Family Love

"You have to keep the balance with your body, use your feet to turn directions." Prince D explained to Branch, who had fallen on his butt for the fourth time since he had started the hoverboard lessons.

"This is harder than it looks." Branch dusted off his clothes, ignoring the amused chuckle from the Prince. "Perhaps it's easier with four legs."

"Nonsense. You're turning your knees when you change directions, it causes you to lose balance. It's like a surfboard. Watch." The hip hop troll jumped on his own hoverboard, demonstrating how to do the turns and change directions on two legs.

Branch paid attention and tried to mimic Prince D's moves with his own hoverboard. Surprisingly, when he thought of it like surfing, like he had practiced with Synth, keeping himself up became a lot easier. He managed to fly a few meters, then turn around inside the Funk Trolls's spaceship, and finally, he flipped directions to return to where he had started.

"Hey! You're right! It's just like surfing!" High-fiving the Prince, Branch jumped down, taking a deep and satisfied breath.

"I told you there's a lot more to Funk Culture to see. Do you want some coffee?" Both trolls walked along the spaceship. Branch admired how shiny and technological everything was. It was a good idea to visit them from time to time. And Branch mentally congratulated himself for what he had planned to do with all that flying tech. Even though hoverboards sounded more hazardous than critter-flying, it was a good way to speed around Trollstopia.

After the accident with the Mama Cuddlepuff, Poppy had called each neighborhood's leader to discuss the safety and the boundaries of their town. They all agreed they needed to watch their kids, but like Val had mentioned,

"When kids want to rebel, there's nothing we can do."

It was true, kids would find a way to do what they wanted, no matter how much the older trolls advised them against it. It didn't matter how many lessons Poppy prepared for the kids, how many scrapbooks she made, if they wanted to explore the forest, they would. The best they could do was to have a rescue team prepared.

A fast team.

The premise sparkled Branch's idea. He had seen Funk Trolls flying around when they had escaped the spaceship during Barb's attack. They were organized for battle like a professional army. Branch had never thought there was a tribe prepared for combat like they were. It occurred to the Survivalist that a battle plan, training and - why not - hoverboards would be a great improvement to their fuzzlings army. They could be more agile, faster and patrol the borders more efficiently.

Branch had absolutely no idea how Poppy would take his security plan, but he felt like he was the one who could help.

"Queen Essence's coffee is the best." King Quincy said, hearing his son offering Branch the precious drink.

"In that case, I accept it."

The Queen, King and their sons had such a priceless and ordinary life that Branch couldn't help, but smile. The domestic routine that he observed the last few days was just like any other families. They even discussed who was the better artist during dinner the night before, causing Queen Essence to use her motherly card to end the argument so they all could enjoy the meal in peace.

They were the portrait of the perfect family, with a love that seemed to endure many years. Branch felt his stomach churn when his thoughts turned to Demo's inconstant feelings. There seemed to be trolls who had found a partner who they could have stable relationships with, but others… well…

"Cooper mentioned you and Queen Poppy are spending a lot of time together." Queen Essence gave him a cup of coffee with a few biscuits. "How is she, by the way?"

"Poppy is busy like never before." Branch said, trying to avoid shooting Cooper an annoyed look in front of his parents. "Trollstopia is taking proportions we haven't imagined."

"From village, to city to a big metropolis." Prince D said, "Lownote Jones said it's a fantastic place."

"Well… it's growing fast." Branch noticed the coffee was really different from the ones he had drank before. It was way stronger than he brewed, but it tasted so warm and so sweet that indeed, it was probably one of the best coffees he had ever had.

"Support her in everything you can, son." King Quincy said, looking straight to Branch. "That's how you can build a strong relationship."

"Shhh!" Queen Essence quickly elbowed her husband on the ribs. "We don't even know if they are together."

"Of course, they are. Aren't you, Branch?"

Uncomfortably exposed, the teal troll quickly ran his eyes to the three royal Funk Trolls who were staring at him in curiosity. It seemed his status with Poppy had turned into the whole Kingdom's gossip.

"We are together… still starting things. You know."

"Ahh, that awkward beginning." King Quincy said, getting a scolding look from his wife.

Branch felt courageous. Perhaps it was the coffee, or maybe it was because he felt at ease with a couple of more mature trolls. If there were people he could ask for advice about his relationship, it had to be them.

"On the first days I was sure we were going to make it work. Then, I had a feeling I made her feel uncomfortable…"

"You were a gentletroll to the Queen, right?" King Quincy raised a suspicious eyebrow and Branch quickly waved his hands to stop any wrong thoughts that could be going on.

"What I mean is, for example, right in the beginning she wanted to swim together and got this new bathing suit. I accidentally made her think I didn't like it and she never wore it again. Then I returned to my old ways. I like working by myself and I wasn't around much. Poppy started to focus her efforts in befriending Val - she's a rock troll who is very challenging."

Somehow, the frustration and the chronological order of their relationship became clearer as words came out of his mouth. In his mind, the events looked odd and clouded by his own mixed thoughts. But then he watched Queen Essence's eyes softening as he explained himself… it all made so much more sense and they seemed to understand his point of view.

"I made her a room inside the bunker. It was a way to know she was physically close. We rarely spend time together during the day, so I thought after the work was done, we could relax next to each other."

At that Quincy almost smirked, but held himself back, because his Queen was already watching him for smart remarks with the corner of her eyes.

"My confidence is getting low since then, I even asked Lownote Jones to see the best dates, the best words I could say to make her happy. He said we're meant to be in 99% of dimensions and offered me a multiverse trip to ease my mind about our relationship."

"You take his offer!" King Quincy said, "You could learn a lot from that kind of experience."

"Careful, Branch." Queen Essence looked slightly sad for the teal troll. "Looking into other realities isn't the same as living your own life. Each dimension you see is a unique life, with different ways of living. They may not fit into your own reality." She took her husband's hand in her own, making Branch wonder if King Quincy had ever gone the same kind of trip. "You may see things that could hurt you."

"I've been thinking about it for weeks." Branch took another sip of his coffee realizing it was going cold. "As I feel my confidence slipping away, I'm growing more… possessive. I want to be with her all the time and I think I'm messing things up more than usual. I fear she's holding back as well. Because of my ways, she avoids spontaneous hugs in public. I'm afraid she's making a big effort to be with me… and someone easier to be with might come along and snatch her away. What if I'm in that 1% of possibilities that aren't meant to be with Poppy?"

"The trip may do you some good." Quincy insisted. "You should see if you guys work together."

"Or you could ask yourself if you lack confidence." Queen Essence amended. "It sounds like you're too wrapped into your own thoughts and not seeing things from her point of view. How does she act around you?"

It was obvious that Queen Essence wanted to know if Branch's insecurities were causing him to sabotage the best thing that had ever happened to him; Cooper had told his parents Branch had lived in isolation most part of his life, which could mean he wasn't reading Poppy right. It could be catastrophic to both of them if things weren't set right.

"She's always so lovable…" Branch sighed in happiness. "She's so supportive and so understanding. She even spent a week at the bunker helping me around when I sprained my ankle. There are days when I seem to be her priority and there are others when she keeps her distance." Poppy seemed to be the one who wanted to shout at the world they were dating, but was quieter when they were together. Branch thought that perhaps it was his fault for cutting off her first attempts to grow closer. But he had thought he had fixed his mistake because he was the one to offer his bed, he was the one to kiss her first, he was the one to give her a hickey.

By all that is Troll-y. Laguna had been right from the start. Branch had been sending Poppy mixed signals and she was awkwardly dancing at his instability.

"Branch, darling," Queen Essence's motherly voice made him gently snap out of his thoughts. "It sounds like you don't trust Poppy's love to endure because she's not with you all the time." Branch took a biscuit to keep his jaw from clenching. "It's normal to want to be with your girl when the feelings are new, but be aware that love and trust must walk together. One cannot exist without the other."

Branch was confused. He hovered through the desert towards Trollstopia with his head full of unconnected thoughts. He needed to trust Poppy. She was the queen and she had a role to fulfill. It's not like they had a choice. If other trolls made a move on her he had to trust her to dismiss them. If a pop elder thought he wasn't good enough for Poppy, he had to remember it was someone else's opinion and it shouldn't matter.

His love was real.

The hoverboard under his feet barely made a sound as he increased the speed.

Branch flew until trees came into view and the hot sand was left behind. He recognized the humid air and the sweet scent of flowers around Pop's territory. He went straight downtown to get a Coco to Gogo before heading to Lownote Jones's spaceship asking to go through that multiverse trip he had offered weeks before.

AN – Okay, so, for you guys who are reading both fanfics (Tales and Naughty Tales) you must have realized it's the point where the stories will join. I've prepared for this point for months! For those who can't ready Naughty Tales (it is 18+ so you shouldn't read it if you're not comfortable or old enough for it) don't worry because you won't miss anything.