I will move out I never meant to…” He suddenly stops on his tracks when Floyd stands up and begins to softly sing the lyrics.

“Like that?” He asked once he finished singing the first verse “…Riff?” Floyd giggled a little, embarrassed by the astonished look that the other Troll was giving him.

“Umm… Ah a little slower?” Riff moved so quickly that he almost tripped reaching for his guitar “The melody is like this” he hesitated for just a second before playing a simple, rhythmic tune.

Floyd listened for a moment, focusing on the Troll in front of him until his and Riff’s souls clicked together, sharing a wavelength for the first time.

Both of their breaths hitched as they got the first taste of their connection.

Floyd reaching out and Riff letting him in felt like a statement, an important one that they would have to address later because in this moment  they are both too hypnotized by the music they were sharing; specially when Floyd’s voice joins Riff’s guitar, singing the lyrics that he had only read through once like it was a song he had known all his life.

Once the song is over the connection between them fizzles out gently leaving behind a soft, warm feeling that enveloped the small apartment.

They were as close as they could be with Riff’s guitar between them but after sharing something as intimate as what they just had done the little distance between them felt too much.

Floyd only noticed how much he was leaning into the other Troll when his lips touched Riff’s.

The kiss didn’t last for more than a few seconds, just long enough to answer his question about what it would feel like to kiss Riff (It was like bubbles, a blooming sensation that he felt in every nerve of his body) but brief enough that he felt instantly dissatisfied with the duration of their contact.

“You wanna hit record or what?” Floyd said nodding towards the guitar as he began to lean back from his roommate.

He stopped when said roommate reached to grab his face in between his paws, looking somewhat dazzled.

“Yeah, in a second” Riff said in a half growl.

Then he kissed Floyd again.

 - - -          I<< II >>I          - - -

"We are probably not going to outrun them"

Floyd should have known that things were looking suspiciously calm before; they had a plan, a direction and he could almost see the light at the end of this tunnel.

But Hard Rock Trolls were a bunch of hard-headed, stubborn, restless creatures and they appeared to be closing on them right now.

"No! We have made it this far I refuse to give up!" He stops running suddenly, letting the Queen drag him a few steps before she stops to look at him.

"I'm not saying we are giving up I'm just saying that we are going to have to change tactics..." He thought for a second before he came up with what could be their only option; he took off his sweater and offered it to the Queen. "Here put this on and give me your crown." 

"What? Why?" It spoke a lot of the trust Poppy had in him when she did what he asked even before he started explaining; he just hoped he would prove to be deserving of that trust.

"They are probably using tracker bats to follow our scents, so our best bet is to combine our scents so they can't tell who went each way" He took the crown but he didn't put it on; Barb had earned her crown through her service to the Tribe and Poppy probably had too, he had not, so even if he needed to take her crown for the greater good he would not wear it.

"We are taking separate paths?" Floyd wondered why she was so attached to him if they had only known each other for a short amount of time and when he hadn't done anything to deserve it.

"I just hope it distracts them enough to buy you some time" He smiled gently at her as he helped her putting his mesh sweater on, it was a little small on her as he was shorter than her but luckily for them this was not about fashion. "If you head north, you will find the river we were looking for, it's not far from here, once you find it you need to follow it down the riverbank, try to walk in the shallow part of the river or even swim for at least a part of the trip, it will help cover your tracks." The young Queen nodded but didn't move once he gave her all the instructions, she seemed to be waiting for something.

"What happens if you get caught?" Oh... wasn't that the question; it hadn't stopped him from helping her, but he did wonder what Barb would do.

"Poppy it's okay, I will be okay" That part was true at least; despite their reputation Hard Rock Trolls were big on family and community in a way not even Pop Trolls were; yes what he did would be seen as a betrayal to the Tribe but a minor one; he hadn't directly hurt any Rock Trolls or  broken any vows he had taken with the tribe except some minor deception to his husband, he would be forgiven "I made the choice to help you under my own free will and yes Barb is probably going to be mad at me, she will probably shout and throw some things at the wall but she won’t hurt me, or my husband" The Pop Queen but she still looked unconvinced.

"What if they throw you in jail? Or take your party privileges? Or exclude you from group activities for helping me?" Oh that's why she was worried about? maybe he shouldn't tell her that all of the above were technically very real possibilities, one way or another, as he was probably going to end up in house arrest for a while; he was about to reassure her again when suddenly something made her face pale and her eyes fill with tears "...What if they... what if they exile you..."

Oh. That was a truly horrifying outcome, one that he hadn't even stopped to consider; the simple thought made him feel sick and Grey in a way that he had to stare at his hand just to make sure he wasn't losing all his colors again.

"No, it's okay they are not going to do something like that" Floyd took a deep breath and let it out slowly, he needed to be logical about this. They had no time for his 'Sensitive One' crap.  

They wouldn't have any reason to do it; exile was reserved for the worst possible crimes a Hard Rock Troll could commit and what he had done was nowhere near that, his Tribe will understand, he might be given the cold shoulder for a while, he might have to kiss his career goodbye but once the fact that he did everything for his baby brother spread around... they would forgive him.

(Riff would forgive him) 

They must because Floyd is not sure what he will do if they don’t, and he doesn't have time to think about that.

"Just come with me, we will pretend that you were my hostage and then they can't blame you for anything..." She grabbed his wrist and began to pull him towards the direction he had indicated she needed to go; he followed her for three whole steps before thinking better of it.

If she got caught, then this would be for nothing.

It was a very tempting offer, especially because Rock Trolls would totally believe that, they were so ready to think the worst of their Pop counterparts that they would build the story themselves from the smallest of details.

It was such an attractive option one that allowed him to keep being innocent, good and ... perfect in their eyes.

"It's okay Poppy, you don't need to do that, you just worry about saving your Tribe and don't forget about the promise that you made to me okay?" She still looked unconvinced, so he took the paw she had wrapped around his wrist and cradled in both of his and looked directly into her pink eyes. "I know that you might not see it because she has done a lot of messed up things to you, but Barb really cares about us and actually... you remind me a lot to her" He fixed her bangs that had gotten a little messy when she had taken her crown off, it was a tender gesture that seemed to comfort her "I will be okay" He repeated with a confidence that he almost felt "Riff probably won't cuddle me for a month or two but I am ready to face the consequences"

Poppy's only answer was to throw herself into his arms.

"I really hope I see you again" She whispered in his shoulder.

"Yeah, I hope that too" He returned the hug sincerely, he had grown perhaps a little too attached to the Queen of his former Tribe.

The tender moment was broken by the sound of something rustling the vegetation aggressively somewhere behind them; that must be the search party.

Their time was up, it was now or never so Floyd took a deep breath, stepped out of the hug but kept his paws on her shoulders.

"Poppy listen to me: Dark blue hair, light blue skin, sky blue eyes, he has a small glitter mole behind his left ear shaped like a leaf, he is probably a High Tenor but I can't be sure since he was just a baby when I saw him last, name is Branch, B-R-A-N-C-H; just tell him I'm really sorry and that I love him."

"Wait...what?!" She looked so shocked; she probably knew his baby brother; good that will make things easier.

"So long Queen Poppy!" He gave her one last smile and ran in the direction of the bogs, hoping his plan would work.

For the sake of music, he hoped it did.

 - - -          I<< II >>I          - - -

"When we met you told me you couldn't dance" Floyd's words were slurring but for the first time in a long while it was more because of how tired he was than because any type of beverage was involved.

"And I can't" Riff was heavily leaning into Floyd's side with an arm thrown around his shoulders to keep the shorter Troll close, as they both stumbled home as the sun began to rise on the horizon.

"Then what was that? Because I swear that you were dancing" They barely managed to open the door to their apartment before they were falling all over the floor; their tired legs giving up once they were home.

"That was Jive, it's different" It took Riff four tries before he could kick the door close from his place on the floor.

"Aha different how?" Floyd asked teasingly, scooching, until he was cuddled on Riff’s side.

"I still can't dance the way you do" The taller Troll turned to his side so he could wrap both arms around the smaller one.

"I rather like the way you dance..." Floyd cupped Riff's face in between his paws, caressing his cheeks lightly, just enjoying a quiet moment with his partner.

"Happy anniversary Floyd" Riff turned his face slightly to deposit the smallest kisses in his husband's paw.

"Happy anniversary Riff" It had been three years since that fateful encounter in Las Joyas and Floyd was yet to regret any part of his sudden relationship with this Troll. "We should probably get to bed" Floyd whispered, he felt a little silly just laying here staring at each other when they could be in their warm bed cuddling.

"In a minute" Riff delicately combed through Floyd's bangs, there was something reverent in his expression, like he was just noticing something amazing.

"Whaaaat?" Floyd could feel his face heating up at the attention.

"Your eyes are the colour of Elderberry Lollypops" Whispered the drummer in between giggles.

"Oh you..." Floyd couldn't help but join him with a soft laugh.

"I love Elderberry Lollypops" Riff informed him very seriously.

"I know" There was a bowl full of them in their living room that Floyd took the care to refill every few days to make sure they were never running low on the purple little treats.

"I..." The drummer paused taking a deep breath before drawing Floyd into a hug. "I am really happy you are here with me" Floyd felt like that was not what Riff initially wanted to say but he was grateful for the sentiment, nonetheless.

"I am really glad too... you make me happy" He readjusted his paws to return the hug, it was a little uncomfortable because they were still lying on their sides on the floor, but he really didn't want to complain and potentially end the contact.

Then he processed what Riff had said... he said Floyd's eyes were like Elderberry lollypops but it had been a while since the colour of his eyes had resembled anything like the light purple of Riff's favourite treat; the colour had drained from him after that awful visit to the Troll Tree; leaving his eyes a dark, muddy brown, his skin an ashy, pale, bluish-grey and his hair a dull red.

...Could it be that after all this time a little bit of his colour had returned? it couldn't be that much because his hands and what he could see of his own hair looked relatively unchanged.

"Floyd? I am really tired, but I don't think I can go to sleep right now"

"Me neither" They let each other go, and they just laid there on their backs, observing the refraction of the sunlight in their ceiling.

"Sooooo... breakfast?” Riff sat up and turned to Floyd with that charming goofy smile of his.

"After I take all this makeup off my face, that would be heavenly" Floyd accepted the other Troll's paw and together they finally stood up from the floor.

"Okay, I will go to start up the oven, I'm craving something fluffy and warm"

"You are a dream, sweetheart" Floyd kissed his husband’s cheek before walking towards their bathroom.

He closed the door behind him and leaned on the door, eyes closed; his husband could have been talking about the colour his eyes used to be instead of how they looked now or maybe he had been tricked by the light to think Floyd's eyes were the colour they were supposed to be...

He slowly opened his eyes only to find two brilliant, elder-berry coloured eyes staring at him behind his messed up, still dull red bangs.

Some of his colour was back.

Floyd had always imagined that his colours would come back with a bang, that one day something would happen and poof! his colours would be back, he imagined that he would feel it somehow.

But he hadn't noticed his eyes had regained their colour at all, he wasn't even sure when it had happened, he didn't felt any different than how he had felt yesterday... except...

From behind the door, he could hear Riff in the kitchen drumming his fingers in the counter to the rhythm of one of the songs that they had danced together last night... Riff only did that when he was extremely happy.

Riff was happy and he made Floyd happy.

Last night was so wonderful that Floyd had just allowed himself to feel happy, no guilt, no second guesses he just had fun with the Troll he ... with the Troll he loved.

That made it click for Floyd; he wasn't going to let another day go by; this was the day.

He quickly cleaned his face and combed his hair; his clothes would have to wait as he needed to do this now while he still felt brave.

He quietly made his way to the living room, Riff seemed to be too busy fighting with their oven to notice him.

"Hey Baby B" Floyd cleaned some imaginary dust from the photograph frame, no one in this home would let a speck of dirt to even fall into this small corner of the living room.

it had started with Floyd just taping one of the pictures of his little brother in a place where he knew it would be out of everyone's way, just a place where Floyd could stand, stare and fail to do what his Grief Counselor had advised him to do to help him deal with all the guilt he was feeling; talk to his brother.

A little while later a small coffee table appeared under the picture; on the table rested the old baby rattle that he and Riff had found on his grandma’s Pod; cleaned and repaired.

Riff never said anything, but Floyd knew that had been his doing.

After Riff it was his father, Cymbal, who one day just took down the photo and before Floyd could protest, he removed the tape from it and then placed the photograph inside a beautiful carved frame, he then placed it beside the baby rattle.

"There you go, son, that is so much better" Cymbal took a second to appreciate his handiwork then he ruffled Floyd's hair before walking back to the kitchen like nothing had happened.

Suddenly it was like a dam had been broken for the other usual visitors of the apartment; as if they had been holding their breaths waiting for Floyd's reaction towards the acknowledgement of his grief.

A small, soft, bee plushie appeared after Riff's mother, Alice, came to check on them.

Stone and K.J. had left behind some sweet-smelling candles.

Riff's Grandma repaired one of Rosiepuff's doilies to cover the table.

And so on, Riff's family had begun decorating his baby brother's corner until it was no longer a lonely corner for Floyd to cry at but a lovely tribute to a Trolling none of them had met.

"Today is the day, B" Floyd smiled down at the picture of the small blue Trolling, he could almost hear the baby's giggles "I'm really sorry I was never the brother you deserved, I wanted so many things in life and you paid the price for my greed" He picked up the picture frame, his eyes caressing the familiar features of his little brother. "...And maybe I deserve him as much as I deserved someone like you" Floyd whispered shifting his gaze towards the kitchen where he could hear Riff grumbling. "But if there is the smallest amount of hope he feels the same as me I got to take it, B." He turned the frame around and carefully removed the back, taking the papers he had hid there, before reassembling the frame and putting it down. "Wherever you are B, I hope you are not laughing at your foolish bro. I love you Branch" Floyd gave the picture a last look and then walked towards the kitchen.

" I think our oven is broken" Explained Riff as soon as Floyd walked in “The fire is still very weak despite all the wood that I threw in there" There was soot in his shirt and some kind of flour in his cheek, he looked too endearing.

"Maybe a little paper could do the trick?" Floyd extended the papers he was carrying to his husband.

"Oh yeah, we could try that" Riff took the papers and without looking at them he threw them into the weak flame, which seemed to grow significantly, Riff nodded approvingly before closing the latch "What was that anyways?" He asked once he moved back to fill the baking pan on the counter.

"Nothing important, really, just our divorce papers" Floyd shrugged "So what are you baking?" It looks like some kind of bread; the kitchen smells like banana, so it’s probably banana bread or something like that.

"Wait what?!" Floyd has to rescue their breakfast from his husband whose paws appear to have stopped working.

"As I said nothing important" Floyd puts down the baking pan "I know I should have told you before letting you burn them but... I don't want to divorce you Riff, not now, not ever" He turns to look at the other Troll "I love you, you absolutely rock my world"

"...huh metal" Riff looked frozen in his spot and Floyd prepares himself for rejection, he put all his cards in the table and the response was… not very promising; he almost expects the other Troll to offer him a fist bump "I mean ... I love you too" Riff quickly continued probably after he processed his own words. “You are the music in my soul, of course you Rock my world Floyd”

They stared at each other for a moment before they both look away bashfully, neither of them seemed to know what to do now that their feelings were out on the open; if this was a romantic novel they would lock lips in a passion filled kiss that would last ages and would seal their love or something like that but this was not a romantic novel and they were two shy, exhausted, hungry Trolls so instead of exchanging kisses they exchanged soft smiles as they continued preparing breakfast.

They would have time for romance later.

Riff checked the oven and nodded in satisfaction, reaching for the oven pan that Floyd handed him.

"Soooo... now that we are on the same page would it be too soon to ask you to maybe… I don't know, marry me... again?"

This time Floyd wasn't fast enough to save their breakfast.

 - - -          I<< II >>I          - - -

"Poppy is there something wrong?" Branch looked worried, he was still in his fuzzy robe and had a half full mug of coffee in his paw.

It was way too early to be knocking on anyone's door, even someone that woke up as early as her boyfriend but Poppy could not sleep last night; she had been both too excited about possibly uncovering something new about Branch and too guilty at the thought of having waited too long to fulfill the promise she had made to a soft spoken Rock Troll. 

"Hi Branch! Can I come in?" Poppy would like to answer his question with a no, because technically there was nothing wrong; if she is right, she is about to reunite his favorite Troll with someone that has missed him greatly and loves him dearly.

But the way the other pink-haired Troll talked about his family and the fact Branch had never talked about his family with the exception of his grandmother made her falter when she wished to be strong.

 "...Okay?" He looked around as if he was expecting to find a glitter cannon aimed at him and ready to fire, but Poppy had not brought such a thing this time, so he lets her in. "Are you going to tell me what it is all about now?" He asked once he had closed the latch to his bunker.

"I... can you stay still for me?" There was no reason why she would need to work herself up too much if she still hadn't confirmed that his Branch was her Branch, like realistically her Branch did checked a lot of the boxes in the other pink-haired Troll’s description, but she rather confirm everything before doing anything that could result in hurting her boyfriend or the Troll who had helped her so much before; who knows maybe Branch had been a popular name back at the Troll Tree.

"Oh ooooookay...?" With his permission now acquired, Poppy delicately put her paw on his cheek, caressing it softly until Branch lost all the tension in his body before turning his head to the side and zeroing in a single glitter mole in the shape of a leaf that was just where the other pink-haired Troll said it would be. "Umm... Poppy what are you doing...?" She took a deep breath.

"Sooooooo well… you remember how a Rock Troll helped me escape?" She was very happy but at the same time she wanted to do this as tactfully as possible.

She had to ease Branch into the revelation.

"Uhhhh... Yes? I do remember that part as unbelievable as I find it" Branch, stepped back and Poppy let him, he activated the elevator avoiding eye contact.

Her boyfriend was adorable when he was embarrassed by her affection.

"Well yeah I kind of promised him something in return..." She gave him privacy to compose himself, focusing in the slow decent into his bunker instead of his back.

"Is this guy blackmailing you?" He looked ready to go and hunt down the other Troll. It was very sweet how protective he was of her. 

"No! Not at all!" She could not even begin to imagine the soft spoken Troll doing something like that, even when he appeared to be a little bitter towards Pop he had risked so much to help her and her Tribe; she hoped that he hadn’t face any backlash for his actions now that everything had been resolved between their Tribes. "He used to be a Pop Troll..." 

"Is that even possible? Do you believe this guy? “They finally made it to the ground floor of the bunker, Branch jumped down and then extended a paw to help her down like a gentleman.

"Well yeah...   he said some pretty convincing things" She remembered the haunted look in his eyes when he talked about returning the Tree and his desperate eyes as he described his baby brother. "And he didn't ask for much, he just wanted me to find his brother" There was something vulnerable that flashed through Branch's blue eyes so quickly that Poppy would have missed it if she hadn't been paying extra attention to his reactions, she wondered how many times she had missed those telling moments that revealed something about Branch's past that he didn't share. "You see he used to live in the Troll Tree before Trollstice was even a thing but then he left and ..."

"Let me guess now he wants to catch up? Yeah, what about we save this guy some time and tell him to get lost, if his brother didn't need him before he is not going to need him now" Branch sounded really angry about the whole thing so much that Poppy would be surprised if she hadn’t known this was personal for him; she shouldn’t but Poppy couldn’t help but to find the whole thing funny.

Branch looked confused when she started to giggle and a little bit hurt.

"Sorry it’s just... that is exactly what he said that you would say..."  

"Whaaaaat? I don't know what that guy said to you but obviously you have the wrong Troll I don't have any long-lost brothers or anything..." All his anger evaporated as he rubbed his paws against his robe, which was a nervous habit Poppy had noticed before and that is how she knew it never  seem to work that well when he wasn’t wearing his favourite leaf vest, so she took a deep breath and tried to talk in the most calming voice she had; delaying this conversation would only give Branch more time to sink in his anxiety.

"He knew your name and vocal range and described you down to the glitter mole behind your ear" She gestured behind her ear with a smile, if his brother hadn't said anything about it who knows how long she could have gone without knowing about it.

"I… that is ridiculous I have no idea what you are talking about..." He said nervously covering the glitter mole behind his ear "What did you say this guy's name was?" 

"I never said it..." She smirked, he could deny it all that he wanted but Poppy could see how her words were affecting him. "And neither did he, he was all about how that was not important and how the less I knew about him the better... now that I think about it, I see the family resemblance" She stroked her chin looking at her boyfriend and wondering which other things he could share with his brother; Did Branch had the same soft smile that his brother had? Did Branch's brother also scrunch his nose in the same cute way her boyfriend did while thinking? She wanted to discover everything.

"I..." He looked unnerved by the whole conversation and refused to look directly at her face, his eyes jumped from one place to another, like if he was trying to find a way out, until they seem to freeze over her hip. "You were wearing that when I found you..." Branch pointed to the sweater that peeked from the bag she was carrying "Is that... his?"

"Oh yeah!" She took the clothing out of the bag to show it to him. "He lent it to me to cover my sent, I wanted to wash it before giving it back but I am not sure how to do it without ruining it so I was going to take it to Satin and Chenille to... Branch?" Her boyfriend didn't seem to be listening to her, he was too focused in the soft, weird sweater in front of him rubbing the material between his fingers, his eyes a little glossed over as he leaned towards it.

Poppy smiled softly at her boyfriend as she offered him the clothing item, which he took carefully as if he was very scared to damage the knitted mesh; there was something so fragile in his face and demeanour, as if he couldn't quite believe what was in front of him.

He held the sweater tenderly in his paws for a few seconds then he dropped his face into the fabric.

"Branch?!" The only answer she got from the other Troll was the deep breath Branch took against the sweater in his paws. 

"... Floyd?" 

"His name is Floyd? Ha! I told him that I would get his brother to tell me his name! But he was all 'He will probably pretend I don't exist and that is what I deserve'; talk about dramatic... Branch?"

"... did he say why he never came back?" Poppy had never heard Branch sound as vulnerable as he did in that moment, it made something in her chest burn fiercely, she wanted to reach for Branch and hug him, but she was afraid to even touch him in case he was not up for it right now.

"Branch I... I don't want to speak for him but by the small things that he let slip... I think he did, but by then the Tree..." She really wanted to tell Branch everything, to reassure him of his brother's love but she also felt like those memories were not hers to share "The first thing he did when he found Pop was alive was find a way to make sure you were alive and safe"

"I... I want to see him..." Branch looked up to her and suddenly it was like she was seeing someone so much younger, a version of Branch she was sure not many knew.

"Okay..."She grabbed his paw and smiled softly at him " He will be so happy to see you..."

- - -          I<< II >>I          - - -

Guess the road to hell is paved by good intentions, literally...

Floyd looked around to the shiny, cold and dead landscape of the place that had become his prison.

" This is for all the lonely people..."

He looked at his feet, recently he had noticed how translucent and shiny they were looking; it wouldn’t be long until he became as shiny, cold and dead as his environment.

 "Thinking that life just pass us by"

He morbidly wondered if they would make jewellery out of his corpse or perhaps a trendy centrepiece for the hardwood coffee table Veneer had been talking nonstop about.

He really meant to go back.

Why did he always hope for more than he had the right to have, just to lose everything chasing the impossible?

"We won't give up until we drink from the silver cup" 

Why couldn't he just grab onto the Troll that made him happy and stick with them till the end?

First it had been Branch, the sweet little brother that had given him a propose; now it was Riff, his amazing partner that he was probably never going to see again. 

Everything had landed him right back to where he started; trapped by someone, a greedy creature, that only wanted him for his music and talent, it was exactly the same scenario that he had been so desperate to escape before; except that this time, there would not be an unexpected hero to sweep him off his feet, no one would come for him, not after everything he had done, he was sure of  it.

This time the villain would get what they wanted… and Floyd?

Floyd was going to die here.

"And ride that highway in the sky..."

He was going to die here. Alone.

- - -          I<< II >>I          - - -

Riff knows that if it got out that the first thing that went out of his mouth when a very attractive Troll asked about his abilities in a very flirty voice that sent shivers up and down his spine was to tell that really, really gorgeous, pink haired, music god that he could catch mini donuts with his mouth; he would be done for.

His cousins would not let him live it down and they would probably tell his parents who would then go and bemoan the fact that they were gonna die grandchildless.

But what was he supposed to do? Keep his mouth shut and hope that his looks were enough to get him a partner and 2 Trollings? 

"Like ... trick shots?" The smaller Troll tilted his head, he looked more curious than weirded out, his eyes were such pretty purple and Riff couldn't help but leaning into his space. 

"Umm yeah, like if you throw a mini donut at me no matter how, or the distance I can catch it" He should stop talking about his stupid 'talent', he should have told the pretty Troll that he could play the drums and the guitar and that he was okay with the keyboard; pretty pink gods with the voice of angels liked that right?

"And you never fail?" Oh, holy music score, how is he still in this conversation? Normally attractive Trolls didn't indulge him this long.

"Not so far" Why couldn't he shut up? He wasn't even that tipsy for this to be a product of whatever his cousins had made him drink.

"Okay I need to see that" The drummer's brain resets as the pink haired beauty grabs him by the arm and begins to pull him out of the bar. "I know a good place to get mini donuts" Riff shudders as soon as the cold night outside hits him, Hard Rock Trolls are not made for cold weather. "I'm Floyd by the way" 

FloydFloydFloydFloyd, Floyd and his soft raspberry smell, who was looking up at him with big, pretty eyes.

"Riff" For a second the drummer is not sure what to do because he would normally offer his fist for a bump after introducing himself, but Floyd's paws are still wrapped around his arm and his sparkly purple eyes are so focused on his face that didn't seem to register how close they were getting.

It was kind of intoxicating  to held the attention of someone like Floyd and not only because Riff found him physically attractive, which didn’t hurt, but the main reason Riff was so interested in the smaller Troll was because he had seen most of Floyd's show; he had seen him enchant his audience guiding them through a wide range of emotions and he did it by himself with only a beat up guitar, a keyboard and a bunch of pedals; Riff had never seen what was obviously a Pop Troll do something so Rock and he was hooked.

"Follow me Riff"

"I would follow you anywhere..."

And that is how he ends up behind the biggest fountain he has ever seen; catching  sugary treats for the amusement of who has to be the cutest, most charming Troll in the history of their species.

"I don't know how you do it" Floyd says for the third time this night, then he takes a mini donut from the packet and throws it in the air opening his mouth to catch it only for it to hit his forehead and fall onto his shirt sprinkling him with the edible glitter the donuts are coated with. "See? Oh, what a mess" The pink trolls tries to brush the edible glitter from his forehead and shirt, but he just makes it worse by spreading it.

It makes Riff laugh.

"I guess it's just practice as a drummer. I tend to have my hands busy so I just ask people to just throw me some snacks." The taller Troll sits beside Floyd on the border of the fountain; there is no one nearby so technically there was no reason to sit this close to his companion except that Riff wants to and Floyd seems to enjoy it.

"You are a drummer? That is so cool" Riff has heard that line so many times and in many of them the interest has been genuine but for some reason this time it affects him more than it ever has.

"Yeah... not cool as what you got going on" For some reason that makes the luminous eyes that had been looking up to him a little dimmer.

"You don't have to lie I know that Pop is not that great" For some reason the drummer is certain that those were not Floyd’s words and that he is just saying something that he has been told enough times to believe it.

"If anything, I would say that you were sounding pretty Pop Rock up there" Riff shrugs.

He is not an expert on Pop, but he can confidently say that whatever Floyd was doing on stage is a long way from being just Pop.

"You are just saying that" Floyd giggles leaning into his shoulder, he is warm and soft and smells soooo good and Riff is both in heaven and hell.

"These mini donuts are really something" The drummer says, trying to redirect the conversation to something that does not lead them to the path of him confessing his undying love to someone he just met.

He grabs one of the last mini donuts left in the pack and shoves into his mouth.

"Oh yeah they are great" If the other Troll feels any certain way about the change of subject, he does not externalize it he just smiles softly at Riff as his paw wipes some glitter from the drummer's cheek. "They get edible glitter everywhere and I really mean everywhere but they are so good it's worth it" Riff offers Floyd a mini donut, but he misjudges the distance and ends up sliding it in one of the smaller Trolls fingers; he is about to apologize when Floyd laughs admiring the mini donut in his finger as if it was a ring. “Beautiful, brighter than my future" He jokes.

Floyd is just admiring his new shinny ‘ring’, his hair is messy from his performance, dancing and all the running around he did with Riff and is beginning to fall into his face, his cheeks are sparkly from the edible glitter, his eyes alight with delight and...

Riff is so smitten with him.

"How much time do you have to wait to ask someone to marry you?" It's the thing that comes out of his mouth before he can think better of it.

Floyd, instead of laughing at him or just walking away like so many Trolls do when Riff runs his mouth seems to think about the question before shrugging.

"I guess it varies from Troll to Troll... I guess sometimes you just know"

Rock Trolls were famous for being very impulsive except when it comes to relationships, relationships were carefully constructed and cultivated through multiple interactions, especially romantic relationships.

But like Floyd said Riff only knew.

"Follow up question... would you marry me?"

Many Hard Rock Trolls would have scoffed at the idea of love at first sight; because for most Rock Trolls that is not how it works.

"Yeah, I would love to"

It was very fitting that Riff didn't care about how anything works anyways because: like every Punk knew defiance was mostly an act of love.

Chapter Text

Riff was going to burn down Mount Rageous.
Or more specifically Barb was going to burn down Mount Rageous and Riff was going to let her do it.

It had been almost a day since they had received Queen Poppy's weird letter and thanks to a very dangerous stunt with a wormhole, they were already halfway there but it was not fast enough for them.

Queen Poppy had not specified anything about what was happening to Floyd but the fact that they needed his brothers for anything made both rockers nervous, which was why they hadn't bothered with an Angler Bus or even a Beetle Van and they had gone directly for the fastest Beetle bike they could find.

Val, Sid and Carol would meet them there as soon as possible with a fully equipped Angler Bus; the only thing that the Queen and her right-hand Troll carried was a backpack with some food, a first aid kit, Barb's most powerful guitar, Floyd's favorite blanket and Debbie who at the moment was taking a nap under Riff's beanie.

They were going so fast that they almost collided with the Armadillo Bus that was parked a few meters from the forest they just exited.

"Wow!" Barb hit the brakes and forced the Beetle bike to the side, barely dodging the other creature; they violently skid to a stop, leaving trails of flames on their tracks.

Riff's head was ringing from the violent movement; it was so disorienting that he only noticed that he was tilting to the side when he hit the ground.

"Riff! Are you okay man?!" The drummer gave his friend a shaky thumbs up; he was okay, just a little nauseous.

"BARB!" Queen Poppy suddenly popped out of nowhere beaming at them as if they hadn't almost died "RIFF! YOU GUYS ARE HERE!"

"Rhythm, Rhyme and Music Popsqueak, you almost killed me and Riff!" Barb growled in the other Queen's smiling face.

"And Debbie" Riff added from the floor, pushing up his beanie a little to let the small Furrybat fly directly into Barb's arms.

"And Debbie! What do you have to say in your defense?!" Barb pushed the Furrybat into the pink Troll's face.

"I am so happy to see you!" Queen Poppy gently pushed Debbie aside to look directly at Barb.

"That makes one of us" Barb growled, turning her back to the other Queen and reaching down to pull Riff to his feet.

"Barb..."

"No I get it, I hurt your feelings by not telling you when Floyd first went missing and now you..." Riff looked from Queen to Queen wondering if he should intervene or not, because he was not great at this but maybe if Barb turned around and saw the hurt that she felt reflected in Poppy's eyes... he doesn't know and he is kinda not really in the headspace to play referee right now.

"It's not about that!" Barb lets go of Debbie and turns to look at the Queen of Pop, her stance dangerous and aggressive, making the Furrybat fly off to hide on their backpack which was still strapped to the bike.

Now that he is on his feet, he can see that they are surrounded by other Trolls; vaguely familiar Trolls that are radiating some kind of protective aura, he wonders what is happening here, he looks around looking for the familiar dull colors of Branch, who could probably help him to defuse this bomb, but he is nowhere to be seen.

"Then what is it then because the ot-" Riff was about to intervene when the girls are interrupted by a sticky hand flying directly towards Barb’s face but is quickly blocked by the Rock Queen "Try that again and see where this ends up" Barb growls towards the unknow Pink Troll that had tried to attack her, holding the sticky hand with one paw and using it to pull the other Troll down.

"Viva!" Queen Poppy and another unknow, tall Troll shout at the same time.

"Okaaaayyyy what if we turn the volume down a notch and we..." Riff begins, grabbing his Queen by the shoulders and trying to pull her from the confrontation; they really don't need this right now they should be focusing on rescuing...

"Riff?" It is just a broken, soft whisper but for the drummer it drowns everything that was happening as he turns to the source of the voice.

There, on the very back of Poppy's group there is a small figure pushing himself to his feet and it is like Riff's vision closes around that lone Troll.

"Lollypop!" Riff jumped over the Bettle bike, dodged the unknown Trolls with ease and ran with just one objective in mind: Floyd.

He can hear a commotion around him, but he doesn’t have it in him to really pay attention to it all, specially because his husband is trying to follow his example and meet him in the middle but Floyd could only take two steps before he was stumbling forward, which alarmed Riff; he quickened his pace before throwing himself to catch his husband before the smaller Troll could hit the ground.

Floyd sunk into Riff's arms ungracefully, the pink-haired Troll's claws digging on the drummer's back while his weak legs tried to wrap around Riff's waist.

"I'm... sssorry" Floyd's voice sounded terrible, raspy, weak and it was almost like it hurt him to get it out; his forehead felt clammy and uncomfortably warm on Riff’s neck.

"I am not mad, I was never mad" The drummer adjusted Floyd on his lap carefully taking note of how weak, and frail his husband felt in his arms as he tried to make him as comfortable as he could "You Rock my world Lollypop" The drummer began to caress his husband’s back making the tired Troll shake with emotion.

At his words any semblance of peace Floyd seem to have fell to pieces as he broke down into soundless sobs; Riff just held him, never stopping his loving ministrations.

Without detaching the smaller Troll from his hold, he began to assess his husband’s condition, noting the bruises and cuts as well as the patches of white that littered his skin and hair.

The drummer wanted to ask what had happened to his husband while they had been apart but some part of him just felt like the answer was not something that he wanted to hear right now when his priority should be taking care of Floyd, starting with warming the pink haired Troll's freezing skin.

The soft, puffy blanket that his husband adored was still in the backpack that was now surrounded by squabbling Trolls; but luckily for Riff they were sitting by the edge of a picnic blanket; probably where Floyd had been laying before he had tried to run towards Riff, judging by the amount of blankets and pillows thrown around.

He tries to reach for one of the blankets but every time he takes his paw off Floyd the smaller Troll's whimpers in protest.

"Oh, here let me..." Someone just hands him a blanket that he quickly tucks around Floyd who calms down a little now that he is warmer and still buried on his husband's arms.

"Thanks..." He looks up and finds Floyd’s younger brother awkwardly smiling at him "Branch"

"You are welcome" Branch stares at his brother's back with a sorrowful expression "Sorry about the letter... Poppy is not the only one to blame for that; I also forgot, and I am really sorry; I should have..."

"We will be okay" Riff really didn't think they needed to apologize to him; if he had to choose, he would always chose whatever option got Floyd back safely, faster; him being directly involved or not didn't matter "Barb has just been under a lot of stress lately" They both had but while Riff had a tendency to shut down in high stress situations, Barb had an opposite reaction and became hyper aggressive "She will calm down eventually... probably... as long as she hasn’t bit anyone we are fine... probably"

"Well, it doesn't seem like she has bitten anyone, but they are..." Branch sighs, his shoulders sagging with resignation "They are fighting; I should go and try to do something" He threw another look at Floyd's back before walking towards the commotion.

Branch didn't noticed but as soon as he walked past Riff, Floyd's trembling paw had reached for the younger Troll, it was a desperate, weak gesture, as if Floyd was trying to keep his little brother from the fighting like he told Riff he did when they were kids; when Branch continued to walk away, his husband looked up at Riff with watery, pale eyes.

Riff tried to look away; he knew what Floyd wanted, but he really didn't want to get in the middle of any fights verbal or otherwise; he just wanted to stay here in the peace and quiet with the Troll he loved and hold him until their reunion felt real and not one of the dreams he continuously had while his husband was missing.

But he couldn't keep his stare from Floyd's face; it had always been a problem for him to focus on anything that was not Floyd when said Troll was around, especially when Riff knew there was something wrong with his partner and right now there was definitely something not great going on with his Lollypop.

"You know that I am not good with..." Floyd pouted up at him and Riff could almost hear him softly saying 'Please, just try sweetheart' as if he was trying to convince Riff to take a bite of the new candy he found at the store and not making Riff get in the middle of whatever catastrophe was that behind them "…Okay."

He slowly got onto his feet, trying not to disturb the hurt Troll still in his arms; it was a little worrying how easily he could lift Floyd, who had always been light but now if he weighed more than an amp Riff would be surprised; he was so light that Riff only needed to wrap one arm under his knees to support his weight and could keep the other one around Floyd's back to continue trying to rub some warmness back into his body.

It was easy to figure out what the fight was about once Riff moved closer; it seem like everyone in their group had a very strong opinion of what they should do next; some of them wanted to respect the original plan that the Pop Trolls had crafted and return to their village while others were talking about the virtues of changing their destination to Volcano Rock City.

It was definitely a mess.

He looked down at Floyd and his husband gave him a weak smile that practically said: 'You have the last word' but the look of longing he gave to the Trolls that Riff now realizes must be his brothers said: 'But I would really love staying with them a little longer'.

"I think that we should go to Pop Village" The drummer’s soft voice somehow silences the rest of the voices as everyone turns to look at him, putting him in the place he hates the most: the spotlight "Umm... hi?" Riff waved at them shily.

"Riff, man what are you talking about? Pink Menace needs a Rock Doctor! They don't even know about his Metal deficiency!" Barb doesn't look about to bite someone, which is a good thing, but she is also still glaring at the Queen of Pop and to the blonde stranger that seems to be as much of a fan of the Rock Queen as the redhead is of her, so he assumes that hasn't resolve itself while he was away.

Riff doesn’t think that his husband’s Metal deficiency is going to be the worst of his health problems, especially since the fully equipped Angler bus that was on its way should have the necessary equipment to deal with that but also he would be lying if he didn’t admit that he would rather have their own doctors checking over his husband over a Troll that might miss something because they are not familiarized with Rock Troll anatomy.

"I mean yeah, it would be good to have him checked by Doctor Death..."He looks down to Floyd who hides his face on Riff's shoulder, probably subconscious about his patchy skin and dull colors as he knows that it’s what worries Riff the most.

"Not a very comforting name" Mutters one of the brothers; from the confident stance and the googles on his head he must be the oldest: John Dory, who is probably not loving the loss of control here.

"His full name is Death Defying we all just call him Death cause it's funny" Barb rolls her eyes at John Dory; this action tells Riff that if Barb was going to bite anyone, Floyd's oldest brother is a high chance candidate "He is the best there is"

"As I was saying... from what I have seen what Floyd needs the most right now is rest and food" Floyd softly head-butts Riff's chin in a familiar gesture that they both used to wordlessly request affection "And snuggles" He made a pause so he could rub his cheek on the top of his husband's head, said husband soundlessly giggled at the action which made Riff smile down at him "And that is something that he can get anywhere"

"Then why do we have to go to Pop Village instead of going back home?" Barb crossed her arms glaring at Riff in a way that he knew it meant that she was more annoyed than angry.

"It's the path of less resistance…?" Riff said nervously as all the other Trolls stared at him in confusion and so much disbelief that the drummer wanted to take back his words and disappear; of course, he had to say the wrong thing the first time he met his husband's older brothers; they probably thought he was an idiot.

Before his thoughts could spiral, they were brought to a halt by his husband's charming little giggle-snort followed by Floyd tangling his fingers on the hair on the back of Riff's head and bringing the drummer's forehead down to meet with his own.

"Augh I don't know why I expected you two to be any less disgustingly in love than the last time I saw you together" Both him and his husband turned towards their Queen, who rolled her eyes at them which Floyd responded by sticking out his tongue at Barb making her laugh "I am going to write a message to the gang so they can meet us in Pop Village" She whistled to call Debbie from her hiding place and she walked away probably to recenter herself more than to write the letter.

"Well, I guess that takes care of that" The blonde Troll who no one had bothered to introduce to Riff, huffed, stomping away and was quickly followed by Queen Poppy who gave him an apologetic smile, Riff stared at them leaving until someone stepped in front of him.

"So... I assume you are the one they call Riff" The drummer turned to Floyd's oldest brother who smiled up at him, too wide to be completely friendly.

"Ummm Yeah? That is me" Riff smiled nervously at the other Troll not really sure how he was supposed to greet the guy that felt more like a character in his husband's tales than a real Troll.

Floyd, probably feeling the tension on his frame lowered his paw from Riff's nape to rest possessively on the back of the drummer's neck and he turned as much as he could in his husband's arms to glare at his oldest brother warningly.

"I am John Dory" Floyd's brother ignored the glare that the pink-haired Troll was giving him and offered Riff his paw for a shake.

It somehow felt like a trap; still Riff adjusted his grip on his husband and reached to grab the other Troll's paw only to be surprised by the strength of John Dory's grip.

Oh, wait wasn't this the brother that had left for the Neverglades? This was probably just the way they shook paws in the wilderness; like the Yoddlers, who respected the strength on someone's shake.

Not wanting to be seen as disrespectful, Riff tightened his paw around the other Troll’s, accidentally causing John Dory's bones to crunch worryingly.

"Oh, wow what a strong grip you have there, pal" John Dory laughed nervously, taking back his paw too quickly to be as casual as he was trying to make it seem.

"Oh sorry..." Riff sheepishly retracted his paw to Floyd's back who had turned back to bury his head on his husband’s shoulder with a smug smile on his face.

"What part of: 'he is Rock Troll' you didn't get, John?" Another Troll walked towards them, this one was dressed in a black and white flower vest and loose white shorts, he leaned on John Dory's shoulder and gave both Riff and Floyd a warm smile "They are practically made of … you guessed it: rock" That made Branch and the other brother snicker "I'm Bruce, no handshake needed" He introduced himself.

"Ummm hi"

"So Little B said that you are working towards getting your college degree?" The tallest brother came closer and looked the drummer up and down.

"Clay, don't be rude" Branch scolded him, not moving from his place behind them where he could probably keep an eye on everyone "Also Little B?"

"I am not being rude I am just curious" Clay looked from Branch to Riff as if he was trying to figure out something "And yeah, Bruce is Big B, and you are Little B"

"I love it" Bruce and John Dory exclaimed at the same time.

"I hate it" Branch gave them a flat look.

"Soooo..." John Dory pressed on, making Clay and Bruce turn back to Riff expectantly.

It took Riff a few seconds to remember what they had even asked.

"Ah yeah! I am finishing up my degree in music composition" Floyd suddenly threw a paw out of his cocoon and held two fingers up to his brothers; when no one seem to get what he was saying he used that same paw to pull on Riff's shirt making him look down to find his husband glaring up at him as if he was saying 'Tell them or Songstress help me, I will and neither of us wants that' "It's actually my second degree, I already have a degree in Sound engineering" That earned him some soft pats on his cheek from Floyd before the smaller Troll settled down in his arms once more with a yawn.

He looked up from the interaction with his husband to find that Floyd's brothers seemed highly amused by it.

"Now, little bro is just bragging" Clay teased Floyd who tried to look as unimpressed as he could when he was fighting to keep his eyes open.

"Okay, someone definitely needs to return to his nap, and we need to go back to washing Floyd's fever sweat from those blankets if we want them to be dry by the time we need them" Bruce instructed, sounding so much like a parent that Riff had to wonder if he had a child or two.

The other three brothers grumbled a little but began to gather some of the stuff around their improvised camp to do as they were told.

"Let me put Floyd down and I will help you" Riff didn't want to let go of Floyd but also, he didn't want his new brothers-in-law to think he was lazy or anything.

"Nah don't worry about it man, you are in Floyd duty" Clay called from where he was reading the labels of some dubious looking bottles. "Someone needs to keep an eye on him while the rest of us do stuff."

Branch opened and closed his mouth as if he wanted to protest but didn't know how to.

"Branch you are on guard duty!" John Dory informed the younger Troll as he and Bruce began to walk away from them with their arms full of dirty laundry "We don't know what might be wandering around here."

The youngest brother appeared to be relieved by the task assigned to him and nodded firmly and without protest.

"Are you guys sure you don't-"

"Just take opportunity and go nap with your man" He hadn't notice Barb's presence until she was beside him "You kinda need it dude" Her face turned a little softer when she looked down to Floyd " Sup you absolute Menace" The pink haired Troll looked at her, his expression so telling of what he was about to say that the Queen was able to interrupt him before he could even try "If you apologize to me right now I swear I will throw every single item of clothing you own into the volcano" Barb quickly threatened "I will go help BoyBland with those blankets" She took four steps before she turned to them and pointed at Riff "Nap" Then pointed at Floyd "Nap and no apologies" When Riff didn’t immediately move she rolled her eyes "Now!"

"Yes, your Rockness!" Riff threw Barb one last look before he began walking towards the picnic blanket where Branch was already fixing the pillows and covers while quietly talking with Queen Poppy, no blonde stranger on sight.

"...I need to check the perimeter..." Branch was telling the Queen.

"Branch remember if you are having feelings..."

"I know" He looked towards Riff and Floyd "It's just not the time..." He threw one of the pillows he had been fluffing on top of a pile of blankets and walked away.

The Queen sighed tiredly but gave Riff a smile.

Riff didn't know what that was about and he didn't think it was his place to ask so he just focused on arranging a little nest for him and Floyd, who he could tell was already more asleep than awake.

"Riff, I owe you an apology; I should have remembered to contact you before..." Queen Poppy's voice was full of sorrow and guilt.

"I forgive you" As much as he wanted to say that there was nothing she needed to be forgiven for, he knew that she felt like she needed to apologize "Floyd is okay, so I am okay..." It was a stretch to say that his husband was okay, but they were together at last, and he wanted to focus on that "Barb will forgive you too." He reassured her; he was sure that to a certain point Barb had already forgiven her and the Queen of Rock just needed to calm down enough to realize that.

Queen Poppy didn't say anything else, probably aware that Riff needed to rest, which he did but that didn't mean that it was easy coming...

Floyd smelt like warm vanilla, sickness, and wildflowers.
It was not an unpleasant smell and it didn’t particularly bothered Riff who had shared a bed with Floyd after multiple of his gigs, when the stink of leather, pyrotechnics and sweat all but erased his natural raspberry smell.

But that was the thing: even when Floyd smelled like something else, he still smelled like himself.

The lack of raspberry smell was disconcerting, and it meant that if Riff closed his eyes, there was nothing to assure him he was really wrapped around the Troll that he had missed so much, so he startled awake constantly just to check that Floyd was still there and that this was not just another dream of reunion.

"Riff?" Floyd's painfully raspy voice broke the cycle after like the ninth time.

"Umm?" The drummer hummed, not awake enough to make his tongue cooperate with him.

"Why aren't you asleep?" Riff should be asking him that, not the other way around, as matter-of-fact Floyd shouldn't be talking at all...

"You should be resting your voice Lollyrock" The drummer rubbed his cheek on the top of Floyd's head and brought the smaller Troll closer to him even if he was almost on top of the drummer already.

"Umm" The former Pop Troll hummed appreciating the warmth of his husband and the little nest around them "I dreamed about this every night while I was... There" Floyd began to play with Riff's half-heart pendant that had fallen from under his shirt into the blanket underneath them "At least when they let me sleep" Riff's arms tightened around Floyd at the admission. Maybe they needed to set fire to Mount Rageous after all "And now you are here, Barb is here, my brothers are here, and no one has bit anyone's head off."

"Yet…” Riff felt the need to add “I feel like we haven't given Barb enough time to try."

"You are terrible" Floyd’s amusement lasted a few seconds before vanishing with his next words: "It just doesn't feel real" He fiddled a little with his own half heart pendant before connecting it to Riff’s; he stared at the complete silver heart before breaking it apart, then clicking them together again and separating them a few seconds later.

"Can I try something?" As soon as Floyd nodded, Riff shifts their positions until the drummer is looming over his husband, who lays on his back on the blanket, looking up at him with his cheeks flushed from more than the fever he is suffering from "I dreamed of you all the time, sometimes while I was awake."

Riff was not a Troll of many words and even the few he spoke were rarely the right ones, but he had spent two months coming up with every beautiful word he could to whisper to his husband as soon as he found him.

"Riff..."

They had spent fifteen years together; it was wild to think that you have spent almost half of your life with someone and realize you still craved more.

"But my dreams always ended the same way..." Riff lowered himself until he was but a breath away from Floyd "They ended just before I kissed you..."

Floyd reached for Riff and cupped his cheek with one paw while the other pushed his messy black hair from his eyes.

"Kiss me" The smaller Troll seems to have exhausted his voice; no sound crosses his lips as he mouths the words.

Riff's arms have begun protesting the way they are carrying all of his weight, as he is afraid of laying anything but the bare minimum on his fragile looking partner, his eyes are burning from the long days and sleepless nights, his head feels too light and too heavy at the same time but nothing of that matters when his lips finally touch Floyd's.

They are not as soft as they had been before, and Riff could feel a healing cut on the upper lip that probably needed to be treated with some ice at some point soon but...

For the first time since their reunion Floyd felt completely real there was no way his imagination alone could replicate the way his husband tilted his head when they kissed or the small pressure of his teeth on Riff’s lower lip.

Floyd was alive, in his arms and his lips tasted like raspberry.