After the marshmallows were ready, it was time for them to do s'mores. Branch wanted to do his own, but John Dory wouldn't let him.
"I can do my own s'mores, John Dory" Branch told, firmly.
"I know that... but I promise you won't regret it" John Dory replied, as he delicately placed a marshmallow on a coockie. "The secret to the perfect s'more passes not just on the ingredients, but also on the preparation. Not just that, but I have a secret ingredient that makes them even better. You will love it."
"As long I get to take a bite without making it soft first..." Branch grunted between his teeth, while rolling his eyes.
"What was that?" John Dory asked, while turning to his younger brother.
"Nothing..." Branch replied.
"Oh, Branch, could you go fetch me the flask and glasses in my backpack?" John Dory asked. "I brought my special hot chocolate for us to drink with the s'mores."
"Sure... apparently that's the only thing I can actually do here, right?" Branch replied, saying the last part in a way that John Dory wouldn't listen.
He went to John Dory's tent where his backpack was. When he was about to take the flask and glasses, he noticed something else... He took a gift box and observed it. Sighing, Branch said, sarcastically:
"Oh my... another gift! What is it, this time? My favorite bid? Or maybe... my favorite binky."
Rolling his eyes, he put down the gift box, but then he noticed another something... a scrapbook that was titled Branch's Baby Scrapbook. Curious about it, he took it and opened it.
John Dory approached him, saying:
"Yo, Branch, what is taking you so long? You don't want the s'mores to get too much cold..."
He then noticed Branch was watching the scrapbook.
"John... what is this...?" Branch asked, with some tension on his voice.
"Oh, that..." John Dory replied, a little bit awkwardly. "Yeah... you were not supposed..."
"To see it?" Branch asked, using then his sarcastic voice. "I can't imagine why..."
"Well, it's still not ready, you see, and..." John Dory started. "I was planning to finish it during our camping trip and then show it to you..."
"Show me what?" Branch asked, with his anger starting to get noticed on his voice, while showing the opened scrapbook to John Dory where some of his baby pictures were. "That you have a scrapbook full of embarrassing baby pictures of me?!"
"Branch... I started doing that scrapbook ever since you were born" John Dory replied, noticing how his youngest brother was getting upset. "I have done it with our brothers too. Even I have one that grandma..."
"Oh, yeah... how about this?" Branch asked, as he showed the lattest entries of the scrapbook, showing pictures of the events of not so long ago: Branch holding the rattle John Dory gave him, Branch eating (unsatisfied) the apple sauce and crushed carrots John Dory had cooked for him... and even the time he combed his youngest brother's hair. "Seriously, how did you even take the pictures without me even noticing?!"
"It's actually a very good trick I learned during..." John Dory started answering.
"That was a rhetorical question, John Dory!" Branch protested, angrily. "Do you know how embarrassed I get whenever you do things like this?"
"Things like what?" John Dory asked.
"Like these!" Branch replied, motioning towards the newer pictures on the scrapbook. "Doing things for me when I can perfectly do it myself... Cooking me meals as if I can't chew properly... Giving me gifts that are completely out base..."
"You... didn't like my reverse welcome gift?" John Dory asked, both surprised and sad.
"That's not the point!" Branch replied. "The point is you have been... suffocating! I thought that letting you and Floyd come live with me would allow us to become closer... I can feel that with Floyd... But with you... I am always feeling frustrated! You still treat me like a baby... You still see me like a baby... Floyd told me to be patient, that I just needed to give you time to adjust... But I simply can't do that! I just... can't handle all your smothering any longer! I am a grown-up troll... one that can eat solid food... one that doesn't need a room full of baby pictures of him... one that can perfectly comb his own hair... and most certainly one that doesn't need a big brother hoovering over him every single moment of the day!"
He finished that by throwing the scrapbook to the ground, as a silence fell between them, with only the sound of Branch gasping after venting out all of his frustrations on John Dory being heard. And the latter clearly looked like he was caught in complete surprise by everything his little brother had just said. In fact, everything that Branch had said to him, especially with the anger he was expressing, made John Dory feel hurt, as if every word had hit him hard. But the worst part for him was that he couldn't even talk back at them, because they were completely true.
"I... didn't know you... were so uncomfortable with me around..." John Dory, looking down. "I'm sorry if I ever made you feel the way you do, Branch. I didn't want that to happen... Maybe... we rushed things over by moving in with you. Perhaps... I should give you some space so you can feel less... smothered."
He went to his tent and dismounted it in an instant, while putting it in his backpack and placing the latter on his back.
"I... will come back to the bunker and then... I'll get Rhonda ready" John Dory said, sadly. "Don't worry, I... won't be there when you get back home. Try to stay here... and eat the s'mores. I really was not kidding when I said they were good."
He prepared to leave, but then he pulled out the gift that Branch had seen in his backpack and put it down, saying:
"At least, you keep this last gift. It is only... half-done, but at least you'll be able to enjoy a part of it... I hope..."
After that, John Dory just moved away. Branch observed his brother going away, but his anger was still acting out a bit, so, even if he was feeling bad for him, he didn't find the will to stop him from going. He then sighed and went to the campfire, noticing then the s'mores that John Dory had finished making. Feeling his stomach rumbling, Branch couldn't help but roll his eyes and take one to eat. To his surprise, that s'more was actually very delicious, possibly even one of the best he had ever eaten.
"What do you know...? He does know how to make delicious s'mores..."
Branch's look then fell upon the baby scrapbook he had thrown to the ground and the gift John Dory had left for him. Making a frowned look, he couldn't believe he was actually getting up and pick up both the scrapbook and the gift. Coming back to the campfire and sitting down, he opened the scrapbook, right on the first page and he found himself facing the very first photo of it: the day he hatched.
On that photo, he could see himself (as a baby) together with his older brothers, all of them hugging him and expressing big smiles. Seeing that, Branch couldn't help but expressing a slight smile as well, because he remembered that... after all it was his very first memory. Even if it was now a little foggy, he remembered coming out of his egg and his brothers being the first thing he ever saw. Floyd was the first one to hug him, with Branch remembering how happy he felt during that first hug. But then he also remembered how overwhelming everything was... how he felt himself so small in a world where the rest seemed to be much bigger than him. At that moment, John Dory picked him up and put him inside his hair. Once he did that, Branch felt himself much safer.
Looking to the second photo, Branch saw it was when his brothers would try to feed him, only resulting in some big food fights. Those used to be pretty fun... the food would fly around and hit everywhere and on them, but hardly be eaten. In fact, John Dory was actually the only one to be able to feed Baby Branch without causing any problems.
Turning the pages, Branch would find many other baby pictures of him. Even if at first glance they looked embarrassing, whenever Branch came to remember when they were taking, he couldn't help but reliving those moments that were actually filled with great bonding moments with each of his brothers: Branch trying to act as cool as Spruce, him helping Clay on one of his crazy pranks (most of them targeting either Spruce or John Dory, with Floyd sometimes being caught in the cross-fire), him playing with Floyd... and even him with John Dory... when his oldest brother was the one he looked up to, the one he admired... There was even the one of his first birthday, when he was blowing the candle of his cake with his brothers (and grandma) cheering him on!
Tears of longing were starting to invade Branch's eyes, but he was doing his best to keep them in. But then he reached the last photo before the embarrassing ones John Dory took when he moved in with him and Floyd. That one really set up Branch to finally tear up, because that photo showed the moment that his brothers officially integrated him in the band... the moment he became Bitty B. Branch remembered that day really well, because that was the best day of his entire short life: the moment where he would finally join his brothers and sing with them.
However, that was also the last moment he could remember when the five brothers were truly happy together for a very long time, since Branch's induction in the band started the beginning of the end of BroZone of their youth. With their popularity only increasing with the addition of the fifth brother, John Dory started to pressure the rest to be even better than they already were, disregarding their feelings and growth, especially Spruce's and Clay's, leading then to that fateful day that would be Branch's stage debut. But that was what made that last photo even more special, since it contained that very last moment of happiness of the group before the two-decade-long separation.
Branch closed the baby scrapbook, as he expressed a soft smile, after going through all those happy childhood memories. His attention then went to the gift John Dory was planning in giving him. Now becoming curious about what it was, he took it and started to unwrap it. When he opened it, he was caught by surprise by what was there: a folding frame, where the left was the picture of a young John Dory with baby Branch on his head, both of them laughing together, while on the right there was no photo but a note saying: A free place to put a brand new memory of a new start. Together with that folding frame were three Eighth-Note Biscuits, possibly with John Dory planning to have the two of them and Floyd (if he was there with them) to share together.
Seeing both the scrapbook and the gift, Branch couldn't help but feeling guilty about the way he treated his oldest brother just now. Even if what he told him was completely true and they were issues he really wanted to confront him with, the fact is Branch let his anger and frustration to drive his words and ended up hurting John Dory and break his heart. Now that Branch remembered how much John Dory meant for him, he knew he had to fix things with him...
Elsewhere, John Dory was walking... more like dragging his feet... as he was heading back to Pop Village, holding the straps of his backpack. He had a very depressed look, caused by all the sadness of hearing Branch venting all of his frustrations. Despite he had noticed all the awkwardness between them, John Dory really thought he was bonding with Branch. And, when Floyd suggested that camping trip, John Dory saw that was a way to finally clear the air between him and Branch. But it would appear he was unable to truly understand Branch's feelings all this time. So, for that reason, John Dory concluded the best way to salvage the little bit of brotherhood between them was to give him the space he needed.
"Oh man... And here I thought we were having a great time..." John Dory sighed.
"Hold it right there!" a voice exclaimed.
John Dory turned around and then looked up and saw some troll on top of a tree's branch, with that one being actually...
"Branch?" John Dory asked, confused.
Using his hair, Branch swinged through the branches until he reached his older brother and landed at a few distance from him with a flip. Turning to John Dory, Branch said:
"We need to talk."