At Pop Village's marketplace, Poppy and Floyd were sitting together at a table, both enjoying a smoothie while talking.
"I can't believe that you and John Dory have decided to come live with Branch at his bunker!" Poppy exclaimed. "That is so exciting! I bet you're all very happy."
"Yeah, I am very happy" Floyd replied. "It feels good to be around my brothers again. It's like a dream come true. But after spending years living like a nomad and months in a diamond bottle, I am already glad to have a ceiling and a bed."
"It's a shame that Bruce and Clay have decided not to live here in Trollstopia" Poppy commented, after drinking a little of her smoothie.
"Well, Bruce already has settled down and formed his own family and business" Floyd told. "And Clay decided to stay with him to help, now that Viva and the rest of the Putt Putt trolls have rejoined the rest of the Pop trolls. John Dory and I were the only ones without any roots, so it was easy for us to decide to come live with Branch. Besides, I think we are not ready to live all together in one place. We are better like this, for now... visiting each other and reuniting for band practicing and concerts."
"Oh, by the way, how are things at the bunker?" Poppy asked. "Knowing Branch, I can assume things are not being as easy as they seem."
"Well..." Floyd started.
But before he could say anything else, a familiar grunting started to be heard, with that being Branch, who just arrived there, complaining:
"He's unbelievable! Completely unbelievable!"
"Oh boy..." Floyd sighed.
"Branch, what's wrong?" Poppy asked.
"I'll tell you what's wrong, Poppy..." Branch said, while sitting down on an available chair. "It's John Dory! He's being impossible!"
"Come on, now, Branch, you're overreacting" Floyd replied.
"Overreacting?" Branch repeated, placing both hands on the table. "No, Floyd, I am not overreacting. My reaction is reasonably proportional to the hell that John Dory is making me go through!"
"Oh, sweetie... have you already had your nap?" Poppy asked, using her condescending voice, while putting her hand over Branch's. "You get really grumpy when you don't get your sleep."
"Please, Poppy, don't treat me like a baby, that task is already filled" Branch replied, unamused. "I have all the rights to be angry with him. And I didn't have to wait that long..."
Flashback...
Branch had just brought John Dory and Floyd inside the bunker and said, as he got out of the platform:
"Welcome to my bunker, brothers... But I guess I should say our bunker, right? This is going to be a little hard to get used to..."
"Don't worry, Branch, we have all been living on our own for a long time" Floyd replied.
John Dory whistled, impressed, and said:
"Wow, little brother, you have here some nice digs. Oh, and thanks for finding a good spot for Rhonda. It's hard to find a place where she can get comfortable."
"Oh, that place is just temporary" Branch said. "I am already preparing a garage for her."
That made John Dory to gasp and then express a big smile. Hugging his little brother tightly, he said:
"Thank you so much, Branch! I can't wait to show it to Rhonda! She's going to love it!"
"You're welcome..." Branch replied, a little out of air. "But could you please... let me go..."
"Oh, come on, can't a big brother thank his little brother?" John Dory asked.
He started then giving a noogie on Branch, much to the latter's discomfort that hasted to free himself and then say:
"Okay, okay... Stop that! Could you please not do that anymore?"
John Dory raised his hands, while shrugging his shoulders, with Floyd chuckling. Taking a deep breah, Branch continued:
"I've cleaned up two rooms for you. Just... try to ignore the smell. I used to store there... Well, it doesn't matter. Honestly... I kind of lost hope we would be together again, much less you would come live here with me."
"No sweat, Branch, we can work out the kinks later" Floyd replied. "I just can't wait to finally lie down on a comfy bed... right after spending two months having to sleep on cold diamond."
Floyd had said the last part in such a sad and depressive way that created a little awkward moment, with John Dory saying then:
"Okay... Why don't we talk about something more... positive. Branch, I have something for you."
"You have?" Branch asked, as John Dory got a gift box from his hair. "You didn't have to."
"Well, consider it a reverse welcome gift" John Dory replied, as he handled the gift to Branch. "Besides, this is something I wanted to give you in case we get to encounter."
Branch went to open the gift, with some expectation, only for it to disappear when he took out...
"A baby rattle?" he asked, both confused and disappointed, while holding a light blue rattle with dark blue stripes.
"It was your favorite rattle when you were a baby!" John Dory exclaimed, excited.
But seeing Branch was not that much excited, he explained:
"When I came back to the Troll Tree and didn't find anyone there, what made me think that you could have been dead, I took that rattle as a reminder of you... But now I don't need it, because I have the real thing. I thought it would be a good idea to give it back to you..."
Branch couldn't find that any cheesier, especially when he didn't care much about the rattle. But then he couldn't help but imagine how John Dory must have felt during that time when he came back and found the Troll Tree empty. And seeing Floyd making him a look that told him to accept it didn't help either. Sighing, Branch didn't have any other chance but to make one of his forced smiles and say:
"Wow, John... I love it..."
Branch's luck was that John Dory was even more inept than him when it came to picking up social cues and couldn't help but becoming happy and emotional over seeing his brother "smiling", while holding his old rattle, to the point of tearing up.
"Oh man... this takes me back... Do you also remember when our little brother played with that rattle, Floyd?"
"Yeah, like it was yesterday..." Floyd replied, with a mix of sarcasm and tease.
"Not helping..." Branch replied to him through his teeth.
"We should immortalize this moment... with a picture!" John Dory exclaimed, while getting a camera from his hair.
"Say what?" Branch asked, while keeping his fake smile.
He didn't have time to react, as John Dory proceeded to take a picture of Branch with the rattle. As he took the photo and waited for the image to appear, the oldest brother said:
"Oh, I can't wait to show this to Bruce and Clay! They will love it!"
All Branch could have done was to give his nervous laugh.
Back to the present...
"Branch, why are you so upset?!" Poppy asked, with a big smile. "John Dory kept something you loved as a baby and then decided to give it back to you now that you are reunited. That's the most adorable thing ever!"
She then made an aside, as she took a record and said to it, while recording:
"Note to self... Ask John Dory for a copy of the picture of Branch with his baby rattle."
"I'm not mad about that!" Branch replied. "Well... maybe a little. But it's not just that. Ever since we start living together, he has been treating me like a baby!"
Flashback...
It was dinner for the three brothers and John Dory was the one to make it. He returned with three plates, all with covers (two on each hand and the third on his head), saying:
"Dinner is served."
Skillfully, he placed the three covered plates at each brother's place. Approaching Floyd, he uncovered his and said:
"For my little brother Floyd, I made his favorite: a three-layer strawberry cake with chocolate frosting and rainbow chips."
As he uncovered the dish, Floyd applauded it, saying:
"Impressive... It really looks like the one grandma used to bake."
"Yeah, sure..." John Dory replied, a little awkwardly, before passing to Branch. "And for my baby brother..."
"Do you really have to call me that?" Branch asked, annoyed that John Dory called him baby.
"I have a special treat..." John Dory continued, as he uncovered Branch's plate. "Ta-da!"
Branch's expectations came undone (once again) when he saw that he was seeing nothing more than a bowl of applesauce with carrot sticks on the side.
"You must be joking..." Branch said.
"I cooked the sauce to perfection and those carrot sticks were meticulously cut" John Dory said, proudly, before noticing the carrots. "Maybe I should have crushed the carrots, so they can be swallowed better..."
Branch was clearly annoyed by that, by the way he closed his fist around the fork very tightly.
Another flashback...
Branch was coming to the living room of the bunker, when he found the walls covered in photos of him as a baby with his brothers, some with all of them together and others with just one or two.
"What the..." he started.
"Oh, do you like it?" John Dory asked, appearing beside him, with a mug of warm chocolate milk. "I thought the living room needed a bit of decorating. Then I noticed you didn't have pictures of us all, so... Well, I think you can see it."
And he moved away, sipping his chocolate milk, but without realizing how embarrassed Branch was feeling for only having pictures of him as a baby around.
Yet another flashback...
John Dory, much to Branch's frustration, had reorganized his entire supplies, with his defense being:
"I organized all these supplies by how much healthy each ingredient or food is. Oh, and, if you want, I can be the one cooking from now on, I can keep making more dishes like the one from last dinner."
And one more flashback...
But the last drop came from last night, when John Dory combed Branch's hair before going to bed without him even asking.
"John, I can comb my own hair!" he protested.
"I can see that for the number of knots you have" he replied sarcastically, while combing. "But don't worry, your big brother will give you a hair without knots in an instance."
Branch couldn't help but release one of his grunts of frustration.
Back to the present...
"And let's not forget how he tries to protect me" Branch said, while making air quotes. "Like... when I want to use scissors, he makes me use the ones with round ends... and only under his supervision. It's like he had forgotten what we have just been through."
"Branch, I understand that you may be feeling... frustrated" Floyd said. "But trust me when I say this is not about John Dory still seeing you as a baby. He is just trying to make up for lost time."
"He should have thought of that before leaving for twenty years..." Branch mumbled, grumpily, with his arms crossed.
"The thing is..." Floyd continued, using a tone to make Branch to listen to him. "John Dory has always... doted on all of us, not just you. It took you to get born for him to start treating me less as a baby."
"Is that supposed to make me feel any better?" Branch ironized. "I mean, it's not like we can have a new baby brother."
"Look, old habits die hard" Floyd said. "And John has always had troubles letting go of his. Just give him time."
But Branch just rolled his eyes, then Poppy told him:
"Come on, Branch, it's not like you don't have some habits that are a little... too much."
"My habits are not that bad" Branch protested.
"You mean how you have to do things on a specific order on a specific time?" Poppy asked. "And let's not forget how you get when you can't do them. When trolls search the world habit on the dictionary, there's a picture of you there... literally."
That caused Floyd to drop a chuckle and then say:
"That's funny."
"And that's not even the only world we use Branch as an example" Poppy replied, as Branch made his annoyed face. "There's also overthinking, control-freak and stubborn. And those are just the ones that come to my head."
"Interesting..." Floyd said. "You know, those words could also be used to describe John Dory."
"Please, I am nothing like him..." Branch replied, still with his arms crossed.
"I don't know, Branch, you do have some things in common" Poppy said, as she started to enumerate, counting with her fingers. "You both isolated yourselves for years..."
"I did it out of survival" Branch protested. "What I didn't have to do if he hadn't abandoned me."
"You both can be socially awkward..." Poppy told.
"Compared to him, I am a social butterfly..." Branch talked back.
"Not to mention you have the same eyes" Poppy finally ended.
"That is just genetics, not exactly something anyone can control!" Branch exclaimed, unable to contain part of his frustration.
"And they have also the same type of haircare" Floyd added.
"Floyd, what side are you on?!" Branch said.
"Sorry, bro, but I couldn't help it" Floyd replied, amusingly.
Both Floyd and Poppy started laughing and Branch, not wanting to endure that anymore, said, as he got up and retreated:
"Okay, you know what? I'll just try to calm my nerves the best way I know... by going to Classical Crest and have one nice ginger root tea while listenning some good soothing classical music."
And having said that, he got out while doing acrobatics. Not so long after that, John Dory arrived, also doing acrobatics. However, unlike Branch, he was showing a very upbeat look, exclaiming enthusiastically:
"Hey there, guys! What a beautiful day, don't you think?!"
"Wow, John Dory, you seem pretty... happy" Poppy commented.
"Of course I am happy!" he replied. "In fact, I am more than happy... I'm elated! I am living with my two favorite brothers!"
Realizing what he just said, John Dory whispered to Floyd:
"Please don't tell Bruce and Clay I just said that."
"Yeah, because they would get so upset" Floyd replied with clear sarcasm.
"I know, right" John Dory said, without realizing the sarcasm. "You know what, I think I am up for something relaxing... But I don't know what to pick..."
"You know..." Floyd replied, in a way to get his older brother's attention. "I heard the Classical trolls have an amazing ginger root tea."
There was a pause and then John Dory exclaimed with a smile:
"Great idea, little brother! I love ginger root tea! And drink it while listening some soothing classical music? That's a double strike."
"I know!" Floyd said, with a knowing smile. "What a great idea I just had."
"You are the best..." John Dory replied, before leaving with acrobatics.
Turning to Floyd, Poppy asked, with a smile and a raised eyebrow:
"Did you just set Branch and John Dory up? Because... I was about to do just that!"
"Great minds think alike" Floyd replied.
There was a pause and then Floyd asked:
"Oh, how things between you and Viva?"
"They're great" Poppy replied. "There's no need of a flashback to show it."
Another pause, as the two drank their smoothies, and Poppy observed:
"Your hair seems to be recovering its color quite well."
"Yeah... being around my brothers is helping a lot" Floyd replied.
Yet another pause and Poppy asked:
"Do you want to see Branch and John Dory's encounter at Classical Crest?"
"Uh, of course!" Floyd exclaimed, as the two of them got up and headed towards the Classical Trolls' residence.