AN: This was supposed to be a ficlet, but it somehow turned into a oneshot, anyway, enjoy!

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First words

"Spruce! Clay! Floyd! Get here, idiots!" John called excitedly, and, in a matter of seconds, his brothers' worried tones reached his ears.

"Bro, what's wrong?" Clay muttered, raising an eyebrow.

"If you want to eat something else for breakfast, then I already made your favorite avocado toast." Spruce came in, holding a bowl of beaten eggs. "There's no going back."

"Is Branch okay?" He didn't need to look up to know this was Floyd.

"Branch," John started, earning confused yet concerned glances from his younger brothers.

"What's with him?" the purple-haired sibling asked.

"He… said his first words!"

Silence.

Well, that wasn't what John has anticipated. Were they skeptical? Well, he couldn't blame them, their baby brother had just hatched a few months ago, but they were a band, for crying out loud, of course Branch would be exceptional.

He turned to the baby, who was giggling in delight, unaware of the commotion around him, and coaxed, "Branch, say 'Jay… dee'."

"Jah… dee."

Pin-drop silence. However, the eldest smirked, doing a countdown on his fingers. Three. Two. One.

"No way!" That was Clay.

"For real?!" Spruce.

"He's really talking?!" Floyd, last but not least.

John laughed, scooping the baby in his arms. "You did it, baby Branch!" he praised, the baby cooing in his grip.

"Me next!" Clay exclaimed, carefully snatching Branch from his brother's arms and placing him on the ground.

He knelt in front of him. "Say 'Clay'…"

"Cay…" he attempted.

"Move it," Spruce chimed, pushing his younger brother away and sitting in his place. "Say 'Spruce'."

Branch glanced around, tears glistening in his eyes. That word was hard.

"Bro, your name is hard," Floyd interjected softly, then cleared his throat. "Say 'Floyd'."

More tears.

"Branch?"

A whimper. A sob. Then a full-blown tantrum erupted, one that echoed through the entire Troll tree.

"Oh my gosh! Okay, calm down, Branch, it's okay." John rushed forward, picking up the wailing baby in his hands and pacing back and forth.

And just like that, chaos endured.

"Your name was hard!" the yellow-haired troll accused. "Both of you!"

"You call 'Floyd' hard?!" Floyd defended. "'Spruce' got him into shock!"

"Excuse me?!"

"Yeah, brother, your name was hard for him."

"He cried when you told him to say YOUR name!"

"At least my name doesn't have an 'S' followed by a 'P'!"

"Are you two serious-?!"

John watched the scene unfolding with a sigh, feeling his youngest brother clinging to him as if he was his lifeline. He sort of liked it, honestly, but that wasn't the point. His anger was slowly turning to frustration as the screaming continued, and he found himself anxiously pacing around, desperately trying to calm the wailing troll in his grip.

Till it became too much.

"Shut it! All of you!"

Silence. Awkward, much-needed silence, apart from the soft crying.

The eldest sighed, his attention drifting back to his youngest brother. "Calm down, Branch, it's okay." He turned to the others. "Now, I'll go make his formula, and you will watch over him."

They nodded.

"And no name pronouncing," he added strictly, before making his way to the kitchen.

"Hey, John." Clay stopped him. "What was Branch's first word?"

He froze, then mumbled, "Uh… it was 'Think', actually." knowing how weird it sounded from the looks on his younger brothers' faces.

"Why, think?" Spruce asked.

"I don't know! It just happened!"

—--

Earlier that day

"Come on, John Dory, think, think, think," John whispered, reaching out to check on the baby nestled securely in his hair.

Branch cooed, grabbing hold of John's thumb once he saw it.

He shrugged. He was honestly too exhausted to pry his finger from his brother's grip. It was okay, as long as his writing hand was free, he figured.

He groaned. "Think, darn-" he quickly stopped, his aching thumb a reminder of the baby present with him. Aching? He looked up, and, sure enough, Branch was sucking and biting his thumb. That brought a smile to his face, really. He should warn the others, though, Branch was teething.

"Think, think, think…"

"... ink… ink… ink… th… ink.."

He froze.

—--

Spruce smiled. "Does that mean he'll be joining the band?"

"Yeah…" John nodded, then his eyes lit up. "Heck yeah!"

"JD!" Floyd scolded, covering Branch's ears.

The eldest jumped up. "Bro call!"

Everyone, except for Branch, stood up, exchanging amused and somewhat excited glances.

"The heartthrob?"

Said troll rolled his eyes, crossing his arms with a smirk.

"The fun boy?"

The yellow-haired troll gave a thumbs-up.

"The sensitive one?"

"Here."

John pointed to himself, saying proudly, "The leader." then turned to Branch. "And…any suggestions?"

"Baby Branch?" Clay suggested.

"The baby?" Floyd tried, trying to free his hand from Branch's mouth.

Another wave of silence. They needed a good name. That's the baby of the family they're talking about. John, for the third time this day, was pacing back and forth, Clay was rubbing his chin, Spruce looked ahead, while Floyd seemed busy keeping their baby brother from falling from his grip and to the floor. No wonder it was hard. Most of them got their very own names when they were a little older than this, when they started to develop certain likings and interests. Branch? He was still a baby-

"Whoa, Branch!" A loud scream interrupted their thoughts, and everyone looked up, their eyes widening at the sight of Branch almost hitting the floor, Floyd holding onto him tightly and sighing in relief as he secured his grip around him.

"Sorry… he's just so small, I didn't even realize-" His speech was interrupted by a loud, content scream from the infant.

"Yeah, he's so small," John chuckled. "So… itty…"

"... Branch?" Clay finished, catching on what his brother meant.

Spruce looked at them. "Itty B?"

"Itty B?" Floyd repeated, his disagreement evident. "How about… Bitty B?"

Everyone nodded. Murmurs of "Yeah, that's good" and "That's better" filled the room. Bitty B. Even Branch seemed glad about his new name, or maybe it was that he just ate. Either way, he was happy, and that's what mattered.

John stood slowly, clearing his throat and holding the baby in his arms, their foreheads touching, before he turned to the others.

"Everyone, say hello to Bitty B, our newest member."