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It was like every new brother reminded him just how exhausting the 'baby' stage could be.
By no means were Clay and Spruce easy babies. Spruce was the first he ever had to care for and he had no idea what he was doing. Clay loved crawling all over the place and it nearly gave him a heart attack finding his second brother in places babies really shouldn't be. His grandma, bless her heart, wasn't much help sometimes. That meant most of the responsibility fell onto him to take care of them while she was busy.
Babies were complicated, little JD had thought.
Floyd didn't wander. JD even knew what he was doing the third time around. So what could possibly be the issue? Well, the issue was that Floyd cried.
Floyd cried a lot.
Crying babies were normal. Spruce had cried, Clay cried, it wasn't really uncommon. It didn't really bother him when they cried, unless they had gotten hurt. The thing with them was that even if he was busy, Grandma could always calm them down.
With Floyd, Grandma couldn't do anything.
Only JD could stop the crying, and when you have a baby that cries often, that got exhausting quick.
JD loved his baby brother very dearly, but sometimes he wished Grandma could help a little more. Those thoughts always made him feel guilty. She already had to deal with four boys, it was selfish of him to try and get help when she was doing her best.
He was the oldest. He promised to protect and care for them. He didn't break promises. Only bad trolls broke promises.
And John Dory wasn't a bad troll, no matter how much he felt that he was at times.
It had been one of those days where nothing got done because he had to comfort Floyd. He could feel his Grandma's eyes bore into the back of his head when he had to stop whatever it was he started because of the crying. It wasn't his fault the baby only reacted to him. It wasn't like he was trying to get out of his chores.
It felt like he was losing either way, so he'd rather lose comforting his baby brother than leave him crying.
"Shhh, shh, I'm here Floyd," The seven year old whispered, rocking the crying baby gently. "I'm here, don't cry, big brother's right here."
Floyd's crying calmed down as it always did. He reached forward and put his little hands on JD's cheeks and giggled. JD's shoulders relaxed.
"You're so much," His voice was nothing but teasing. "Grandma's gonna get mad at me if you keep crying."
Floyd was very much unaware of this. Of course he was. What could a baby possibly know? Babies knew nothing. They were small and had little brains. Those little things had no way of knowing any of that. JD pressed his forehead to his brother's, exhaling tiredly.
"John Dory!! You need to finish your chores right this instant!!"
"If I put him down, he's just gonna start crying again!!"
"Let him then!!"
JD furrowed his brows in annoyance. He was pretty sure letting Floyd cry was a bad idea. The thought made him nervous. Then an idea came to mind. As carefully as he could, JD parted his hair and placed his little brother right in the center of it protectively. He could feel Floyd coo, but ultimately not make a fuss about the new situation.
With a pep in his step, JD left the room to finally begin his chores.
He was caught almost immediately and made to put Floyd back to bed. It made him so angry, so mad, but Grandma wouldn't take no for an answer. He complied, albeit reluctantly.
The sound of his brother starting to cry again made his nerves light up. Every instinct in his body told him to comfort, to carry, to hold and soothe, but he'd had enough scoldings for the day. Spruce tugged on his pant leg a few times, asking him to either play or make Floyd quit crying, and it hurt having to decline both.
After a few hours of chores he finally finished, JD's ears twitched at the sound of silence. It seemed Floyd had tuckered himself out and fell asleep. The thought made him both exhausted and relieved. The lack of laughter from his other brothers meant that Grandma probably was taking care of them.
For the first time in a while, JD had nothing to do.
His first instinct was to check on Spruce and Clay, just to make sure they didn't need anything else. His body, on the other hand, had other ideas. Seven year olds weren't made for staying up late to watch for bergens or their estranged fathers. The thing he wanted the most right now, was a nap.
JD trudged into his room, dragging his feet across the floor as exhaustion seeped into his young bones. He didn't even make it to the bed, instead deciding to collapse face first onto a nearby bean bag. It wasn't as comfortable as his mattress, but anything would do at this point.
Tiny, quiet footsteps forced his head to turn. What he saw shocked him.
"Floyd? Ah!! You're- you're walking?! You're walking!!"
JD sat up immediately, throwing his arms out to guide his baby brother to him. There was a huge smile on his face, and excitement thrumming throughout his body as it forced him wide awake. Floyd stumbled once or twice, but his grin never faltered. A few more steps, and Floyd had walked right into the boy's embrace.
"You walked!! Floyd, that was awesome!!! I'm so proud of you!!!"
Floyd's eyes seemed to sparkle with the praise, and JD pulled him close, squeezing him excitedly.
"Don't worry baby brother, I'm gonna keep you safe okay? I'm your big brother, that's my job. What is it Grandma says.. oh!! You have my word!!"
That was a promise he would hold directly to his heart. John Dory didn't break promises. He held them close and made them come true.
Or atleast, he did as a child.
Standing in front of that diamond, his hands so close yet so far away, John Dory realized something.
Staring into his baby brother's tired, sickly eyes, he realized he had broken that promise. Floyd was suffering because of his mistakes.
Only bad trolls broke their promises.
And John Dory felt like the worst troll alive.