There were a lot of things that Bruce loved about Vacay Island. One thing he'd never take for granted was that most of the businesses on the island had an arrangement with each other. Most of the residents got discounts at each other's restaurants, and Bruce's kids could swim in the pools for free, though with supervision.

It was great when the restaurant was swamped and the kids were getting antsy. They could just send them to the pool and they'd get a few hours of relief.

Usually the kids could go by themselves. Bruce's only rule was that there needed to be at least one older kid for every little kid, or every three middle kids. The big kids were usually more than happy to swim and keep a vague eye out for their siblings. Sometimes though the older kids were helping out at the restaurant, or they were out with friends, or they just didn't want to babysit that day, and Bruce respected that. On those days he took the little ones to the pool himself.

There were a lot of pools on the island, but their favorite one had been specifically put in with Bruce and his kids in mind. It was filled with imported water that had troll-sized drops. Sure, there was something fun about the water around Vacay Island, which Bruce could pick up and hold in the palm of his hand, but it didn't make for good swimming for him or his kids. So Bruce was forever grateful to the Vacaytioner that had made his pool to accommodate creatures like them.

They didn't often get guests that were their size, so the kids had gotten used to this more-or-less being their pool that the could use as they wanted. As such they weren't always very considerate of the rare guest that also might be enjoying the pool.

Bruce didn't notice the trolls right away. It was hard to take notice of creatures so small when you're so busy looking up all the time. By the time he saw the other swimmers his kids were already running to the pool, racing and pushing each other to see who would be the first one in the water.

"Kids!" Bruce called out, though they ignored him, as they often did the first time he addressed them. "Be care-" He trailed off and grimaced when he saw Leaf push Shay, who stumbled right into a troll who had been sitting at the edge of the pool. Both Shay and the troll fell in, and Bruce was already exhausted from this excursion.

"Careful." He muttered with a sigh. He picked up his pace. He needed to apologize on his kids' behalf, and also give them another lesson about being considerate of creatures that were smaller than them.

Bruce thought that this was all just an inconvenience, but the reactions of the trolls at the pool had him wondering if this was something more than just an accident they could laugh about over drinks.

"Bud!" A pink troll swam over to where her friend had fallen into the water. She grabbed onto him, and he was gasping and clinging to her. He looked terrified. Something was wrong.

Bruce hurried to the edge of the pool. The pink troll got her friend to the edge. Bruce held a hand out to help the other troll out of the water. "Hey, you okay?" He grabbed the troll's hand and gently pulled him out of the water while his friend climbed up after him.

The troll opened his mouth to answer, but his voice cracked and he slammed his hands over his mouth with a whine. He scrunched his eyes shut tight and curled in on himself. He looked terrified of getting hurt.

"...Bud?" The pink troll hesitantly reached a hand out, but she didn't touch him. "What's wrong?"

He whimpered and shook his head. Bruce looked at the pink troll desperately. He didn't know what to do. She looked as lost as he felt.

Bruce wanted to ask if there was anything he could do, or offer to let them come to his restaurant to try off and calm down, but his ears perked at a sound he recognized so well. One of his kids was crying. Bruce looked towards his kids, only to see yet another troll, a dull blue one, speaking to them. Bruce couldn't hear what he was saying, but he could tell by his kids' reactions and the blue troll's posture that he wasn't happy with them.

"Whoa, whoa," Bruce stood up and put himself between the angry troll and his kids. He could understand why they were upset, and he'd be having stern words with his kids later, but he didn't want them to be scared or threatened like this. "Calm down."

"Calm down?" The blue troll looked at him like he was nuts. "Do you have any idea what they did?"

"I assure you, I'll be speaking to my kids about this later." Bruce shot a stern look over his shoulder, telling his kids with a glance that they'd be having words later. He looked back to the blue troll. "But it was just an accident." The blue troll growled and looked like he was about to go off again, but his friend stopped him.

"Branch!" The pink troll said. "That's not what Bud needs right now."

Branch clenched his fists and seethed. Looking at him Bruce was very suddenly reminded of another troll he used to know. An angry kid who pointed fingers and looked for faults because there was so much out of his control, and finding someone to blame was the only thing he could do.

That was what Bruce used to do. That was how John Dory had been towards the end. Clay too. Bruce had always wondered if Floyd and Branch would eventually end up that way too if the band went on.

Branch. Despite the fact that Bruce had only been imagining him as a baby or little kid, he had to be a young adult by now. About the age of this troll before him. This blue troll who was not only the right age, but also the right name and color. It seemed impossible, but those were too many coincidences at once.

Bitty B?" Bruce's voice cracked. He saw Branch flinch and slowly turn to look at him. They just stared at each other for a long moment before Branch groaned and tilted his head back.

"No." Branch said desperately. He almost sounded like he was pleading to the heavens. "Come on. Seriously?!"

"It's you, isn't it?" Bruce asked. He half-expected Branch to push him away and declare that he never wanted to see him again, and that was fine. Branch had every right to do that. Bruce just wanted to know that it was him.

Branch sighed. He looked hesitant, but there was just a hint of cautious hope in his eyes. "Yeah, it's me." He gave Bruce a somewhat forced, but still somehow sincere, smile. "Hey, Spruce."

"It's Bruce now." He said easily.

Branch shrugged. "As long as you call me Branch. No more of this 'Bitty B' stuff."

"Fair enough." Bruce chuckled and rubbed the back of his neck. It would take him time to get used to that, and he'd probably slip up a few times, but he could try. "How've you been?"

Branch sighed. He looked completely drained. "Honestly, not great." He looked towards the other trolls. Bud was still curled in on himself, silently crying. The pink troll was talking quietly to him, but he shook his head and wouldn't respond. Branch looked sad watching them.

"Bud's been through…a lot." Branch said slowly. "At this point I don't even know what to do for him."

Bruce's ears drooped ever so slightly. "I'm sorry that my kids made things worse."

Branch shook his head. "Like you said, it was an accident. So many things can set him off. I don't even know what most of the triggers are, and I feel like I hurt him more than I help him."

"Well, if there's anything I can do-" Bruce said.

Branch frowned slightly, thinking. "Water could help. And a quiet place to sit for a bit."

"I can do that." Bruce said without a moment's hesitation. "Come to my restaurant. Whatever you want is on the house."

Branch raised an eyebrow at him. "You sure?"

"I'm sure." Bruce said. "Family special." He'd probably offer it even if they weren't family. He felt bad to see Bud so freaked out about something his kids did, whether it was accidental or not. They actually budgeted for this very kind of situation. They had a 'kid's comp' if they needed to comp a meal or drink as an apology for something their kids did. With thirteen kids, it happened a lot.

Branch gave him a small, grateful smile. "Okay." He said. He started to walk back towards his friends. He knelt by Bud's side and said something quietly to him. It took a minute but Bud took Branch's hand and let him pull him to his feet and lead him. He clutched at Branch's arm like a lifeline.

"Poppy, Bud, this is my…friend." Branch said, gesturing to Bruce. "He's going to help us."

Poppy beamed at him. Bud didn't even look his way. He kept his head ducked and his gaze down. Bruce really wasn't able to get a good look at him at all, and he decided to respect that.

Bruce led the way back to his restaurant. He gave a short explanation to Brandy before bringing the trolls to one of the private rooms in the back. Poppy helped Bud to get settled while Branch went with Bruce to get some food and drinks.

"So, any reason why you didn't want to introduce me as your brother?" Bruce asked. He hoped his tone didn't come off as judgmental, because he really did just want to understand.

Branch sighed. "I haven't told Poppy about you guys. It's…complicated."

"Yeah, I get that." Bruce nodded. "I didn't tell Brandy I had brothers until we had been together for a year." Branch almost looked relieved at his words. Bruce gave him an odd look. "Did you think you were the only one who had conflicted feelings about our brothers? I swear if I see John Dory again I'm either going to give him the biggest hug in the world, or punch him in the face."

"I've tried for so long to convince myself that I hate you guys." Branch said. "I've only recently been able to admit that I do still love you guys, even if I'm still a little mad sometimes."

Branch looked pained. "But that's not why I didn't say something. Bud was already so upset, and I didn't want to make it worse. He misses his brothers so much, and it's not fair that he's still missing them, and I accidentally reunited with mine."

"Oh. I got you." Bruce nodded. "If I can ask, what's his deal?"

"...He was a prisoner of the rock trolls for twelve years." Branch said. "I don't think they even realized just how much they hurt him."

"...Twelve years?" Bruce felt like he was going to be sick. He only had a very vague idea of who the rock trolls were. He'd just heard about them in passing. But the thought of anybody being held against their will, let alone for so long, was so horrifying and sad. No wonder Bud had issues. "Where's his family?"

"I don't know." Branch's gaze darkened. "And I'm starting to think they might not be the best for him. He ran away from home, and he's scared that they hate him for it. But I think at least one of his brothers also thought about running away from home when they were kids. He even had a book that practically romantisized the idea. A kid's book."

Bruce's stomach sank as dread started to build. That sounded very familiar and far too real. He had a really bad feeling about this. "How many brothers does Bud have?"

Branch blinked. "I don't know. He hasn't told me. He doesn't really talk about them very much. I don't even know their names." Branch scoffed to himself. "I don't even know his name."

Alarm bells were going off in Bruce's head and he was starting to get very concerned. "I thought his name was Bud."

"That's just what we call him." Branch said. "The rock trolls didn't care enough to remember his name, and Bud won't tell us. Sometimes I wonder if he even remembers his own name."

A terrifying thought went through Bruce's mind. For a brief moment he had wondered what kinds of brothers would just sit by and let something like this happen to their own family, but that thought went away with the realization that they might not even know. If one of Bruce's brothers was in that position, he wouldn't even know.

He hadn't heard from any of them in twenty years. Whenever he'd thought about them he would quickly brush the thought away and tell himself that they were fine and he was happier without them. But what if they weren't fine? What if they'd gotten into trouble, the same way that Bud had?

Bruce shuddered. Now that the thought had crossed his mind it refused to go away. Bud had brothers, which was rare for trolls. Brothers that he had a complicated relationship with. Brothers who had dreamed of running away as children.

Just like Bruce and his own brothers had.

What if…what if Bud was…

No. Bruce didn't even want to consider the possibility. His brothers were fine. They had to be. If they weren't fine, and he'd just been sitting here, lazily going through life while they'd been hurt, or starved, or worse, he'd never forgive himself.

He had to believe that his brothers were okay. He wouldn't be able to function at all if he just let himself worry and worry about things that he could never know and wouldn't be able to do anything about. If they needed help they would have reached out, wouldn't they? They had to know that despite their differences, Bruce still loved them. They were still family.

But what if they didn't know that? What if his brothers were like Bud, who thought that his brothers hated him? They very thought made Bruce feel almost dizzy and nauseous. Maybe it wouldn't be a bad idea to reach out to his brothers. Get the conversation going again. Let them know that he would be open to talk to them, if they wanted.

That…that actually sounded really nice. Bruce would start to bridge the gap. They didn't need to become best friends again, but Bruce would be content to just get a single letter back from them telling him that they didn't want anything to do with him. At least then he would know they were alive. He would know they were okay, and that would be good enough.

Branch had grabbed a glass of water by now, and he was just staring at it. "I don't know what I'm doing. Every time we think we've made progress with Bud, someone says or does something that sets him back and makes him worse than before. He hasn't even shown signs of getting his colors back."

Bruce frowned, taking in the duller colors that his little brother was now sporting. "I know color vibrancy can reflect joy and hope for trolls, but just because the color's gone doesn't mean that the good feelings are too." Bruce hadn't gone Gray himself, but he'd come close a few times, and he'd read enough of Clay's books to have at least an idea of how it worked. A good number of Clay's favorite books as a child had themes of Grayness in them, though those were the books that John Dory insisted he not read or talk about around Branch and Floyd, as he said they were too young to learn about such a thing.

Seeing Branch now, Bruce wondered if it would have been better if he had heard those stories as a small child. Maybe he wouldn't have felt as alone as he'd surely felt when his colors had started to dull.

Branch's mouth thinned and he tightened his grip on the glass. "I know. He still has lots of hope, and there are moments where he's happy. But the color's not coming back because he's not letting it. He either doesn't think it's safe to hope, or he doesn't think he deserves to be happy." Branch said this with so much certainty that Bruce knew he was talking from experience, and it broke his heart. What had Branch been through these past twenty years?

Bruce wanted to ask, but this didn't seem like the right time. Branch was in a position where he was trying really hard to think about somebody else, and forcing him to be open with his own vulnerabilities wasn't going to help any of them. Not right this second.

"How long will you be on the island for?" Bruce asked.

"We haven't figured that out yet." Branch said. "Poppy can't be gone for too long, but if this place is good for Bud then we'll be here for a bit."

"We should get together when you have time." Bruce said. "I'd like to catch up, if you're up to it."

Branch gave him a very small smile. "I think I'd like that too." And Bruce was unspeakably relieved. He could tell that Branch had been tense talking to him, because if they were honest with each other they were practically strangers at this point. Bruce knew nothing about his brother's life, and he was just grateful that he would have the chance to find out.

Branch took the water and some simple snacks. "I'm going to check on Bud. I'll come find you later."

"And I'll talk to my kids." Bruce said. "I promise, what happened at the pool won't happen again. Your friend will be able to relax there without needing to look over his shoulder."

Branch smiled and nodded his appreciation before he left to return to his friends. Bruce waited until he was out of sight before sighing and letting his own exhaustion show. This was…a lot. So much to think about. So much to do. He'd probably spiral if he stopped to think about any of it for too long.

Bruce knew himself well enough to know that distracting himself was a good way to keep his mind from going places that he didn't want it to go. Being productive was also helpful. There was always work to be done around the restaurant, but Bruce wanted to give himself just a few more minutes. First thing's first, he had some letters to write. One way or another he needed to make sure that all of his brothers were okay.