Chapter Text
Saving the world does wonders for bringing a family back together! Even more so when one of those family members dies, but then comes back after doing the perfect family harmony, of course!
Though, duh, there were still some issues here and there. They've all grown up apart, so they have to try to figure out how to be a family again.
John Dory and Bruce argue often. Expected from brothers, but they'd normally work it out over time.
Sometimes people treat Clay like he was still the funny, dumb idiot, which he wasn't. It got on his nerves when people acted like that, and he would often try to tell them to knock it off... unless it was just a moment, and then they fixed it themselves. Clay didn't like to make things awkward.
And sometimes they forget that Branch wasn't a baby anymore.
But they've been getting along better.
Floyd was healing up after the whole dying thing. Sometimes his body would reject the idea of working—those were the bad days—but his brothers would help him with anything he needed. Even if, at times, they would tease him... he liked that way better than when they looked at him with those sad eyes.
He had to use a cane that Poppy had personally made for him—it shoots out glitter!!! She said excitedly when she showed it off. Plus, it was made from sturdy stuff, so it wouldn't break easily.
Floyd kinda loved it!
Branch, on the other hand, did not. “Glitter is a curse, Poppy!” Is what he would often groan because he would find it everywhere.
On occasion, John Dory would ruffle Floyd's hair and say, “Normally it's the older ones that get white hair first, Floyd.” As a way to tease… but everyone knew that he felt guilty.
Guilty that his brother had to go through so much pain. Guilty that it was his own stupid pride that broke them up in the first place.
Everyone knew that he would never forgive himself.
Branch was still working on forgiving them, even Floyd himself. They never really talked about what happened, deciding to let the past be the past.
They'd work on fixing the future.
John Dory still drove around in his Armadillo Van. He liked to explore! And he'd always send letters or gifts back to show that he was coming home this time.
Bruce lived with his wife and many, many children, sending letters and updates to Branch and Poppy. Their names were LaBreezey, the only daughter, and the twelve sons! Bruce Jr., Cove, Freddy, Windy, Rainy, Glowbug, Ripple, Fizzy, Bruno, Stevie, Bowy, and Biebo. Windy and Rainy got along well, but Bruno liked being by himself... he often got headaches, shockingly. Glowbug and Cove were pretty much twins, even though they looked almost the complete opposites of each other.
Clay still stuck around with Branch and Poppy because of Viva—not saying that they're dating, but people have some ideas about that! Nah... nah, they're totally dating, even if they say that they aren't.
And last but not least, Floyd! He'd been hanging out with the Techno Trolls, actually. Floating around in the water really helped his legs. But shockingly? He had also been checking out life with the Rock Trolls. He liked their music and has been mixing pop and rock.
Poppy got so excited hearing that! “Are you a poprock troll, Floyd?!” She squealed while John Dory muttered that you can only be one. Mixing it like that was weird.
Branch smacked him on the head without even looking. Dude, people are allowed to mix things! That's becoming more popular lately. Let Floyd have his fun… he's still trying to get back into singing.
Once in a while, it was like his voice couldn't handle it, and it broke, but he's been working on it. He says that some of the Techno Trolls have been helping a lot. They give him this special drink that helps his throat whenever it gets sore.
Some of the others have been whispering that he and a certain Techno King have been getting along… swimmingly.
Today was a new day, and every one of them was, shockingly enough, there to eat dinner. Poppy invited them, but sadly, her sister and dad couldn't be there this time. Clay said she was busy going through things and was too stubborn to accept help.
John Dory stabs his fork into his fruit, bringing it up to his mouth to take a bite from, speaking around it, “and then she told me to leave, and I was like, what? I paid for an extra hour! Can you believe that?” he holds up his other arm, looking around at his family to get their approval, or for them to side with him in his story.
Clay chuckles a little, shaking his head as he answers, “Well, if you were talking with your mouth full? Yeah, I can see it.” Bruce lets out a loud “ha!” that dads normally do, and Poppy giggles as John Dory rolls his eyes.
Floyd was half asleep, sitting in his chair while taking small bites from his berry. He hadn't gotten a lot of sleep the night before, so he was sleepy. He had been hanging out with King Trollex, and they had a party that lasted a long time during the night. He only got back home pretty early when the sun was already rising, then they woke him up a couple of hours later.
Ahh... Sleepy.
Branch looks over at him, but before he could ask, Bruce starts to talk, leaning forward with a playful smirk on his face and his tail shifting back and forth behind him, “sooo… Poppy, when are you and Branch gonna get hitched?”
Poppy blinks, then laughs, waving her hands while looking away, “Pfft, what? Come on…”
“She's blushing!” Clay cheers, and Branch blushes brightly as he snaps at them, “Shut up!” Ugh, he hated that they were acting like his brothers now.
John Dory snickers, and Bruce puts his hand to his chest, “As the only one here with children and a romance, I think I can say that I know a romance when I see it.”
Branch was about to tell him to shut up when Floyd mumbled, still half asleep, “I have kids…” and then he seemed to realize exactly what he just said since his eyes snapped open, but everyone was already looking at him. “I mean… whhhaaat? Who said that?” He looks away, rubbing at his neck and chuckling nervously.
The others stare at Floyd, eyes wide. Poppy puts her hands on her cheeks, shocked with big, round eyes, “Floyd! You have children?! Oh my gosh! Where are they? I have to meet them! Are they pink like you? Oh, what are their colors? I bet they're Pop Trolls just like us, huh? Ahhh! This is so exciting!”
John Dory nods, looking a bit confused and almost annoyed, “Yeah, me too. Why haven't you told us about them? You've been here for a while. Who's taking care of them?” he was giving Floyd a strange look, his tail flicking back and forth behind him.
It was short for a Pop Troll, but it's always been like that, even when he was younger.
John Dory, now, has the shortest, while Bruce had the longest tail. Then it was Poppy, Floyd, Clay, and, last, Branch, other than John Dory.
Floyd couldn't really move his tail as much as he used to, though he's been working on it.
Pop Trolls had tails the same color as their skin, but with a tuft of fur on the ends.
Rock Trolls had just the same color as their skin tones, no fur on the ends. Glitter Trolls had something similar to Pop Trolls, but with more fur along the top of the tail, and much thicker.
Bruce and Clay were staring at him, Branch with his head a bit turned to the side. “I…” Floyd looks between everyone, his eyes wide.
Fuck.
He didn't mean to tell them anything.
“I… uh…” He looks down, away, then he sighs, putting his hand over his face. This was going to cause a big fight, he could already tell. “You guys can't meet them… they're not mine anymore. I, uh, gave them up to an orphanage a while back.” He said the last part in a quiet voice.
And that got the exact reaction he was expecting. “WHAT?!” the family shouts.
“What do you mean, Floyd?” Clay asks, “You gave them up? When?” His eyes were wide, his gaze fixed on his younger brother.
Bruce pushes Clay on the side of the head, leaning forward closer. He was the most shocked because he loved his kids, and the idea of giving up any of them broke his heart, “How many? How could you do that?” His voice came out more accusingly than he meant for it to.
Branch holds up his hands and raises his voice, “Guys!” He shouts, stopping anyone else from talking, “Let him answer.” Plus, why were they getting so upset? It isn't like they never abandoned something before… and giving it to an orphanage was better than what they did in the past.
He was still not over that.
Floyd sighs and rubs at his neck, looking down at his cane and rubbing his thumb across one of the stickers. “I had to… after we split up, a lot of stuff went down. I don't know,” he looks off to the side, frowning as he keeps talking. “I remember doing a lot of stuff, and I… I regret it now. It happened while I was drunk in a club. I don't even remember who the other dad was… I just woke up with three eggs at one point.”
Man, that sounds worse now that he was saying it again after so long.
Poppy frowns, putting her hand over her mouth, and John Dory frowns even harder. So it happened because they broke up, huh?
Floyd, the youngest other than Branch, went into drugs and drinking? Now he could barely walk, and he had kids somewhere that he didn't even know about?
God, the guilt just kept growing, didn't it? He puts his hand on his stomach, clenching the fabric of his jacket.
It was his fault… if he didn’t push them so far, pushed them away, would it have happened? Would he have been able to spare his brothers so much sadness and pain through the years?
“Why didn't you tell us?” He asks, looking at Floyd. The others were as well, the unspoken question hovering in the air.
Floyd didn't know how to answer that. How could he? That was a time in his life that he wanted to forget about! Even if it meant never talking about the children, he had to get rid of them.
“I thought you guys would… I don't know, judge me or something.” He mutters, turning his head down, his pink and white hair falling slightly over his face. “I mean, most of you guys did pretty well. Bruce, you got married and had kids. Clay joined the other Trolls and got a girlfriend. Branch is even dating a princess, and he helped save the world a couple of times already.”
He laughs, rubbing at his neck, “I'm kinda the screw up of the family.” Getting pregnant underage, the drinking, drugs, getting caught and kidnapped, and almost dying. Yeah, it was…it was a lot.
Branch looks at Floyd, then at John Dory, shaking his head, “No,” he says, looking back at Floyd. “I wouldn't call you the screw-up of the family.” Bruce and John Dory nod in agreement.
Clay opens his mouth to say something, but Poppy butts in, leaning forward, “Did you ever want to try to find them?!”
Find… find them?
Floyd stares at her, shocked by the question. Did he want to try to find them? They probably already had a place to live by now… and even if they didn't, he wouldn't be a good dad.
He couldn't play with them; he could barely even sing now. Leaving them to get adopted into a nice family would be the kindest thing he could do as their father.
Wouldn't it?
John Dory reaches over and puts his hand on Floyd's shoulder, smiling at him with one thumb up, “I have my ride, and you have your brothers now.”
The others nod, and Branch sighs, but smiles a bit and adds, “We could go for another adventure… I guess?” He sounded unsure, but like he was trying to be supportive.
He didn't… He didn't know.
Could he even say no? What if they did find them? He remembered the way their eggs looked… he remembered holding them in his hands before going to drop them off at the orphanage… did he regret it? Kind of, but he also knew that, at the time, it was the best choice.
After a few moments, he nodded slowly. Yeah, yeah, he wanted to find them. Even if he would be a bad dad, he wanted to see them at least once out of the eggs.
And that's how this big, old, weird family adventure started! They were going to go on a hunt to find their lost family members! No matter how far they needed to go.
And they'd probably learn some sort of family lessons on the way… probably sing a couple of songs and likely have to fight other trolls or whatever monsters they meet along the way.
Now they'd get going! Get on Rhonda, and go on the adventure.
Let's get this started!