Build a Fire: Part Three (Musings And Marshmallows)

Author's Note: Aw, this chapter was sweet, just like marshmallows, with a little angst mixed in. I love exploring the relationship between Bruce and JD. Anyways, without further ado, enjoy! Hopefully things go ok for them, right?

Bruce led him to a secluded spot on the beach, surrounded by palm trees on every side. It was dark, but the moon shone brightly, illuminating the sand and the glowing blue water. Waves crashed gently up against the beach, a constant low murmur in the otherwise quiet night.

There was a large wooden shed, Vacationer size, filled to the brim with firewood sitting on the outskirts of the clearing. Next to it sat a much smaller shed, troll sized, also filled with firewood. And in the middle of the beach were two fire pits, one small, one large, surrounded by many different sizes of footprints.

"This is one of my favorite spots on the whole island," Bruce said, a soft smile on his face. "It's a spot just for us, for me and my family. We try to come out here at least once a week, but sometimes, I just come out here myself to think." He took a deep breath, looking out at the stars reflecting against the water. "Beautiful, isn't it?"

"Yeah…" John Dory agreed, breathing in the salty air as well. "You've got a good thing going for you here, Bruce."

"Oh, I know," he replied, running a hand through his long, purple hair. "I am one lucky troll." He was quiet for a moment before he turned towards the smaller shed. "Anyways, the firewood is here, and obviously the fire pit is right there, so we should have everything we need for a fire." Bruce went to pick up a few logs, but John Dory quickly swooped in, taking them into his arms.

"Please, let me," he said, walking backwards as he headed over towards the fire pit. "Building fires is like, the one thing I'm good at."

Bruce scoffed, and John Dory could practically hear his brother roll his eyes. "Yeah, alright. But for the record, I can build a fire too."

John Dory grabbed a hatchet from his hair, spinning it around in his fingers before starting to chop the firewood into thinner pieces for kindling. He peeled off the dried bark to use as well, setting everything in a small pile. This felt… right. His hands knew just what to do, without him even really having to think about it. After making so many fires out on the Neverglade Trail, he could practically go through these motions in his sleep. He had to admit, it was nice to feel like he was actually succeeding at something for a change. He felt Bruce walk up behind him, peeking over his shoulder.

"So, you just carry around an ax in your hair?" he heard his brother ask suspiciously.

"It's a hatchet," John Dory corrected him, not taking his eyes off his task. "But yes, a machete too. You never know when you might need them, amiright?"

"Sure…" Bruce said, drawing the word out. "Remind me to never mess with your hair. Got a whole dang arsenal in there."

"They're tools," John Dory replied with a smirk. "Not weapons. Most of the time." He set the kindling in the pit, quickly organizing the logs on top. He then pulled a matchbox from his hair, lighting the bottom and blowing on it softly. Within minutes, the fire had grown, and was burning brightly against the darkness. John Dory felt the tension in his shoulders ease slightly. At least he could still do this.

He grabbed a bucket from the small shed, walking down to the water and filling it up before carrying it back. He didn't really give it a second thought until he saw Bruce giving him a confused look.

"You going to douse it already?" Bruce asked with a slight chuckle.

"Oh no, this is just for later," John Dory replied, shifting the heavy bucket in his hands uncomfortably. "Or if we, y'know, had to put it out quickly. For some reason." The truth was, he had always kept a bucket of water on standby when he made a fire, just in case dangerous critters found him and he had to make a quick getaway. He'd just kind of grabbed it out of habit.

Bruce still seemed a bit confused, but just shrugged, heading off towards the small shed. Despite them probably not needing it, John Dory set the bucket down in the sand. Just in case.

Bruce dragged over two large logs, setting them by the crackling fire. He sat down, patting the sand next to him invitingly. John Dory smiled and joined his brother, the warmth of the fire cutting through the chill of the night.

"Here, I've got something for us," Bruce said, reaching up into his hair. He pulled out a small container, containing what looked like two muffins. He opened it, offering one to JD, who graciously accepted. He took a bite, eyes sparkling with delight as the taste of lemon zest and moist poppy seed batter flooded his mouth.

"Holy crap, Bruce, these are amazing," he gushed, his voice slightly muffled. "Did you make these?"

"Yeah," Bruce replied proudly, taking a bite of his muffin as well. "Branch has been slowly teaching me how to bake, and this is the first batch I didn't forget to put something in or set on fire. Brandy was very impressed."

"Dude, they're so good." John Dory punched Bruce lightly in the shoulder. "You are one heckuva baker." It was hard to tell in the firelight, but JD could've sworn he saw his brother's face flush.

"Heh, thanks," Bruce said, scratching sheepishly at his face. "Oh, I brought these too." He reached up in his hair again, pulling out a bag of… marshmallows? The look on JD's face must have been priceless, because Bruce began to laugh. "What? I'm a dad. And you can't have a campfire without marshmallows! It's blasphemous."

He grabbed two longer sticks, sticking a marshmallow on the end of each one before handing one over to John Dory. JD took it, copying Bruce and holding the sugary treat out over the flames. He couldn't help but laugh at the silliness of it.

"Y'know, after all these years, all these fires I've made, I don't think I've ever actually toasted a marshmallow on one," he chuckled.

"Like I said, blasphemous," Bruce replied, tsking. "Marshmallow-less fires are not allowed at my resort."

John Dory laughed again, but just then, he heard a branch snap in the woods. He immediately jumped to his feet, a snarl on his face as he narrowed his eyes, scanning the tree line. His ears flicked around, listening for any more noises. His hand started to creep into his jacket, where he kept a whittled wooden stake in case he needed it.

"Geez, John, what the heck?" Bruce said, pulling JD's attention back towards the fire. Bruce had a hand on his chest, letting out a deep breath. "You scared the crap out of me."

"Sorry, I just–" he began, but then noticed his marshmallow was now actively on fire. "Shoot!" he exclaimed, quickly pulling it away from the flames and blowing on it, but it was too late. It was completely charred. "Aw man…" John Dory complained, sitting back down with a dejected huff. "Sorry, Bruce."

Bruce rolled his eyes, grabbing John Dory's stick from his and shaking the burnt marshmallow off. He grabbed another fresh one, sticking it on the end of the stick and handing it back to JD. "Not a big deal, man," Bruce said, his voice low. "So for troll's sake, chill."

"I am chill," John Dory grumbled, putting the marshmallow back out over the flames.

"Pft, yeah, that's a load of sugar," Bruce scoffed. "You've been on edge ever since you got here." He set a hand on JD's shoulder, giving it a squeeze. "See? Look at that. Like a rubber band about to snap." This only served to make John Dory's shoulders tense up more.

"Come on, John, talk to me," Bruce pushed, letting his hand fall back to his side. "I can tell something's up; I'm not stupid." He let out a sigh, staring back into the fire. "I saw you, before you bumped into that post. You were clearly upset about something. I mean, you looked pissed. I haven't seen you look like that for a long time. And then after…" He shook his head and turned back to JD, his gaze intense. "Did something happen?"

John Dory felt his jaw clamp shut. He didn't want to just complain to Bruce, but at the same time, he did come here to try and talk to his brother. If he couldn't open up about this, how was he supposed to talk to him about more… serious matters? He took a deep breath, mustering together as much courage as he could, then forced himself to speak.

"Look, I just, overheard some Vacationers talking. About me," he started, watching as Bruce leaned back against his log, listening. His brother appeared to be waiting for JD to elaborate, so he continued. "They were saying stuff about me and our family, and it just rubbed my hair the wrong way, I guess."

"Stuff like what?" Bruce pressed, and John Dory felt that anger from before flair up again.

"Like how I'm washed up," he tried to say nonchalantly, but came out as more of a hiss. "How I'm toxic. How I destroyed BroZone and now I'm bumming off of you because I have no life of my own. I mean, they're right, in a sense, but it wasn't great hearing them say it."

John Dory thought he saw a flash of anger behind his brother's chill demeanor, but as quickly as he saw it, it disappeared. Bruce sat up straighter, his eyes narrowed. "Whoa whoa whoa, first of all, they're not right, at all, so don't even start," he said, glaring at JD before his expression softened a bit. "And second of all, why do you care what some gossipy Vacationers say about you? They don't know anything about you, so their word is worth, well, nothing."

"I know," John Dory seethed, his ears burning. "I know, but…" But what if they're right? his brain seemed to think, but John Dory decided to keep that thought to himself.

"John, people gossip. It's what they do," Bruce said, his face growing tight. "They gossip about me too. You want to know what I always hear them talking about?" Bruce's voice grew high pitched and squeaky as he continued, gesturing dramatically. "Wow, is that Spruce from BroZone? He really let himself go, didn't he? Yeah, what happened to those rock hard abs? So much for the 'heartthrob,' amiright?"

John Dory felt a growl building in his throat, red-hot anger burning in his chest. "Those jerks…"

"Yeah, right?" Bruce replied, shrugging. "But here's the thing. They don't know me. They don't know anything about my life or what I've gone through to get where I am. So why should I care what they think?" He looked down at the ground, face falling slightly. "I mean, yeah, it still doesn't feel great, but I'm happy as who I am right now, so who cares?"

"I care," John Dory growled. "They shouldn't be saying that stuff about you."

"I know. But I don't let it bother me. Like I said, I'm happy with who I am," Bruce continued. "I still work out all the time. I've got thirteen kids, all of which were bigger than me when they were born, but I still carried them around everywhere. I serve food to creatures who are ten times my size, and I even go to Brandy's zumba class, which is not easy, by the way. So what if I look a little different? I like myself. I love my life. And I'm happy. That's most important." Bruce grimaced slightly, twirling the stick in his hands. "It took me a long time to get where I am. I'm not letting some flyaway comment by someone I'll never see again ruin that."

He was quiet for a moment before he turned to JD, that intense look back in his eyes. "So you shouldn't either. You've come a long way since BroZone. You're happy, and that's what matters."

Am I? A voice in his head seemed to say, but he tried to ignore it. John Dory thought about what Bruce was saying. Had he really come a long way from BroZone? It didn't feel like it. He still felt like the same old John Dory. And what those Vacationers were saying… Bruce said they were wrong, but what if they weren't? What if he really was just toxic?

People had a right to gossip about John Dory. A lot of what they said was true. He was controlling, he knew that. He drove his brothers away, and he destroyed BroZone. And now here he was, throwing himself into their lives because all that was waiting for him was… Well, nothing. However, they had no right to talk about his brother the way they were. Bruce didn't deserve any of that.

John Dory thought back to their BroZone days. He'd always been commenting on Bruce's appearance, pushing the "heartthrob" title onto him. It'd probably really messed with his brother's head. Did he ever apologize for that? His heart suddenly dropped into his stomach, and he turned towards his brother so quickly that the purple-haired troll jumped.

"Bruce, I'm sorry," he blurted out, seeing confusion flood across his brother's face as he continued. The words came out desperate and jumbled, like they couldn't wait a second longer to be heard. "I was really stupid, back when we were kids. I didn't think… I never thought…" He took a quick breath, trying to get the words out. "If I ever made you feel bad about the way you looked, I'm sorry. I'm so, so sorry."

Bruce looked taken aback, his eyes wide, but slowly, he relaxed back down to where he was before. "Thank you," he said quietly, and something unspoken seemed to pass between the two of them. He then turned away, peering back towards the flames. "Your marshmallow is going to catch fire again."

John Dory quickly pulled the toasted sweet back, blowing on it softly. Bruce did the same, gently pulling the marshmallow from the end of his stick. He held it out towards JD, who took his own treat off as well.

"To being happy?" Bruce asked, a smile crawling across his face.

John Dory tried to smile as well, tapping the marshmallow in his hand against Bruce's. "To being happy." And with that, they popped the treats into their mouth, an explosion of sugary warmth coating his tongue.

John Dory hummed with delight before looking back at Bruce. "So now what?" he asked, tossing his stick into the fire.

"Now," Bruce replied, scooting down into the cool sand, leaning his head up against the log behind him. "We relax." He grabbed John Dory's coat, and JD allowed himself to be pulled down into the same position his brother was in. He set his hands on his chest, and tried to do as Bruce said. Just… relax.

They were quiet for a few minutes, and John Dory couldn't stand it. He felt like he needed to be doing… something. But what? It wasn't like he had anything to do at this exact moment. But he certainly shouldn't just be laying here, doing nothing. His body prickled with anxiety, and the tenseness wouldn't go away.

He was about to give up and say this wasn't working when a question popped into his head. He thought back to the letter Branch had him deliver to their brothers, and the weird looks on their faces when they read it. Branch had written about JD's pod, but what else did he say? What had made his brothers look so worried?

"So, does Branch send you guys letters often?" he asked nonchalantly, turning his head towards Bruce. Bruce just hummed, and John Dory assumed that meant yes, so he continued. "Cool, cool. What do y'all talk about? Just your lives and such?"

"Usually," Bruce said, opening his eyes. "Just about events or things that happened. We try to keep each other as updated as possible, since we can't be together in person."

"Aw, that's so sweet," John Dory said, and he really did mean it. But his curiosity seemed to grow as he thought more about it. "So, what did he write to you about today? Besides my new pod, that is."

At this, Bruce seemed to stiffen a bit, propping himself up on his elbows. "Well, it was mostly about your pod," he said slowly, like he was trying to choose his words right. "He was very proud of it. As am I." He seemed to think for a moment before looking up at John Dory. "And he mentioned you guys went through an old picture album."

"Oh, yeah," John Dory replied with a light chuckle, feeling his own body tense slightly. "That was nice."

Bruce seemed to scan his face, his eyes narrowed slightly. "Was it?" he asked, his expression unreadable.

"Of course it was!" John Dory replied, his voice almost a little too loud. "I love those old photo albums. They remind me of better times." His smile faltered, feeling a deep sadness settle in his gut. "Back when things were perfect. The good 'ol days, right Bruce?"

Bruce didn't reply, so John Dory looked over to him, surprised to see his brother looking as if he'd been slapped. After a brief moment, Bruce seemed to snap out of his trance, shaking his head incredulously.

"John, what are you talking about?"