Chapter Text
Pop Village is always at its liveliest when it’s getting ready for a party.
Queen Viva weaves through the hustle and bustle with a clipboard in hand, checking off items on her list as she goes. All around her, Pop Trolls run around hanging up lights and colorful strings of flowers. Most of them chatter and laugh with each other as they work, but a few of them look up and smile as Viva passes by, waving to their queen with an enthusiastic greeting.
“Queen Viva, we’re just finishing the cake now!”
“Awesomesauce, Betty, thank you!”
“Queen Viva! Where do you want the balloons?”
“Just by the stage is fine, Chenille! You’re both doing great!”
The sounds of party planning intermingle with the sounds of ongoing construction, trolls in hi-vis vests hauling away rubble and hammering away on the new pods they’re building to replace the ones lost to Barb’s attack. Their efforts are coming along nicely—it’s hard to tell that just a few days ago there was nothing left of the village but ruins.
But, leave it to the Pop Trolls. They’re a persistent bunch.
Viva ducks under a beam as it’s carried past her, offering a cheerful “Good morning!” to the two trolls carrying it, who reply with their own friendly “Morning, Viva!” Viva hums a quiet tune to herself as she walks through the construction zone, looking around for a specific troll.
“Hey, Smidge! Have you seen—”
“Branch is over by the drafting table!”
“Thanks!”
Branch is indeed over by the drafting table, going over blueprints with the construction team. He’s wearing a hardhat. It’s kind of funny on him. “Branch, my man! How’s it going?”
“We’re almost finished with the north quadrant,” Branch answers, straight to the point. He doesn’t even bother looking up. “If we get a headstart on the western quadrant today we can be done with the whole place by next week.”
“You’re taking a break for the party tonight, though, right?” Viva prompts. A little too cheerfully. “Everyone’s invited! And that includes you.”
“I’ll think about it.” Curt. “Was there anything else you needed?”
“Nope! Just keep up the great work!” And with that, Viva tosses a thumbs up to the construction crew and heads for her next stop.
The village square is the center of all the activity, the air practically buzzing with all of the trolls running around putting up decorations and refreshment tables, setting up a stage for a night of entertainment. It’s on this stage that a pair of trolls on ladders are currently hanging up a banner, guided by the instructions of their princess below.
“Just a little more to the left—yeah, there we go, perfect! Thanks, guys!”
“Hey, Poppy!”
Poppy turns to greet her sister with a smile. “Hey, V!” Welcoming Viva with a quick squeeze. “We’re almost done with the stage here!”
And the stage is a sight to behold, thanks to Poppy’s expert craftsmanship. The canopy above is woven with flowers and balloons and blooming vines that hang down to frame the stage like a flowered curtain. The banner hung in the center is intricately embroidered with even more flowers, the rainbowed lettering across it reading WELCOME ALL. And, of course, it wouldn’t be a Pop party without copious amounts of glitter to give the banner that finishing touch. It sparkles in the morning sunlight as Viva and Poppy admire the view.
Poppy wraps an arm around Viva’s shoulders in a warm side hug. “I’m glad you’re doing this.” She turns to Viva, pride gleaming in her eye. “The other trolls are gonna love it.”
“I hope so.” Viva hasn’t taken her eyes off the sparkling banner, her own smile soft and contemplative. “I figured, if we’re going to reunite our kingdoms, we might as well start here. A token of peace from the Pop Trolls.”
Poppy pulls Viva in closer with the softest, most affectionate little chuckle. “I’m so proud of you, Viva. More than you know.”
And Viva’s smile brightens with her big sister’s approval. She wraps her own arms around Poppy once again. “Thanks for not giving up on me, Pops.”
They stay like this for just a second longer.
“....Um, so….” Poppy pulls away from Viva with a cautious glance around the square, like she’s checking for eavesdroppers. She pitches her voice low. “Did you ask him?”
“I did!” It takes all of Viva’s willpower to hold back the teasing little giggle building in her throat. She flicks at her bangs all nonchalant. “He said he’d think about it.”
“....Oh.” Poppy’s smile turns up a little too much at the corners. “Oh, okay. He’ll think about it. Okay. Cool cool cool….” Hands on her hips, rocking idly on her heels. Her best attempt at acting casual. Inexplicably, she starts whistling.
This time, Viva does let a little giggle escape, just for a second. She nudges Poppy’s arm. “You could just ask him yourself, you know!”
Poppy’s cheeks go crimson. “I—I’ve asked him too many times already!” Shaking her head in a no no no kind of gesture. “I don’t want to annoy him with it, you know?” Her ensuing chuckle sounds a tiny bit too forced.
“Riiiiiight….” Viva rolls her eyes affectionately.
“Poppy.”
They both jump at the sound of Branch’s voice. Poppy’s face flushes even deeper as they turn around. “Oh, Branch! Hey! What’s up?”
Branch glances at Viva like he wasn’t expecting her to be here, hesitating before speaking again. “Ah…. I have the…. blueprints you requested.” He signals to the rolls of paper he’s holding under his arm.
Confusion steals over Poppy’s face for just a second before it clears up, her expression brightening with an affirmative, “Oh! Oh right, yeah!” Motioning for Branch to hang on a second, she says to Viva, “I’ll see you at the party, alright?”
Viva nods. “Alright!”
One final squeeze and a shared “ Love you! ,” and Poppy and Viva part ways, Viva heading away from the square and Poppy heading towards Branch, her smile bright and preppy. “Fancy seeing you here!”
Branch, awkward, gives Poppy a quick wave. “You two worked things out?”
“Oh, we’re still talking out the big stuff,” Poppy answers honestly, gesturing non-specifically on big stuff. “But, for the most part….”
Her gaze trails down Viva’s path, a pink and yellow speck in the distance. Her smile softens in fond reassurance.
“....I think we’ll be okay.”
Branch remembers a conversation in a tree not too long ago. Poppy’s worried confession. His own words of advice.
“....I’m happy for you.” Branch smiles in the way he only seems able to around Poppy, small and shy like he’s not sure if he’s doing it right. Poppy doesn’t seem to mind it.
“Thanks, Branch.”
Poppy’s gaze drifts down to his blueprints after that. “By the way, I don’t remember asking you for any blueprints….?”
“Oh, right—” Branch shifts the prints in question around, like he forgot he was holding them. “Yeah, that was just an excuse to talk to you.”
The bluntness of it catches Poppy off guard, but not in an entirely unpleasant way. She blinks. “Wait, what?”
In response, Branch clears his throat. Straightens himself out. In that matter of fact, stoic Branch tone of his he starts, “Poppy, would you like to….”
He falters a little on the last half, suddenly doubting himself. He hesitates before finishing, quieter now: “....go to the party with me tonight? Maybe?”
Turns out it was a good thing Viva left when she did, so she can’t comment on what Poppy does next.
She tackles Branch in a hug.
John Dory pulls his head out of Rhonda’s mouth and flips his visor up, letting out a satisfied “Hoo!” He tosses his wrench back into its toolbox before calling out, up towards Rhonda’s windshield, “Okay, try it now!”
From the driver’s seat inside Rhonda, Floyd calls back, “Okay!” and after a second of confusedly scanning the dashboard, he finds the right button. Press!
Rhonda’s engine rumbles to life, along with a relieved coooo from Rhonda herself. Her tail waggles contentedly behind her.
“Alright! That feels better, doesn’t it, girl?” John smiles up at his beloved armadillo bus. As if to confirm his assessment, Rhonda replies with a lick and a nuzzle, happy to be reunited with her beloved John Dory. He laughs lovingly as he returns the gesture. “Aww, who’s my brave girl….”
Rhonda’s recovering from the attack on the village almost as quickly as the village itself. The scratch on her side fading a little more each day, protected by rows of colorful bandaids. Currently, she’s letting Clay hang around on her roof, repairing her antenna. He hums to himself as he finishes tightening the last bolt. “Right, I think that should do it!”
He swings himself down from the roof at the same time that Floyd exits Rhonda, the three brothers converging on the ground with a shared upbeat attitude.
“Thanks for helping me out with her, guys,” John says, giving Rhonda’s uninjured side an affectionate pat.
“Well we weren’t gonna leave our baby brother homeless, were we?” Floyd ruffles John’s hair playfully; John pretends to swat his hand away.
“Hey, you keep talking like that and she’s not gonna let you borrow her for your trip with Hickory.”
That stops Floyd cold. Clay responds with an exaggerated gasp, hands clapped to his cheeks. “Floyd! You’re going out with Hickory?” Followed immediately by a genuinely confused, “Wait, which one’s Hickory again?”
“Oh, he didn’t tell you?” John continues to tease Floyd with a nudge. “Floyd, you didn’t tell him??”
Floyd’s face flushes deep blue. “We’re not going out! Hickory just invited me to go back to Lonesome Flats with him. You know—” Floyd clears his throat a bit too abruptly, looking away from his brothers. “Just…. to visit. Since we both liked it there so much.”
“So what did you say?” Clay’s eyes sparkle with barely restrained amusement.
Floyd twirls his fingers in his bangs coyly. A cheeky little smile. “I said I’d consider the offer.”
Clay and John both share a playful “Ooooooh~” And they’re about to launch into more teasing, except that right at that moment they’re interrupted by a familiar call of “Hey, guys!”
They all startle a bit to discover Viva has entered the clearing, smiling at the sight of their brotherly antics. John recovers first, spluttering out a “Oh, Viva! How’s the party coming along?”
“It’s coming along great, actually!” Viva giggles as she steps closer, parting through the brothers to get to Rhonda, give her her own friendly pat. “How is she?”
“She’s great!” John almost seems grateful to have something to talk about. Once again he reaches over to give Rhonda another pat. Rhonda accepts it with another coo. “Rhonda’s a tough little bug, aren’t you, girl?”
Viva keeps her hand pressed to Rhonda, unmoving. She seems thoughtful, eyes locked to Rhonda’s side as she searches for the right words.
“....JD….”
She turns to John Dory with a soft look he can’t quite place. A smile with a hint of something deeper to it.
“Thanks for being honest with me.”
It’s not the follow-up he was expecting, and for a moment his only response is, “....Ah…”
A quick glance back to Clay and Floyd. They’re turned away, pretending to be looking somewhere else. When John turns back to Viva he’s managed to compose himself enough to return her smile. Awkward, but sincere. “Hey, what are best friends for, right?”
But he lets that smile soften then, dropping his gaze to fiddle with his vest instead. He can tell Viva’s dropped her eyes, too. He recognizes her body language well enough by this point. “Ah, I’m…. I’m sorry if I came across as harsh back there….”
“No, no, it’s okay!” Viva doesn’t sound angry at all, a laugh in her voice. “I’m sorry I got so caught up in my own head!” By pure coincidence, they both happen to look back up at the same time, and when their eyes inadvertently lock they both feel their heart stop for just a moment. Neither of them will comment on this.
“I….” Suddenly shy, Viva fiddles with her bracelet. It’s just a bracelet now, carefully put back together and worn with pride. Worn with love, too. “....I’m still glad I brought you with me.”
For once, John Dory doesn’t mind if Viva can see him blushing, because he can see her doing the same under her makeup. Just as shy, he goes to fiddle with the strap of his visor. Neither of them will comment on this similarity, either. “I’m…. I’m glad you brought me along.”
It’s the truth. After two amazing, terrifying, exhilarating, wonderful adventures together…. they can’t imagine going on another without the both of them being there. Together. Always together.
They both look up. There’s so much more they could say to each other. But not yet. Not for a little while longer. And besides—
“JOHN DORY!”
—they have other things to worry about.
John, Viva, Clay, and Floyd all jump, a collective “AH!” But they find out immediately after that they shouldn’t have bothered, because—
John balks like he can’t believe what he’s seeing. “Wait—is that Bru—”
“John John John oooooh come here!” It is Bruce, running out of the surrounding woods looking like he’s just gotten back from his own thrilling adventure, pack on his back, arms thrown out so he can scoop up John in a hug the second he reaches his brother— HWOO!
“You’re okay! You ARE okay, right? Tell me you’re okay!”
“BRUCE, wha—” John wheezes out, patting Bruce to signal that he’s ready to be put back on the ground now. “What are you doing here?? Are you okay?!”
Bruce still doesn’t let go of John, even as he sets him back down. “I—I came as fast as I could! I was just at the island when I felt this horrible—it felt like something had happened and then I went all grey and I needed to know if you guys were okay—”
“Whoah, man, calm down!” Clay walking up to the pair, placing a gentle hand on Bruce’s shaking shoulder. “We’re alright! Everything got sorted out, we’re all fine!”
“God, you really had no way of knowing, huh?” Floyd coming up on Bruce’s other side, just as gentle. “I’m sorry, Bruce. It must’ve been terrifying for you.”
“What must’ve been?” Bruce looks between all his brothers in equal parts confusion and fear. “What happened, what did I miss??”
“Bruce? Is that you?” By some cosmic coincidence: suddenly, here come Branch and Poppy, coming into the clearing from seemingly nowhere! Holding hands and everything. Branch does a double take at the sight of his oldest younger brother. “When did you get here?”
“Branch, WHAT is going on here?” But Bruce’s frustration can’t mask his relief to know that all four of his brothers are safe and colorful, even Branch. “What don’t I know?”
Branch and Poppy, John and Viva, Clay and Floyd…. everyone shares a single, knowing look between them.
And they all smile the same knowing smile.
“Well, Bruce….” John claps a hand to Bruce’s shoulder, chuckling a wise chuckle.
“You missed a heck of a story.”