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Meeting Bruce

A/N: Requested by ceci-butterfly on Tumblr :) I incorporated snippets from my "Meeting Spruce" and "Nieces and Nephews" oneshots

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"Maybe we're in the wrong place?" John Dory suggested. He was awkwardly trying to make his way across the sandy dunes on the beach, but kept sinking with each step he took.

"He's gotta be here," Branch insisted. "Where else would you find Spruce?" He remembered how much Spruce talked of wanting to move to an island one day back when they were kids. And this place - Vacay Island, where "everyday is a vacay" - fit the bill perfectly. But, he could see where JD was coming from. So far, there didn't seem to be any Troll inhabitants. It was just very large, somewhat strange-looking creatures that they had never seen before, tall and puppet-like in their appearance.

Poppy in the meantime trotted along behind them, happily sipping on a concoction that was given to her by one of the islanders. This place was hip, even if Spruce may not be here.

But he has to be... doesn't he?

Without thinking, she cast her eyes over to the beach where crashing waves resounded. It was stunning the way that the setting sun reflected off the water. But it was also something else that caught her eye in that instant. Her jaw fell open a little and her eyes widened, and Poppy had to stop right in her tracks.

"Um... guys?" she asked Branch and John Dory, who also paused and were looking in the direction she was. They too were surprised at what they saw.

Gliding easily through the waves upon a surfboard was a purple-haired Troll, his locks flowing in the wind as he rode like a pro, silhouetted stunningly against the sunset's light.

Poppy did all she could not to drool. She distracted herself pulling out one of the old BroZone magazines that she'd stashed in her hair. It was of an advertisement to enter a contest to date Spruce. She held it up, and compared it to the Troll on the surfboard. She got the same tingly feeling from the picture as she did from the Troll, and gave a breathless little laugh.

"Oh yeah, I totally see it," Poppy nodded.

Branch and John Dory hurried over to meet him as he washed ashore gracefully, shaking himself off of any excess water droplets that clung onto his blue skin.

"Yo, Spruce! Is that you?" JD said.

The purple-haired Troll blinked in surprise and gave his head a little shake. "Brandi was right," he mumbled to himself, "I really am taking too many shots at a time." Now he was imagining that his brother was in front of him!

But it wasn't a dream.

"No, dude, it's me, John Dory! Come on, you remember me, don'tcha?"

Spruce blinked at him, an unreadable expression on his face. But then he broke out into a grin. "Of course I remember you!" he shouted and then threw his arms out at him for a hug. JD hugged back, both of them exclaiming and laughing together as though they were still the two teenage boys they'd been back then.

"My gosh, bro, it's great to see you again!" Spruce said.

"It's great to see you, too!" John Dory said. "You don't know how much I've gotta tell you, Spruce, I - "

"Ah, ah, wait a sec," Spruce interrupted him. "Please, don't call me that." He put a hand over his heart and properly introduced himself. "My name is Bruce."

"Aw, man!" Tiny Diamond angrily kicked the sand. "You're telling me we traveled all this way and we got the wrong dude?" What a waste of time!

"No, Tiny, this is the right guy," Branch said, walking up to his brothers.

Spruce - or Bruce, as he wanted to be called - paused. "Baby Branch?" he gasped, astonished. "Look at you! You're all grown up!"

"Yeah, I know," Branch said, crossing his arms.

"I can't believe this!" Bruce exclaimed. "Who else is here?" He peeked around them, wondering if he would maybe see Clay or Floyd, but intrigued when he found a pink Troll instead. "Who's this?" he asked.

Poppy noticed he was talking about her and she blushed, shyly coming up to him. "Hi, Spruce! Er, oh I mean, um, Bruce. I um, I..." She squealed and hugged him, unable to contain herself. "My name's Poppy. I'm Branch's girlfriend, and I'm SO excited to meet you!" She let go of him and hopped up and down on the sand.

"Baby bro's got a girl? Cool! Well, it's nice to meet you, too," Bruce said politely.

Poppy held back another squeal and gestured her arms out. "This is such a beautiful place to live!"

Bruce nodded. "It sure is," he agreed. "Sunset 24/7, awesome beverage service..." He pulled out a couple of readily made drinks out of his hair, offering one to Poppy and another to his brothers. John Dory took it, happily sipping the pineapple-flavored concoction, but Branch declined.

"... Oh, yeah," Bruce added, "and not to mention the kids absolutely love the beach."

Branch cocked his head curiously. "Kids?"

"Oh, uh-huh," Bruce said. "Got me a whole brood, as a matter of fact."

"Aww!" Poppy cooed. "How many?"

"Thirteen little angels!"

"SPPPFFFTTT!" John Dory spat out his drink and coughed. "Th-thirteen?" he managed to ask.

"Yes, that's what I said."

Tiny Diamond shook his head. "Yo, that man got to work!" he mumbled at Branch, who was also looking rather surprised.

"Wow!" Poppy exclaimed. "I didn't know there were other Trolls on this island."

Bruce chuckled at that. "Who said anything about Trolls?" he asked.

"Whaa?" Branch was confused by what he meant, but followed his brother as Bruce waved the group over to follow him. They entered the large sandcastle that was in the middle of the island, and found a cantina within. A lazy river snaked its way throughout the lounge, and a seashell stage was at one the far end. There were several creatures lined up at the bar area, awaiting their orders. Bruce greeted everyone and strolled right up to the creature behind the counter.

"Hey, baby!" he greeted a yellow-and-orange striped creature.

She batted her lashes at him. "Brucie!" she cooed, leaning down so that she and Bruce could share a kiss.

"You're not gonna believe who I ran into..." He extended his hand out to the Trolls, and she gained a look of shock.

"Oh!"

Bruce addressed his brothers, Tiny, and Poppy. "Guys, I want you to meet the lovely lady of my life, Brandi!" He then turned to his wife. "Brandi, meet my brothers and their friends."

The Trolls and wife exchanged polite hellos, though both sides were quite stunned at the revelations - the Trolls at the realization that Spruce had actually hooked up with one of the puppet-like creatures on the island (not that there was anything wrong with it, of course - they were delighted that Spruce had a great big loving family!), and Brandi at the prospect of seeing other Trolls - two of which were her husband's brothers.

"Bruce, why didn't you tell me you have brothers?" Brandi asked suspiciously.

Bruce got a sheepish look. "I uh, I sort of told you I did," he said, shuffling a foot on the ground.

"You said you had friends when you lived back in the Troll Village, you said nothing about brothers."

"Wait, wait... Mommy, did Daddy just say he has brothers?!"

The new voice that piped up was kiddy in its nature, and the Trolls all regarded the newcomer with curiosity. Having been reaching into the shelf behind Brandi to grab a fresh box of cookies, this creature was also very puppet-like in appearance, though unlike the other islanders she was smaller and had Troll-like ears protruding from the side of her head. A tall stack of hair stood upon her head, styled with bangs that looked very similar to Spruce's. That's when the realization hit the Trolls, even before Brandi's next words came out of her mouth.

"Yes, Brenda, that's exactly what your father said."

"Wow!" the child replied, the box of cookies forgotten and a new mission set on her mind. She turned to face where she came from, cupping her hands around her mouth and calling out. "Guys! Get over here quick! Daddy has brothers!"

In response, about a dozen similar-looking children frolicked into the space, all eager and wide-eyed and chatty.

Poppy giggled at how energetic the bunch was, while John Dory and Branch in particular were being poked and prodded by the kids' felt-like hands. The brothers exchanged an astonished look. These were their nieces and nephews? One thing was for sure - becoming uncles to 13 kids sure didn't happen everyday!

Bruce and Brandi watched with amusement as the kids had their rounds with each Troll.

Branch felt a tug at his leaf vest and heard a voice right behind him afterwards.

"Hey! Hey, Mister!"

"Uh... yeah?" he responded awkwardly.

"What's your name?" the kid asked, blinking her wide blue eyes at him.

"Branch."

"Branch?" she repeated, testing the word out on her tongue, and then looking back at him. "Huh. Does it mean anything?"

"It's something you find in trees," he said with a shrug.

The Trolling cocked her head at him. "Huh? Whaddya mean?"

"Well..." Branch began, "It's, um, you know... that part of the tree that kinda sticks out and has leaves on it?"

"Ohhh," the kid said, nodding her head. "You're talking about a frond! Like those!" She pointed up to the very top of some nearby palm trees that decorated the interior of the cantina.

"Err, well, not exactly - " Branch started to correct, but was cut off when the kid interrupted him with "Well, it's very nice to meet you, Mr. Frond!"

Branch, however, was not the only one being questioned. Poppy in the meantime was occupied with a kid of her own.

"Is that guy your baby?" the kid asked, pointing at Tiny Diamond.

Poppy giggled. "No, he's not."

"Ohh... I guess that makes sense," the kid concluded. "He doesn't really look like you... or your husband!"

Poppy was taken aback by this. "My husband?" she asked.

"Uh-huh. That guy, right over there! He is your husband, right?" Poppy followed the direction his finger was pointing, and blushed heavily when she saw that it was at Branch.

"Oh! UH... n-no!" she squeaked, and then cleared her throat. "He's, uh, just my boyfriend!"

The kid looked confused for a second, and then shrugged. "Huh. Could've fooled me. My Daddy looks at my Mommy the same way that guy looks at you. And usually it's right before they kiss!" He scrunched his nose and made a face. "YUCK!"

"Heh heh, yeah... yuck..." Poppy tittered in agreement, but not thinking it would be so horrible if Branch's lips ever made their way onto hers.

As Poppy did her best to recover from that child's suggestions, Tiny Diamond was handling his own pair of kiddos.

"How old are you?" one of the two kids asked him.

"One month," Tiny proudly declared, crossing his arms.

"Really?" the other kid said. "Wait, so doesn't that mean you're a baby?"

Tiny was appalled to hear this. "A baby? I'm not no baby, I'm a man!"

"Hmmm," the first kid hummed in thought. "His voice is pretty deep. Maybe he's right! But then, why are you so small?"

"And why are you naked?" the second kid piped up.

"I have clothes on," Tiny insisted, holding up his yellow-tinted glasses at them. "See?"

"Cool!" the first kid said, swiping them from his hands and running off with the second kid giggling after him.

Tiny gasped. "HEY! Those are mine, come back!" he yelled, running after them.

Yet another kid was having his share of time with John Dory. This kid whispered at Bruce in confusion, loud enough for JD to hear.

"Daddy, who's the funny-looking guy?" he asked.

JD huffed. He could take Tiny calling him a random dude, but this was pushing it! "Funny-looking? What exactly makes you say that?" he asked, crossing his arms.

The kid giggled. "Who wears a snowcoat in the summer?"

Oof, got me there, John Dory realized, suddenly all too aware of how warm his jacket was making him feel with the intense humidity that Vacay Island had.

"Junior," Bruce said warningly to the child, "That's not the way we talk."

John Dory smiled in relief for the reprimanding, at least until Bruce said, "It's 'who's the funny-looking Troll,'" to which that smile promptly disappeared.

Bruce smirked, and then said, "And your sister was right, he's my brother. Your uncle."

"Wow, really?" Junior said. "But Daddy, where's he been all this time? And why is he here now?"

"Good question," Bruce replied, realizing that he hadn't exactly gotten an explanation for why he'd come. "John Dory, why are you guys here?" he asked.

John Dory seemed to remember exactly why he and Branch had come seeking him in this tropical getaway in the first place and grimaced a little. "Oof, yeah, about that. See, Bruce, something's kinda happened to our brother, Floyd..."

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