Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

King Trollex wasn’t sure if he’d ever get used to the amount of holidays that the Pop Trolls have. It’s as if there’s at least one happening every week, and each and every time, every single troll is invited. Now normally, Trollex really didn’t mind. In fact, he loved all the little get-togethers he and the other trolls had. He’d attend what events that he could, write a little apology letter to Poppy if he couldn’t, and have a great time just mingling and hanging with all the new trolls he’d meet. Unfortunately, it was around this time that he’d actually have to get some work done. Many leaders of the trolls were contemplating sending diplomats from their own kingdoms into others, himself included.

So when sparkle-covered letters began to rain down from above, King Trollex frowned. He wasn’t sure if he’d be able to attend this one, especially with his growing responsibilities. But, if this little event was short enough, he was sure that he could attend. And it would provide the added benefit of getting a break from work. As the letters float down, Trollex quickly snatches a lone one and opens it. The letter detailed the introduction of a new holiday, called Meet Someone New Day. The idea was simple enough. Every troll in the Troll Kingdom would meet up in Pop Village, receive a randomly colored piece of confetti, and then meet up with the troll that has a card of the same color.

It was a neat idea really, a little event that helped all the trolls come together and mingle with their newfound neighbors. And honestly, Trollex was all for it! While he definitely met a whole lot of cool new trolls (including a hot pink one who had an amazing DJ setup; he’d have to talk details with her about that), there were many, many more that had yet to meet, and was frankly excited to see.

He continued reading through the letter, noticed that the festival would start mid evening tomorrow, and decided that he could come up with a sort of gift between that time frame. His parents always said that he should make his first impression his best. He was also a prankster. And so after carefully tucking the letter away, he quickly swam off to see just what he could come up with.

As he made his way back to his anemone, he offered various iterations of greetings towards the trolls he passed by. All of them seemed equally as thrilled he was, excitedly chatting amongst one another or zipping around seemingly trying to get stuff done. It was good to see that his people were just as excited as he was. He’d definitely preferred it if he and his people became more familiar with the other trolls.

Once he touched home base, he quickly got to work, sifting through whatever available materials he had whilst simultaneously running potential gift ideas through his head. He didnt wanna go too big with his gift, or with the prank. Too extreme a gift and the person will think you’re weird, and too extreme a prank and they could end up hating you, or worse, injured.

As he continues to sift through his seemingly never ending stash of art supplies, he comes across an old bracelet making kit. He pauses for a moment, taking a moment to feel over the old, faded title. It brings back fond memories, back with his parents and him when they made the very hair-tie that he uses today. The thought makes him let out a content smile, and he closes his eyes as he relives those old memories. Not even a second later, though, his eyes snap open as if a lightbulb had lit up in his head.

He’ll make a set of matching electric shock friendship bracelets! It’s a simple, well thought-out gift that can signify the start of the friendship that comes with a fun prank without getting overly personal or terribly injuring the other troll. It was perfect!

He quickly gets to work, and within minutes he’s got a pair of two, beautiful rainbow colored bracelets that have the extra benefit of glowing in the dark, thanks to the natural bioluminescence of the beads used. He ponders for a moment to determine whether or not the design was too simple, but quickly brushes the thought out of his mind, made content with the idea that simple was just the way to go sometimes.

He slips one of them on, testing the shock, and finds that it’s just enough to make you jump without making you hurt due to the voltage. He carefully places the other in a simple little jewelry box and sets it down on the same table he made it with. It’s not much now, but it’ll probably mean so much more when he and his mystery troll get to know one another. He places the gift on the table, and readies himself for bed.

—

When the next day comes, he’s all but jittery from excitement. The second he wakes up, he gets himself ready, grabs his gift, and practically bursts from his anemone. He says his hello’s and good morning’s to his fellow trolls as he zips around. When it’s time for them to make their way to Pop Village, he rallies his citizens together.

As he looks them over, he sees that a smile is practically splattered in everyone’s face. Some of them even have their own gifts in hand, and that silences the lingering thoughts that had him somewhat convinced that giving a gift to a troll you’ve never met was too much.

—

The journey to Pop Village is a long one, but is by no means boring. The entire journey is filled with an air of excitement as the trolls giddily talk amongst themselves, all of them sharing in their joy and the thought of meeting someone new, and potentially making a new friend.

When they do arrive, the place is already bustling with trolls of all kinds, all of them talking enthusiastically with one another. His trolls have already dispersed amongst the rest, and so he begins making his way through the crowd. There was still some time left to kill, and so he used what little time he had left to find DJ Suki about her setup.

After a few minutes of wandering, saying his greetings to the various troll leaders as he did so, and offering whatever other trolls who looked his way a small greeting, he finally found the DJ, belatedly speaking with who Trollex assumed were a few of her friends. Her gaze meets his for a moment, leaves, then swiftly returns to him as she stops speaking mid sentence. Her gaping mouth shifts into a toothy smile as she does a light jog towards him and gives him a hug.

“King Trollex, hey! Great to see you again, man! These are my friends, Pixie and Vega!” She starts excitedly. She gestures towards each troll as she says their names. Pixie is covered head to toe in bright, golden glitter. They offer him a smile and waves excitedly at him, which he returns with his own smile and wave, which holds an equal amount of enthusiasm. Vega is a dark, purplish blue troll with wavy white hair. She offers him a small nod of her head, and he does the same.

The four of them quickly engage in conversation once introductions are over, enthusiastically talking to each other about whatever they think to talk about. Pixie is way into standup comedy, and even cracks some of her jokes throughout their talk that manage to make the king snicker. Vega is, like Suki, a DJ, and the three of them bond over their shared interest in it.

Everything is going pretty smoothly when his eyes decide to slip past Suki for just a second and land on a group of Trolls huddled up in a group. Now normally, he’d just adjust his vision back to his buddies, but this group in particular caught his eye given that Queen Poppy and her new found sister were amongst them. He hadn’t found the chance to have a proper talk with her since he’d arrived.

Not only that but it seems that there was a whole crowd murmuring excitedly to five other trolls that were with them. He recognized Branch, but not the other four. Suki must’ve caught him looking, and he shook his arm to gain his attention. He blinks, just a bit startled by the sudden touch and quickly brings his attention back to her. “You were zonin’ out there for a second, dude. You good?” She asks him, with just a hint of concern in her voice.

He spares a glance at the group again, and Suki notices. She looks over to see what he’s looking at, and giggles a bit when she notices the group below. “Oh, those guys! Well, you know Poppy and her sis.” She starts, gesturing towards the two girls who were currently gleefully talking to each other about something. She then gestures to Branch and the rest of the trolls surrounding him. Now that he was actually taking a moment to get a good look at them, Trollex notices how similar they all look. “And you also know Branch, but the rest of those guys? That’s Brozone!” She finishes excitedly.

He gives her a ‘really?’ look, and she looks back over at him confused before making an ‘oh’ face. “Right! You probably aren’t really familiar with any of our celebrities given the whole ‘living in the ocean’ thing.” She corrects herself. “Brozone was one of the most popular boy bands back in the day. But then they had, like, a HUGE falling out and we haven’t seen any of them in years. Until now!”

She starts from the left moving to the right listing them all off. Branch, whomst he already knew, Floyd, whose hair was oddly white at the roots before fading into a hot pink, Clay, whose choice of clothing was a bit austere compared to the rest of them, Bruce, who was, for some reason, wearing a tropical jacket despite them being deep in the forest, and finally John Dory who was apparently the former leader.

He’s about to ask how they broke up before trumpets loudly sound off from somewhere. Troll’s conversations stop as they hear the excited voice of Poppy ring out, accompanied by the enthusiastic thrumming of a cow bell. Trollex looks over and sees Poppy standing on a large toadstool, standing alongside her sister and her father. His face becomes puzzled as he tries to come up with some sort of explanation as to how she got up there so quickly, especially since she was standing alongside her boyfriend just a few moments ago.

“Hey, hi, and hello everyone! I’m so glad that you guys could all make it!” She exclaims, and gesturing her arms out towards the crowd. “I hope you guys are excited, because YOU are about to meet someone new in… 3,2, and…. 1!” She practically screams out the word, and the second she does, confetti comes flying down on the crowd in a rainbow colored cloud.

People let out ‘ooos’ and ‘ahhhs’ as they watch the confetti fall, and King Trollex does too. The second one of the pieces of confetti get close enough, he leaps up to catch it. It’s a vibrant purple, and he quickly scans the crowd to see if any troll got the same color as him. Of course, the momentary search ended up fruitless since the confetti was still falling and the trolls in the area were just as vibrant as the confetti itself.

He turns to look back at his group, and notices that they’ve all gotten their own pieces of confetti too. He waves them goodbye, wishes them good luck, and starts to walk off, beginning the search for the troll with the same colored paper as him.

—

Finding the troll that had the same colored confetti piece as him ended up being just as difficult as he thought it’d be. But it doesn’t curb the King’s spirit. In fact, it actually encourages him moreso to find this mystery troll. It’s almost like a little game for him, whether he’ll find them or if they find him. He spends a few minutes walking around, comparing confetti pieces with other trolls whose colors are similar to his, but luck doesn’t seem to be on his side

He’s about to saunter off somewhere else when he hears someone call after him. At first, he’s a bit confused as to whether or not that troll was calling after him specifically, since there were many, many other trolls around him still searching for their own buddy. Still though, he turns around and sees none other than John Dory running towards him whilst enthusiastically waving his hand. Pinched in between his fingers is a piece of confetti that is a nice, vibrant purple. The same color as his. King Trollex smiles, quickly takes a glance at his own piece of confetti just to be sure, and the second that he is, he begins his approach. Albeit, much more slowly.

In a matter of seconds, the trolls are face to face, stopping just a few inches away from one another. John Dory skids to a stop at Trollex’s feet, keeling over in order to catch his breath. “Wooh, boy! Sorry about that just…” he stops his sentence for a moment, taking in a deep breath. “Just give me a second.” And so the king does, muttering an ‘it’s cool’ as he waits for the former leader of Brozone to right himself.

It takes a hot minute, but once John catches his breath, he looks up at the king with bright blue eyes. “What’s good, man? You probably don’t know who I am, but—“ John Dory starts, but is interrupted when the techno troll in front of him laughs. JD gives him a puzzled look, but the king merely offers him a smile. “I know who you are, dude! Friend of mine told me a little bit about you before all this started. You’re John Dory, right? From Brozone?” Trollex inquires, raising one side of his unibrow.

John Dory stares at him, mouth agape for just a few moments, but he quickly collects himself, now seemingly beaming with a sort of pride. “Oh! I-I… I mean yeah! That’s me!” He exclaims, his face now twisted into a large, toothy smile. “John Dory, from Brozone, yes!” King Trollex laughs a bit at the troll’s enthusiasm, watching as John Dory pumps his fist in a kind of celebration. Based on the very limited information that Suki offered him, BroZone broke apart years ago. This John Dory guy probably wasn’t expecting anyone, especially a techno troll, to recognize him. If he even knew what a techno troll was.

“I’m just a bit surprised that you, uh, recognized me.” John Dory continues, nervously scratching the back of his head. “Poppy filled me in on the whole different trolls thing, so…” The end of his sentence trails off, and king Trollex nods his head in understanding. John Dory then quickly shakes his head. “But whatever, y’know? Let’s get to talkin’, yeah?” He claps his hands together. “You a walk n’ talk kind of guy or…?” John Dory asks, having already begun to move by the time he finishes asking the question. King Trollex follows him, nodding his head.

“Yeah, man! I’ll let you lead the way. I’ve really only been in Pop Village and the places surrounding it, so you can be my guide.” Trollex comments, and JD smirks. “Well, looks like you’re in luck. I happen to be a master survivalist. I know this place like I know the back of my hand.” He boasts proudly, gesturing to himself using his thumb. Trollex considers the self appointed title for a moment, taking in JD’s attire, before nodding his head. It would explain the mountain goggles, and the thick fur jacket.

John Dory then stops and sputters for a moment before quickly turning around to look at Trollex, a disappointed expression on his face. “I totally forgot to ask you, dude, but uh, what’s your name?” He inquires, slapping his face as he realizes he didn’t do the one thing you’re supposed to do when you meet somebody new. However, Trollex just laughs. “It’s cool, dude! I’m Trollex, King Trollex of the Techno Trolls.” He admits casually, and he can see John Dory visibly stiffen, glancing up at him with wide eyes as if he was a deer in headlights.

There’s a pregnant pause that lasts for about 5 seconds as John Dory comes to the realization that he was casually chatting up foreign royalty as if he would a friend, and is mentally slapping himself in the face for it. King Trollex has to hold back another giggle as JD’s mouth rapidly opens and closes as if trying to find the right words to say, failing each time. He eventually settles for a quick bow before standing up straight.

“I-I apologize your… uh… excellency. I had no idea that—“ He stutters as he begins to mutter an apology, and is promptly silenced when King Trollex holds his palm up to his face as if to say stop. John Dory looks up, confused, and is surprised to see the king laughing as if he’s heard the funniest joke. In fact, he’s laughing so hard that he has to put a hand on John’s shoulder to keep himself from keeling over.

As his laughter dies down, he pats JD’s shoulder reassuringly and takes in a deep breath. He looks at him sympathetically, trying to contain his lingering snickers as he reassures him. “Dude, it’s cool! No need to get all into the formalities, alright?” He squeezes him reassuringly on his shoulder to emphasize his point. John Dory swiftly glances at the hand before staring back up at the King, a subtle blush on his cheek. Trollex notices, and snickers again. “And there’s no need to be embarrassed either. Today is all about getting to know somebody new, and while I may be a king, today, I’m just any other troll looking to make a new friend.”

He offers JD one last slap on the shoulder before drifting off, which snaps the other troll out of his stunned silence. He hears the little pitter patter of JD’s feet as catches up with him, the other troll letting out a subtle sigh of relief. “Okay, good! Cool. For a second there, I was worried that you’d get all mad at me n’ stuff, but you’re actually pretty chill.” John Dory admits, his usually confident voice laced with just a hint of nervousness. King Trollex looks over at him and shrugs. “It's cool! You didn’t even know who I was, and if it helps any, when it’s just me and you, you can just call me Trollex, alright?” He reassures.

John Dory pauses, and then smiles before clapping his hands together with a laugh. “Okay, yeah! That works! Now, let’s get exploring!” He states excitedly, a pep in his step as he practically hops along the dirt path in front of them. “We can talk all about Brozone while we’re out here too, help you keep up with all the recent drama.”

—

The next couple of hours end up being the most fun that king Trollex has had in a while. He and John Dory basically go explore a sizable portion of the rest of the village. The whole place was practically bustling with life as trolls of all kinds were out hanging on the streets, mingling with one another.

John Dory talked about Bro Zone and nature most of the time. He told the techno troll all about how he and the rest of Brozone were brothers, and about the tours and the interviews and the photoshoots. He even surprised Trollex by popping out an old polaroid, the image showing him pictured with the rest of his siblings in various dynamic poses. When JD points who he was, Trollex lets out a breathy laugh.

“What? No way, let me take a look at this.” He jokes, gently taking the picture out of John’s hands, glancing over it. He looked so… different. Like, completely different from what he looked like now. In fact, Trollex wasn’t even sure he’d believe that the troll in the picture was John Dory if it weren’t for the fact that a), he had the picture on him, and b), the fact that he still had those same goggles in the photo on even now.

Trollex himself tells John all about home, down in the ocean. He talks about all the stories, their music, their home, their traditions and pretty much anything else about his people that he can come up with. Throughout it all, John seems pretty focused on what he’s saying, asking questions when he could and laughing at a few of the stories Trollex had to tell.

By the end of the day, the two were talking with one another as if they’d been besties for life, laughing and joking with one another as they made their way back to the main center of Pop Village, where Poppy currently stood on top of the same giant toadstool from before.

As soon as she’s sure that all the trolls are gathered together, she smiles brightly and begins her announcement. “Now THAT was fun now, wasn’t it you guys?” She asks the crowd, and she’s met with a chorus of cheers and agreement. “Great! Before you guys all go, I just wanted to thank you all for coming out tonight, and I hope that you all made a new best friend!”

If Trollex hadn’t known Poppy for as long as he had, he’d think that the festivities had ended. But fortunately, he does know Poppy, and by extension, knows that most of her little events end up with some kinda party. And as he watches her enthusiastically scream something before near deafening music starts playing, he knows that that’s his que to go.

If he could stay, he would, really! But duty calls, and his people know the way back home, so he turns around, ready to see himself out.

“Woah, where you going bud? Party just started!” He hears JD call out, and he turns around. The other troll is looking at him confused, an eyebrow raised. Trollex just offers him a sympathetic smile in response. “Yeah, I know. But, I’ve got some important things to work on. Y’know, kingly duties and whatever.” He admits. John Dory smacks himself in the face again as he’s reminded of the fact that he was talking to royalty. “Right dude, yeah, pshhh, sorry!” He screams back, which is the only way he can respond over the cacophony of music and voices. “See you later, then!”

King Trollex nods, and turns around again so that he can leave, but stops dead in his tracks as he remembers information most crucial. The bracelet! He had completely forgotten about the bracelet! He swiftly turms around, and lets out a sigh of relief seeing that John Dory hadn’t moved too far away. Carefully, he maneuvers through the crowd and once he reaches John, taps him in the back.

The troll turns around, and is surprised when he’s met with the face of the techno troll. However, he quickly drops his surprised expression and exchanges it for one of toothy grins. “Well, looks whose back already? Guess you couldn’t stand being without me for too long, eh?” He jokes, and the king lets out a mock laugh. “Yeah, sure.” He responds sarcastically, before pulling out the gift box from behind his back. John Dory’s eyes go wide, clearly excited.

“I just wanted to give this to you before I left. I meant to give it to you while we were talking earlier today, but I just got distracted.” He exclaims, nervously scratching the back of his head. He hands the gift off to John Dory, and watches proudly as the man opens it and smiles in delight.

“A bracelet! Haha, dude you shouldn’t have!” John Dory exclaims, examining the way the bracelet glowed in the dark before offering up his hand in the shape of a fist. King Trollex happily returns the gesture and fist bumps him. He waves goodbye, and John Dory does the same. The king can barely control his excitement as he watches John Dory slip the thing on, and he quickly disappears into the crowd so that he couldn’t be seen.

It takes everything in the king's powers to not burst out laughing when he hears John Dory yelp.

Chapter Text

When John wakes up the next morning, he immediately lets out a low groan as the most piercing headache hits him with the suddenness of a freight train.

“Jeez… definitely should’ve laid off the punch last night.” He chastises himself, before wincing again as another wave of pain washes over him. Slowly, he sits up, palming his head in the hopes that it’ll somehow manage to dissipate the pain. His partying habits hadn’t at all changed since he was young, including his tendency to drink ‘till he, quite literally, dropped.

But, sitting here moping about his terrible choices from the night before weren’t going to curb the headache. He slumps off of the couch with all the grace of a bag of potatoes, and practically drags himself to the shower outside. Immediately, his eyes are assaulted by the piercing light of the sun, making him groan in annoyance.

Today was going to be a long day.

—

That morning, he tends to himself a bit more than he usually would, treating himself to an impossibly large breakfast and an ungodly amount of coffee. The hangover had managed to be mitigated to a dull ache at that point, and it’s then when he’s haphazardly chewing on a bagel does he remember that he had actually made plans for that day.

He’s supposed to meet up with his brothers, Poppy, and Viva that early afternoon! The hangover from this morning must’ve made him forget! Thank goodness that the worst of it was over by that point though. He quickly shoves the rest of the bagel he was eating into his mouth and pops into the driver seat. Rhonda wakes with a rumble, and the two are off.

—

When he makes it to the village, he finds the place alive and active, with many trolls out and about helping with the cleaning effort. He saunters through, and offers his hellos to some trolls he’s passing by. Now, the only issue he was having at the moment was that he couldn’t completely remember where he was supposed to meet the rest of them at. All he remembers is that it was some sort of patch that Poppy said he couldn’t miss.

This limited information does nothing to help him out though, and he’s just about to ask some random troll for help when he hears the enthusiastic voice of Poppy calling out his name.

“JD! John! Over here!” He hears a distant voice yell.

When he turns around, he’s expecting to see Poppy quite the distance away, but his eyes go wide as he sees that the princess is much, much closer. With no warning, John is suddenly taken into a bear-crushing hug as Poppy promptly squeezes the life out of him, his back popping. He tries to laugh, but it comes out more like a wheeze as he pats Poppy on the back. “Good to see you too, girly!” Is all he manages to squeeze out.

She eventually puts him down, just when Branch manages to catch up to her, and John stretches to ease the pain in his back whilst his brother chastises his girlfriend for nearly breaking it. Once he’s properly recuperated himself, he takes his chance to properly say his hellos.

“What is up, bro?” He asks, offering his younger brother a fist bump, which the other accepts.

“Nothing much. Just going around looking for you because I knew Poppy’s directions,” he says, making air quotations when saying directions which makes Poppy roll her eyes. “wouldn't tell you anything about where you were supposed to go.” Poppy dramatically sighs, and gently nudges Branch in the arm. “C’mon, don’t be like that!” She whines, laughing a little.

She then turns to John, a bright smile on her face as she excitedly takes him and Branch by the hand. “Now, let’s get going! Don’t wanna keep the other’s waiting, do ya?” She jokes, before practically dragging the two off.

—

The spot that the queen had chosen was a secluded little dirt patch, fitted with a few small sticks that acted as benches. Of course, they weren’t the only ones there. The place was seemingly a social hub, and was filled with the hustle and bustle of trolls hanging out together. He catches Floyd, Viva, and Clay all sitting together, engaging in casual conversation. However, the second Viva notices her sister walking alongside Branch and his brother, she perks up and raises her hand, waving at them.

Of course, Floyd and Clay take notice, and stop talking to look and over and see who Viva was waving at. When they see the group approaching, they’re quick to raise their own hands to wave at them too. Poppy returns the gesture with an equally enthused wave, whilst John and Branch offer their own, less ecstatic ones towards their own brothers.

When they make it to the bench, JD greets Clay and Floyd, taking them both into a big hug that has the brothers giggling. He settles himself next to Clay, whilst Branch and Poppy sit off to the side, next to Floyd and Viva. Once everyone gets comfortable, the conversations get started.

—

They all talk about their own little escapades from the party last night, with Viva and Poppy enthusiastically talking about the performed a menagerie of songs for the crowd, and how Branch, Clay, and Floyd, all took turns doing solo performances of various BroZone songs.

Eventually however, things take a turn as they start recalling the time they spent hanging out with their troll of the day. Poppy got with an enthusiastic country troll named Skipper, who excitedly showed her her impressive banjo skills that Poppy made lyrics to on the spot to sing to it with.

Floyd ended up with a hard rock troll named Riff. According to him, the guy was a bit weird, but man, could he execute a sick drum solo. He offered to teach Floyd the basics, and even offered to take him back to his place once the party was over so that he could teach him some more, though he respectfully declined.

Clay got partnered with a classical music troll named Sonata, and the two of them went on to bond over their shared interests in doing taxes, paperwork, and other boring stuff. JD was honestly struggling to stay awake while he recounted his story, but stayed strong.

He was honest in wanting to improve as an older brother, which meant that even if his brothers were talking to him about something he thought was boring or stupid, it was important that he listened. Because it was important for them, and showing them that he really did care about their interests was a great way of showing that he cared about them.

Anywho, Branch got partnered up with a funk troll named Bootsy, whose chill yet eccentric personality made for interesting conversations. Overall, it seemed that everyone had a pretty great time. John Dory was pretty content just listening for the most part, zoning out and occasionally jumping in with a joke or two that managed to make everyone laugh.

Which was why he suddenly got nervous when everyone stopped their conversations and were now looking very pointedly at him. His smile falters just a bit , growing a little afraid that he said something wrong. “Umm… what’s wrong, you guys? Why’d you, uh, stop talking?” He inquires, following his question up with nervous laughter.

Poppy answers, a gleaming smile on her face as she does so. “It’s your turn, dude! Who’d you meet?” Ah. That. John smacks his face hard as he remembers that he wasn’t just here as a spectator. Had he really zoned out that much? Whatever, didn’t matter now. “Right, right! Sorry, was kinda caught up in the good vibes we had goin’ on here, y’know? Hehe…” He jokes.

“But uh… my mystery troll was, get this, King Trollex!” He admits, a proud tone in his voice. And honestly, who wouldn’t be? How often does a troll get the chance to meet up with genuine royalty? And not only that, become friends with them? Poppy gasps excitedly, and the rest of them, minus Branch, immediately start asking questions.

“Oh my gosh, King Trollex is like, one of THE coolest trolls ever! Besides Branch, of course.” Poppy practically squeals, turning to Branch as she mumbles the last sentence. Branch offers her a shy smile before nodding in agreement. “I need you to tell us ALL the deets!”

And John Dory does. He does just that for the next HOUR or so. Hell, he even surprised himself with how much he was talking. It was just that, well, he couldn’t REALLY explain it. It was just that there was something about the king that just made him so interesting, something inexplicable. Something that apparently made the guy worth talking about for over an hour with little to no breaks.

He talked about everything, from the way he spoke to the way he moved so smoothly through the air, as if he was drifting through the waters in his home. He talked about his laugh, and how he’d always put his hand on his shoulder as if he was going to collapse if he didn’t. He even mentioned how his ears would twitch whenever a breeze would come through! Seriously, what was happening to him?!

By the time he’s done, everybody is making little comments here and there, poking a little fun at him being “obsessed” with the king, which he clearly wasn’t. Still though, he won’t deny that he misses the guy. “I just wish there was an easier way for us to talk to one another, y’know?” He comments. “I mean, the guys a king! It’s not like he can just abandon all his duties just so he can come up here and talk with some random troll.” The others nod in understanding, but John Dory doesn’t notice when Branch and Poppy glance at each other before nodding their heads, seemingly coming to some kind of agreement before turning their attention back to the group.

Eventually, the group starts to trickle out, with Floyd leaving to go meet up with Riff, and Clay and Viva leaving so that they could help their trolls better integrate into Pop Village. Which eventually left Branch, Poppy, and JD. By that time, the sky had begun to dim, an orange, yellow hue overtaking the sky as night neared its descent. John, noticing how late it had gotten, sat up and brushed himself off.

“Well, it was nice hanging out today, you guys!” He says, straightening his jacket. “But, I’ve gotta go! Rhonda is probably wondering where I’m at right now, and I’m starting to miss my baby, too. Catch y’all later, alright?”

At that, Poppy dramatically frowns and approaches him, giving him a much, much gentler hug than when they met earlier that morning.

“Awww, okay! Just be sure to make it back here by noon tomorrow so that we can start movin’ your stuff into the bunker, okay?” She reminds him, pulling away and patting his shoulder. Branch looks on with a worried look, and John notices, offering him a reassuring smile. “Don’t worry. I’ll be there, promise.” He replies, voice firm and sure. That makes Branch smile, just a bit, and he goes in to give his older brother a hug too.

When he pulls away, he feels like a little something inside of him had healed, and he hoped that from Branch’s small smile that something inside of him had healed too. He offers the couple one last wave, then turns around and begins the long trek back to sweet ol’ Rhonda.

However, he only manages to make it a few steps away before he feels somebody tugging on his arm. Confused, he turns around, and is surprisingly unsurprised when the troll in question is Poppy. He cautiously glances around, taking notice that his brother wasn’t with her, before glancing back.

“Uh… hey, Poppyseed. What’s up?” He questions, and Poppy just smiles awkwardly. “Oh, I just wanted to, uh…” she pauses, eyes trailing off as if she thinks of what to say. After a second or so, she perks up as if a lightbulb had lit up on her mind. ”…walk with you back to Rhonda!” John Dory looks at her skeptically, eyeing her up and down. It’s not like he minded her company or anything, it was just weird having someone accompany him back on his way to Rhonda. Guess living off the grid for so long will lead you to having some isolationist tendencies.

Poppy however does not falter, and she continues to look up at him with bright, earnest eyes. Inviting her along wouldn’t be all bad. The queen made for some pretty good conversation, so with a sigh, he nods his head. Poppy squeals, giddily bouncing in place before gesturing forward for him to lead the way.

The walk back is filled with small talk, with a few jokes being cracked here and there. A comfortable silence had settled between after a while though, and JD had started humming some random tune when Poppy spoke up. “So, you and King Trollex had a real great time, huh?” She asks. John Dory perks up at the name of the troll (Why did he?) and nods his head yes.

“Well, I just wanted to let you know that if you want to, I could totally set something up so that you and king Trollex can meet up!” She offers, and John Dory sputters in shock. “W-Where did this come from? Hehe…” He nervously asks, chuckling to himself. Okay, so maybe he did sound a bit crazy about the guy when he was talking about him during their little meetup. But he didn’t think he sounded that crazy…

“Oh, don’t play dumb with me! You were talking about him as if he was the only troll in the world.” She says, looking at him with a look that reads ‘really?’

And, okay, he’ll admit it. He does really want to meet the guy again. But the guys a king, and he’s got duties and probably wouldn’t be willing to meet up with some random troll he spoke to once. But… if Poppys’ offering, who is he to turn her down?

“Well… that’d be great actually.” He confesses, scratching the back of his head. “But uh… in case you haven’t noticed, the guy lives in the ocean. How would you even reach him?” At that, Poppy just smiles. “Well I had to tell him about ‘Meet Somebody New’ Day somehow, right?” John thinks about it for a moment, off-handedly goes “oh, yeah”, and then nods his head.

“I’ll just send him a letter about meeting you at the shores tonight, and then you guys can just talk for a bit, yeah?”

John stares at her dumbfoundedly, a shocked expression in his face as he takes in what she said. “You’d do that for me?” He asks carefully, and Poppy waves her hand at him, making a ‘pshhh’ sound as if he made a joke. “Of course! And besides…” she leans in, putting up a hand between the two of them as she whispers. “Don’t tell anyone… but the king told me he was gonna miss you, too.”

John Dory can not, for the life of him, figure out why his heart skips a beat when he hears that. He sputters for a moment, a blush growing on his face as he tries to fight off the violent urge to squeal like a little girl.

“I-I… um…” Oh jeez, he’s stuttering. Why is he stuttering? Why is he suddenly starting to short-circuit at the thought of the king missing him?! “D-Did he really say that? About me?” He asks incredulously, pointing towards himself. Poppy giggles excitedly. “Of course he did! You can even tell the guy when you meet up tonight.” She says, offering him a sly wink.

Now, it was his turn to envelope Poppy into a bear-crushing hug, and the laughter of the two ring out into the evening.

—

“I just wanted to thank you, again, for this Poppy.” He tells her earnestly, barely contained excitement laced in with his voice. The queen pats him on the shoulder and offers him a smile as they approach Rhonda. “Of course, dude! I’d do anything to help if it means making new friends.” She reassures him.

When Rhonda notices them, she jumps up from her slouched position, her tongue hanging out as she practically barrels towards them. John Dory lets out a laugh when his precious Rhonda gives him and Poppy a big ‘ol glittery lick. He looks up at her, smiling brightly, and takes her into a hug, which she graciously leans into. “I missed you, girly.” He whispers to her, and the armadillo coos as if to say ‘me too’.

He lets her go and makes his way around to the entrance, opening the door and prepares to hop inside. He pauses though, just as he’s about to slip past the threshold of the door, and looks back at Poppy, who’s standing expectantly off to the side of the car. “I just wanted to say… Thank you, again, for this.” He confesses, offering her a smile. She smiles back, and nods her head. “Of course, dude. Anytime.” She says, before trailing off to the side.

“Now get going, dude! Because the letter has already been sent and he’s expecting you at the shore in about an hour!” She says excitedly, and John lets out an exasperated ‘already?!’ that makes the queen laugh.

“Oh, and uh, before you go…” She starts, raising her hand to the side of Rhonda, stopping just before she reaches her skin. “May I…?” She asks, and John chuckles. Who was he to deny his precious baby some well deserved pets? John nods, and Poppy squeals.

—

By the time John makes his way to the Beach, the yellow-orange hue of the sky is gone, replaced with a dark blue blanket twinkling with stars. He cautiously gets out of Rhonda, looking around for signs of any other trolls before taking a couple steps out into the sandy beach. A shaky breath leaves his lips, and he pauses, confused. He doesn’t remember breathing so shallowly before, what was up with him today?

“Okay Rhonda, we’re gonna be here for a while so feel free to run around!” John Dory shouts out, much to the joy of the armadillo, who perks up at the opportunity to have some fun. She quickly scampers off, and leaves John Dory alone with his thoughts and the moon.

For some strange reason, he feels nervous. Why does he feel nervous? All he’s doing is just waiting for his friend to arrive so that they can chat. That’s all he’s doing. So if that’s all he’s doing, why does it feel like his heart is gonna jump straight out of his chest if he isn’t careful? In fact, why has he been feeling like this? The only logical explanation that he's got going on is the fact that he only gets like this whenever he talks about Trollex. But why Trollex?

What about Trollex made John Dory get nervous at the thought of even meeting up with the guy? The two were friends! Friends should not be getting nervous at the thought of talking to one another, especially after it’s only been a day since they last spoke! JD, frustrated, shoves his head into his hands and begins to mumble angrily at himself and his stupid, confusing mind.

He gets so caught up in his head that he doesn’t even realize when a certain techno troll washes up on the shore. In fact, he only does notice when the aforementioned troll calls out his name.

“John! Hey, man!” He hears a familiar voice call out, which manages to shock the troll out of his stupor with a yelp. When John opens his eyes and they settle on the neon colored form of none other than King Trollex, John’s heart practically comes to a full stop.

He was here. Poppy, that crazy troll, she really did it! John chuckles to himself, letting out a mock cough as he pulls himself together.

“T-Trollex, hey! How’s it been, man?” He asks as calmly as he can, as if he hadn’t had a mini heart attack when he heard the king call his name just a few seconds earlier. The king smiles, and pulls the rest of himself on to the shore, taking a seat right in front of him. “It’s been good, just really busy, y’know. You?” He answers, looking at him expectantly for an answer.

“It’s been good, a little busy but probably not as busy as whatever you’ve got going on.” He says, straightening his posture. He quickly follows up with an apology. “Anyways, sorry if this seemed a little last minute… I just wanted to talk with you again.” He confesses, looking down, fiddling with the sand beneath his feet. That gets a light chuckle out of the king, and JD’s heart flutters.

“Dude, it’s fine.” He promises, placing a hand on John’s shoulder. He doesn’t seem to notice how the other troll practically comes to a full stop when he does that. “I don’t mind taking a little time out of my schedule to come and meet up with you! And besides, you're doing me some good, helping me take my mind off stuff, y’know?” His voice is sincere and genuine, and that helps calm the anxiety that’s been plaguing John since he first arrived.

But John can’t help but pray that the king can’t hear how loud his heart is beating.

Chapter Text

John makes his way to pop village that morning in order to get everything set up in Branch’s bunker. He’s nervous, to say the least. Even though they did make up, he knew it would take some time for them to really become brothers again. The journey would be long, and would probably involve a lot of crying, but for his bros, he’d do anything.

Contrary to her owner, Rhonda doesn’t seem nervous at all. In fact, the armadillo was practically vibrating with excitement as she walked through the village, happily sniffing at the trolls that passed by, even kicking a few. Of course, John Dory was watching her the whole time, due to her tendency to straight up swallow some. Thankfully, there’s only been one incident since they’ve arrived, and he plans to keep it that way.

Unsurprisingly, he and his precious Rhonda are being led there by an enthusiastic Poppy, who talks her mouth off on the way there.

“Originally, it was Branch’s lil’ survivor bunker because he used to be SO paranoid of the Bergins attacking! But now that they aren’t eating trolls anymore, he redecorated the place a little?” She rambles lighting-quick, following her words with exasperated hand expressions. “It’s way less depressing than it used to be, and let me tell you, that place was such a BUMMER. Impressive, but a BUMMER.”

JD laughs, and thinks to himself how his little bro takes so much after him.

He listens intently along the rest of the way, taking in as much info as he can. He and his brothers still had a lot of catching up to do, especially since even after they’ve somewhat settled down, they hardly manage to get a real, long time to chat. Hes pretty sure that they’re chill for now, but his brothers wouldn’t probably want answers, and some apologies. Like, a LOT of apologies. Especially towards Floyd

Even now, John still remembers the painful feeling in his chest when he watched his little bro limp along with the help of a crutch. Just made the realization that he had failed as an older sibling hit that much harder.

If he hadn’t been so concerned with being perfect, would Floyd have been safe?

He doesn’t get the chance to ponder on THAT emotional rabbit hole before he’s startled out of his thinking by a loud ‘we’re here!’, courtesy of Queen Poppy. They’ve stopped in an a small, open patch of grass, a part of it taken up by a large, outlined circle, a welcome mat placed neatly on top.

“And here’s the bunker! The entrance used to be, like, way smaller, but like I said, no more Bergens trying to eat us!” She quickly explains before skipping on top of the cropped circle, gesturing for JD to come forward.

But it’s as if all the anxiety in the world decided to make John Dory their newest home. He was hesitant to reach out, but it lasted only a second. It reminded him of when he first went to perform for the first time. Goosebumps, shortness of breath, his entire body feeling as if it were on fire. A terrible feeling that was all too familiar, so a feeling that he knew how to deal with.

He and his brothers were on better terms now. Speaking terms! Within like, 2 weeks! That was something he didn’t think he’d even be alive to do! So if that was possible, speaking and chillaxing with his brothers and Queen Poppy would be a breeze.

So he smiles at the Queen and steps into the circle too.

The second he does, the Queen stomps her feet two times, and the next second, their being lowered down into the ground. He stumbles a bit, not expecting the sudden movement, but beams a little in both astonishment and pride. Branch was most definitely his brother.

—

When they get in there, Clay, Floyd, and Branch are all in the first floor kitchen, chatting lightly with one another. Of course, when JD arrives alongside Poppy with a toothy grin on her face, his brothers run over to say hello, bright smiles on their faces that contrast greatly to the expressions they first had when they met him during their journey.

The happiness he feels at that moment just about makes him explode.

—

The rest of the day is filled with lively chatter all around. All of the brothers, as well as Poppy, get to work on moving their stuff inside. Although the initial debacle of attempting to get their stuff inside resulted in a broken chair and JD getting a handful of splinters, they eventually managed.

Once everyone had gotten their rooms situated, everyone met up in the dining room to have a chat and a snack before either leaving or heading off to bed. They take turns, going Bruce had to leave the next morning to get back to his wife and kids, but Clay and Floyd were staying the night.

When it came to JD’s turn, he didn’t fail to notice the slight apprehensive look in his youngest brother’s eye. He felt a pang in his heart at that, but at the same time, understood why.

“We’ll after years living off the road, I think I’m about ready to settle down.” He confesses. The others nod in understanding, and Branch seems to light up, but it’s so subtle that really only John Dory notices. Reminds him of when Branch was just Bitty B.

John Dory smiles too.

“Now, I know you probably don’t want me here, so I will stay the night. But the next day? I’ll be living in ole’ Rhonda for the time being ‘till I get my own pod.” He explains.

He then shoots Branch a sympathetic look.

“No offense, little bro, but it’s a little embarrassing living in your little bro’s house, y’know?” He loudly whispers, and giggles are heard around the table.

—

That night, when JD meets up with King Trollex, his concerns fall out like word vomit.

“And I guess— I don’t know… what if I do fail them again?” John Dory did usher after a long, winding rant.

The King nods in understanding, and he places his hand on John’s. He feels him tense, his hand fidgeting into the sand, and thinks to himself that the guy must be nervous. And he wouldn’t blame him.

When he looks up, he meets JD’s gaze, and for a moment he sees something sparkle in his eyes before they quickly dart to look away.

“The fear you have is understandable, but you shouldn’t let it consume you.” He starts, never once breaking eye contact with the troll in front of him. JD wishes he could tell him then and there that staring at him like that makes his face stupidly hot, but knows that doing so would only ruin the moment, which was the last thing he wanted.

“You’ve already told me that, despite a few bumps here and there, you and your brothers have grown pretty close after everything with Velvet and Veneer. And that just proves that whatever conflict comes your way just makes your bond stronger.”

“Never let yourself doubt that, never just assume that your brothers still hate you. You’ve changed, man! And if your brothers can see that, and I can see that, then you can too.”

When he finishes, John is looking at him as if he’s the most beautiful troll in the world. And to John Dory, he definitely is. His jaw is slack, and his eyes glisten under the moonlight as tears well in them. He doesn’t know why, but he couldn’t bring himself to look away. As if some sort of invisible force had his head in a lock and was forcing him to stare dead on at the king, whose lips were still curled into that same, beautiful smile.

He just looked so… beautiful at that moment. It sounds corny, he knows, like something straight out of those cheesy rom coms he and brothers would watch when they were younger, but it was true! There was just something about the guy, possibly his looks or his genuine sincerity (likely both) that just made John Dory stop everything just to take it all in.

Unfortunately, John Dory knows he can’t go staring at the king as if he was a masterpiece (which he was) for too long unless he wanted the king to think he was weird, which was the absolute last thing he wanted! So he blinks a few times and nods his head curtly.

“…Thanks man.” Is all that follows after a long, 5 second silence. His voice is hushed, but sincere.

King Trollex smiles, and before JD can react, he’s embracing the pop troll in a wet hug. John Dory practically freezes in place. The heat on his face increases to a point where he think he might just explode.

“Don’t just do nothing, idiot! Hug him back!” He screams to himself, and quickly moves to reciprocate the hug as tightly as he could without squeezing the life out of the Techno king.

The aquatic troll pats his back, soothing rubbing circles, and whispers gently into his ear that “everything is gonna be okay.”

John Dory wishes that that hug could last for eternity. Despite the fact the king was cold from the after, the embrace was just as warm as a summer evening, and with each passing second he just melted into it more and more.

But, all good things must come to an end, and John Dory has to stop himself from whining when the king pulls away.

“I’ve got to head back, now. But I’m glad that you trusted me enough to talk with me about this.” He starts, approaching the water. John Dory, unconsciously follows. He doesn’t want his voice to fade away, not yet.

“You ever need to talk with me again, you know when and where you need to go.” John Dory nods despite the fact the king can’t see him, still following. He’s ankle deep in the water now, with the king just about fully submerged.

Trollex turns around, and he doesn’t seem too surprised when JD is standing just a few inches away. Just before he dives into the ocean, he reassures John Dory one last time.

“Remember, you’ve got this.”

And then he’s gone, diving headfirst into the waves and disappearing underneath them. John Dory watches the glowing colors of his body grow duller and duller, until they blend seamlessly with the endless blue.

He silently wishes he’d have more than just a night to spend with the king. Underneath his breath, he whispers a “thank you.”

As he approaches his precious Rhonda, the wet sand sticking to her like glue, he comes to a sudden realization that he felt stupid for not realizing sooner.

He loves King Trollex.