Chapter Text
John Dory was tired. Turns out, leading an entire village at the age of 17 wasn't the easiest thing ever - who would've thought? In the past few weeks, he'd had to get everyone accustomed to living here and answer to all their questions and requests and concerns and-
"Excuse me, John Dory..sir?"
John Dory lifted his head off the ground. He had been enjoying a rare moment of peace by laying flat on the ground. Branch was napping somewhere, Poppy was probably about to wake up from her nap any moment now. He groaned as he pushed himself up to look at the troll who was speaking to him.
"Just JD is fine, or John, no need to be formal or anything. What's up?"
"Well uhm.. we're running low on food again"."
John Dory bit back the urge to let out a loud groan of frustration. It wasn't their fault that they were low on food. The gatherers they sent out could never stay out long enough to get enough food because of the dangers outside the bunker. Trolls were small, but easy to spot, and the dangers of predators made finding food tricky. They couldn't stray too far away from fear of being spotted and they couldn't speak too loudly to each other either. As a result, all missions to get food were coming back with less results every time. He needed to find a solution for that.
"I see... well, thanks for telling me. I'll get onto that as soon as I-"
Suddenly, the sound of a sharp cry filled the air. John Dory sighed. Poppy was up.
"-can. I gotta go, but I promise I'll find a solution!"
He jumped up and jogged over to where he'd put Poppy down for her nap.
"A whole 30 minutes of nap time, a new record for you Popstar. Maybe one day you'll actually stay down for an hour.. we can only dream." He lifted her into his arms and she immediately stopped crying. She wasn't actually upset, just wanted some attention.
"Come on, now, let's try napping again, shall we?"
John opened his mouth to try sing her a lullaby when suddenly-
"JAAAYYY-DEEEEE!!!"
Didn't he just put Branch down for a nap? How is he already up again.
"Bitty? Aren't you supposed to be sleeping?"
"I woke up ageeeesss ago! Look at me JD! Look at me! Look at me!"
John turned around and looked down at Branch, who had a wolf mask on his face. It was actually pretty well made for a toddler.
"Cute!"
Branch pouted.
"NO! Not cute, JD! I'm scary! Grrr!!"
"Oh, sorry, Mr scary wolf. I'm very terrified right now!"
"You're very bad at sarcasm, Johnny."
Okay, rude. So much sass in such a tiny body.
"I wasn't being sarcastic, I really am scared!"
"Sure. I'll have to go scare someone else now."
Branch turned around and walked out of the room with way too much attitude for someone so small. John Dory sighed fondly and shook his head. That kid.
"It was a good mask though, right Popstar? I was just a bit too tired to act scared."
Poppy babbled incoherently and tried to grab his hair.
"Stop that, I know my hair's a mess. Hehe, I bet if Branch wore his mask out there none of the animals would be able to tell that he's a troll." He joked to the baby, who was still reaching to try and grab him.
John Dory paused and thought about what he just said.
"Hmm.. animal disguises.. That's, not a bad idea, right Popstar? Most animals won't bother to investigate if we look like them. It could work! And- and... to avoid talking when we're outside we could use like.. animal noises instead! Like, a bird call that means run or something like that! That way, it'd be harder for predators to spot or hear us! Branch is an accidental genius! ...Again. Maybe he should lead us instead if I'm gonna keep leaching off of his ideas.. hehe."
John Dory went back to his leader duties for the rest of the day but then spent all night making masks for the gatherers. They'd have to workshop the whole animal language thing for another time, but the masks should be a good start. He made sure to keep a variety in the types of animals he modelled the masks after, not for any specific reason other than everyone getting to pick their favourite animal. He was used to staying up late anyway, it seems like his whole life he's been staying up late to deal with crying babies or upset kids (or homework projects that his brothers waited until the last second to ask for help with), so he's not too bothered about missing out on sleep.
The next day, John Dory got all the gatherers together to present his idea to them. He felt oddly nervous at showing them the masks, but he hid it behind his own metaphorical mask of confidence.
"So yeah, if you guys wear these, you'll probably be able to go further out to get more food. The other animals are more likely to leave you alone that way. ..Thoughts?"
The leader of the gatherers, Sundae, stepped forward and took a mask from the pile in front of them.
"Boss, this idea is fantastic! We're sure to get at least some more food with these! And once you've got that whole language thing down, it'll be even better." Sundae exclaimed in a jovial tone as he held up a mask.
John Dory was slightly taken aback by his cheerful reaction but it quickly melted into relief.
"Oh, I'm glad you feel that way. And please, call me John or JD. I'm pretty sure I'm younger than you.."
"Nah, it's fine boss. You're the one in charge, right?"
"..Right.."
It makes me feel so old though, I'm still a teen yknow...- He wanted to say, but it wasn't big enough of a deal to bring that up.
The group of gatherers left out and John Dory prayed that the masks would be of help.
"Welp, if it fails then I'll have let down the entire village and they might kick me to the curb."
...
"Too far, JD. Too far. I really need to cool it with the whole anxious worrying thing."
They returned later than normal, with significantly more food that normal. John Dory felt giddy with relief. His plan had worked.
"Wow, Boss, those masks of yours really help out. None of the animals pestered us!" Sundae said cheerfully as he clapped John on the back.
"Hehe.. I'm glad to have helped. And I already told you to just call me JD.." John rubbed the back of his neck and smiled bashfully, his cheeks dusting pink a little from the praise.
~~~~
"IT'S MY BIRTHDAY!!!!"
Is what John Dory woke up to, followed by a tiny body jumping onto his stomach.
"ARGH!" John sat up and looked down at Branch, who was staring up at him with an innocent look. "...Morning, B. Happy birthday."
He gently ruffled Branch's hair and smiled softly.
"I'm a BIG BOY now!" Branch announced proudly, with his little fists on his sides. "I'm 'sponsible."
"Yeah.. you are. So, what do you wanna do today?"
"I wanna play all day! And then eat lots and lots of cake!"
"Oh really now? That sounds like a regular day in your life though. You don't want any special presents?"
"Nope... the gift I want will never come.." Branch said in an.. oddly sad voice. He got up off of JD's stomach and climbed off the bed.
"Huh? What was that about...?" John asked himself as he watched Branch walk off. "His gift will never come?"
John Dory got out of bed and got himself ready for the day, brushing his hair and his teeth and smiling to himself in the mirror.
"Looking good, JD." He said, even doing fingerguns to his reflection. He knew it was corny but who cares when he's by himself?
"Now then, let's go wake up Poppy and give Branch the best bunker birthday ever."
They spent the day doing all the fun activities that John Dory could think of for his baby bro. He even got the best baker in the village to make Branch a giant cake. They played games, he almost lost Poppy in a ball pit, Branch was having the time of his life.
Yet, John Dory could see it in his brother's eyes, he wasn't truly satisfied. He smiled and laughed and played like he was on top of the world, but there was definitely something missing.
"So, B, you been enjoying your birthday so far?" John asked casually as he walked through one of the tunnels in the bunker while holding Branch's little hand in his. It was technically just the two of them as Poppy was napping in his hair again and they were away from the rest of the tribe.
"Yep! I liked when you almost drowned in the ball pit!"
"I did not- okay, I did. But only because I almost lost Poppy in there!"
Branch giggled at his older brother and rolled his eyes.
"Whatever you say, Johnny."
Branch went a little quiet after that, softly humming to himself as he swung his arms back and forth.
John Dory stopped. He paused in place, which made Branch stop and turn around in confusion.
"Okay, I can't do this anymore. Bitty B, what's wrong? You've been down about something all day. Did you not actually enjoy all the games we played?" John Dory crouched down in front of Branch and put his hands on his shoulders. "You can tell me. I promise, whatever it is, I'll find a way to fix it."
Branch blinked at him slowly. Then, tears began pooling in his beady eyes. Then, the dam broke.
"It's not right, Johnny! It's supposed to be the six of us on my birthday! I want our brothers and grandma back! It's not right without them!!!" Branch wailed, grabbing onto the front of John Dory's jacket.
Oh. OH. That's what gift he wanted. Their family. But that would never happen, grandma was dead, nobody knew where their brothers had gone - none of them had told anyone anything except for Floyd telling Branch that he wanted to start a solo career.
Oh God, Branch probably missed Floyd the most right now. No, scratch that - he definitely missed Floyd the most right now. The two of them were inseparable, Floyd always woke Branch up first on his birthday, and he was the one who distracted him while the rest of them put up decorations and wrapped gifts. Branch had never had a birthday where that didn't happen before. John felt like such an idiot, how could he not realise that was the gift that Branch truly wanted earlier? And now he had to be a jerk - again - and break the promise he just made because he couldn't fix it. He couldn't bring their family back. He couldn't go back in time and save Grandma from the bergen, or stop the tunnels from collapsing onto Clay, or-
Or stop himself from ruining everything in the first place. None of his brothers would've run away if he had just done his job as the oldest properly and taken good care of them. He could feel the bile rising in his throat. He was the reason why Branch was crying on his birthday. He was the reason why their family was split apart.
"I'm sorry, Branch.. I'm so sorry."
It wasn't enough. A simple "I'm sorry" could never be enough to make up for what he did. But it was all he could do in that moment. Hold his brother close and apologise over and over again.
"It's okay, Johnny. You're doing your best. I'm not cross with you." Branch said in a sniffly voice, still holding onto his big brother with all the strength his tiny body could muster up.
John Dory felt his heart crumple. How could he have such a kind little brother? How could Branch not absolutely hate him for what he did? For what he took from him?
"I miss the others, lots and lots.. but I'm glad I have you. You take care of me, and everyone. You came back. I love you, JD."
"I love you too, B. So much.."
They stayed there, just hugging each other for a while until they'd both finally cried themselves dry. John Dory stood upright and lifted Branch into his arms.
"I'm glad you're my big brother, Johnny."
"I'm lucky to have you as my little brother, Bitty."
~~~~
Three years later...
John Dory could hardly believe it had been three years since they moved into the bunker. It felt like time had gone by in a blur, one moment he's the inexperienced leader of his family band and then the next he's the leader of an entire tribe. He hopes his grandmother is proud of him now.
John Dory stretched his arms and yawned as he exited his room. "Good morning, troll village! Today seems like a good day to just relax and-"
"JOHNNY!!!"
Two excited little pink and blue blurs ran up to him and almost knocked him completely over.
"Ah, morning you two." John chuckled softly as he looked down at Poppy and Branch.
"Morning, JD! Are you ready?!" Branch exclaimed as he bounced up and down on the spot.
John Dory blinked slowly. "Ready for...?"
"Outside!" Poppy chirped, looking up at him with her cute big eyes.
Outside? Oh right!! He'd promised them the night before that he'd take them outside the bunker to watch him do some patrols. He almost forgot about that.
"Right! We're going on patrol together! Silly me to forget." John lightly hit himself on the head and stuck his tongue out, making the two little ones giggle.
"Come on, JD! We've been waiting FOREVER for you to wake up!' Branch said impatiently, already pulling his wolf mask on over his face.
"Been waiting FOREVER!" Poppy echoed with a silly giggle as she clumsily attempted to put on her own animal mask.
John Dory rolled his eyes fondly and helped her out. "Yeah, yeah. Lemme eat breakfast and give the morning announcements first. Then I'm all yours."
The two of them groaned in frustration at having to wait but ran off to go do something else nonetheless. John Dory watched them go, unable to believe how quickly they were growing up.
After eating breakfast and giving his morning announcement to the village, John Dory geared up and got Branch and Poppy ready to go outside.
"Now then, we're just patrolling the area. There's gonna be lots of walking around and not much playing but I don't want to hear any complaints after the way how you two begged to come along."
"We promise no complaints!" They chimed innocently. John Dory could already tell that they'd be complaining after only ten minutes.
Ten minutes later and the patrol had been filled with nonstop:
"I'm BOREDDDDD!!!"
"My legs hurt!!!"
"We've been walking for HOURS!"
John Dory bit back the urge to say that they've only been out for a few minutes but he knew that wouldn't work. So he decided to end the patrol there for the day. He stopped walking and sat down, motioning for Poppy and Branch to do the same.
"Okay, no more walking for now. Let's practice our animal language thingy."
"Yay!!" Branch and Poppy both clapped.
The three of them sat there together, going over what different sounds and signals meant. They got a bit sidetracked when Poppy found the bird call for the word "left" absolutely hilarious for some reason and kept repeating it for about five minutes. But it was overall a productive lesson. They'd been out for a good while now, so John Dory decided to bring them back home. Once they were back at the bunker, John Dory sent the kids off to play while he talked to the village baker, who apparently needed his help with a "kitchen malfunction".
John Dory returned to his room later that night with his face completely covered in flour and feeling completely done with life. He didn't even want to think about what went down in that kitchen. He was about to turn on the lights when he noticed a weird glow coming from a lump under his bedsheets.
"What the fu..."
John Dory walked over to his bed and lifted up the sheets, revealing Poppy and Branch who were both covered in some weird glowing substance.
"What the heck is this."
"Johnny! Look, we was playing in the caves and we found these pretty flowers that were glowing in the dark!" Branch held up a handful of said flowers and shoved them into John's face so that he could see.
"When you crush em, makes paint!" Poppy added, showing him her glowing paint covered hands.
"Woah, cool." John Dory was seriously impressed, this was a cool find.
"Let's paint you too!!" Poppy exclaimed before he could protest.
Branch nodded eagerly in agreement and started spreading paint over John Dory's body. Poppy copied him and John Dory resigned himself to his fate as their canvas.
After they were done, John Dory turned to his mirror and checked himself out. He.. didn't look that bad. The paint job was messy, that was to be expected from two little kids, but the patterns they were trying to make looked good in the dark.
"Nice job you two." John Dory smirked and ruffled their heads. Then an idea popped into his mind. "Hmm... I know how the tribe could benefit from this. What if everyone had glow in the dark paint..?"
A week later, the tribe were having their first glow in the dark party. Was glow in the dark body paint necessary for survival? No. Did it look cool as hell and make parties way more fun? Definitely. The best part was that in the daytime, you couldn't even tell that anyone was wearing the paint since it only activated in the dark. Everyone got their own unique patterns too. It was totally awesome.
"Woo!! Let me hear you sing it louder!!" John Dory cheered as he DJ'd the party. The crowd roared and jumped in the air waving their arms around.
John Dory grinned as he saw how much fun everyone was having. Maybe he wasn't so bad at this whole leader thing after all. As long as he had Branch and Poppy around to keep accidentally giving him ideas.