A family reunion. That was this is, right? A family torn apart by time, distance and their own escapes for freedom. The absence in between turned a small half mended crack into a great divide. Or at least that's how vast the longing to reunite filled the space in between them.

The BroZone brothers missed out on a lot. Branch's childhood,teen years and coming of age. Bruce's marriage and big family of many little ones. John's rise to power becoming king. Floyd's career and fame as solo artist to retiring to teach and coach. Clay's own rise of practically being business partners with Viva until they got married making it even more official that they co ruled.

So much happened. So much changed. Different circumstances shaped their paths. Floyd and Bruce being the original first successful escape set them up for a normal life away from the Bergens. Unfortunately for Clay,John and Branch they didn't have that option truly... Moving on wasn't as simple nor easy. The Underground Trolls didn't even know that Trolls and Bergens had officially made peace. The Putt Putt trolls knew but, they were still adjusting last Viva and Clay checked.

The royal quarters were undoubtedly cleaner than when John had originally left it. Branch had evidently reorganized the book shelves by alphabetical order,swept the floors, the pillows fluffed and the kitchen? The kitchen table was looking like it was part of the kitchen again and not JD's second "office" desk.

"So you're a King now? How did you pull that off? Seriously Johnny. You of all people? " Bruce patted John on the back impressed.

Bruce and John stood closely next to each other in front of the cabinets. The clawed tail swayed behind them before wrapping itself around its owner's ankle. The claw rested on top of John's other foot unsure where else to go. Bruce squeezed John's shoulder as if trying to remind himself that his older brother was actually next to him.

Viva and Poppy sat down on the couch with their sights fixed on the brothers. They kept themselves letting the brothers have their space and time to process their reunion. The last thing they wanted to do was take over the moment. Though the urge to interject to properly introduce themselves was strong.

Poppy held her own hand restraining herself from squealing over the fact that she was in the same room as BroZone. The entire group. Her favourite boyband of all time. Her overbite peeked out the bigger her smile grew.

Viva on the other hand didn't need to restrain herself. Like she has been preparing for this day. In a way she was. After all in the past her and Clay used to talk about the "What if's" in general many times. One of them included what would they do if they had the opportunity to be with their siblings again.

She glanced at Clay rubbing the small of his back. Her palm rose up past his shoulder looping some of his hair around her finger. Curling it before pulling her finger out. Clay caught her holding it midair then laced his fingers with hers bringing their hands back down between him. His grip intensed as he chose to remain seated beside her.

"Yeah. It's a long story but, I always been the leader so naturally people chose me." John shrugged.

"Yeah. " Bruce poked John's shoulder playfully. " Of our boy band. A village is a whole new high for you."

"You could say that. " John reverted his eyes.

Becoming King was never on John's bingo card or plans for his life. It didn't happen overnight either. Walking on those telephone cables wires back in Bergen Town with everyone following right behind him. Adventuring through the forest until they discovered the cave entrance. That cave led to a tunnel system then they found themselves under the hollow willow tree surrounded by their meadow.

Nothing. None of that was planned and yet John led them through it all. They didn't question him. Those trolls didn't even consider the fact Dory was only looking out for Branch. Well that was until the day of voting. The election and immediate informal coronation. That's when clicked for him that he was just as responsible for them as he was for his baby.

An invisible heavy weight pressed against his chest as the memories came back to him. Wiping the sweat off his paw like palms John continued to smile. Awkward but, still genuine.

Floyd,who was seated at the kitchen table, bit down on his lower lip glancing at his hands. Old photos of their shared history flashed before his eyes bringing a sad smile to his face. The old days. Back when they were still trapped in that awful cage. Back when they were still one unit. The messy fights, making up, their concerts, school, the chaotic game nights and their first real break from being BroZone. Everything.

Floyd's eyes glimmered fondly at what they used to be. Even their worst moments as siblings was bittersweet nostalgia. He looked up at John and Bruce propping his arms on the table cupping the sides of his face. The way Dory stood, avoided eye contact and smiled. He was still John Dory but, with different packaging in appearance.

Floyd didn't see the tail,claws,paws and antlers. He still saw 19 year old John Dory but, more exhausted and honest version. That was comforting. Maybe they could become stronger and closer family. As much as Floyd appreciated everything he had no - it wasn't the same without John and Branch. Clay too.

Floyd missed their talks.

" If you're king and Branch is Prince-" Floyd wayed in curiously.

John caught him off rambling away. "I'm still single. No wife or girlfriend. No kids. It's been just me and Branch since the beginning. Honestly I'm just gonna hand over the title to Branch. "

"Wait. Really? " Floyd leaned in while his smile grew bigger. " He's actually your... " He paused trying to remember a word. " Your heir?"

"I never wanted to be king." John admitted scratching the back of his head then down his neck.

Floyd blinked dropping his smile. Clay,who had been avoided looking in John's direction, finally allowed himself watching his long lost brother simply exist. Clay frowned as well catching the dull flicker of regret in his eyes. Bruce tucked his lips away turning his head to Floyd locking eyes. The two shared a concerned expression.

John fidgeted with his vest. "Look at that!" He gestured to the clock with a sudden burst of enthusiasm. "It's almost lunch. I'll go check on Bitty B."

His tail unwrapped from his ankle backing away to the bedroom. Sweat ran down his forehead and paws. Before Floyd or Bruce could even get a word in John was just gone. Poppy and Viva stared at the spot where JD once stood then checked the clock on the wall.

It was only 10 o'clock clock...

" Looks like you and me are the only ones who didn't become royalty, Flo." Bruce joked.

Married into royalty, elected into position and chosen as heir by default. That's quite a pattern. The ones who never truly moved on from being in survival mode found themselves in these specific positions. Floyd wasn't sure how to react to that.

"Branch?" John called out softly walking over to Branch's oddly still hammock.

His chest didn't rise and fall. Tails motionless hanging off the hammock. Not even his fingers and ears twitched. No sound escaped his lips.

A minute passed and still nothing.

Johnny's eyes widen. His own breath caught in his throat. Heartbeat spiked up racing a mile per hour. Shit! Shit! Shit! Not again!

Then Branch gasped for air and hacked up a dry cough at the same time. His eyes still fixed shut when his hand shot up to his mouth on reflex. The heavy cough once caught in his throat and chest subsided. Rolling over his side away from the concerned father figure John was greeted by Branch's back.

Jaw dropped slightly John lifted it clenching his teeth. One of the foxtails wagged brushing against his legs. The other tails ignored him in with one hanging still and the other rose over the blanket curling over Branch's hidden feet.

The somewhat ticklish and soft wasn't reassuring enough. Tip toeing around to the other side of the hammock John refused to keep his sights off Branch's head until a loud exhale escaped the sleeping troll. Dropping to his chest JD studied it counting and tracking the speed of the rise and fall.

"Oh thank God." John whispered putting two fingers to Branch's neck.

He's still breathing. At first finding any pulse was clumsy affair but, once John reached the right vein he felt the subtle beating. Frowning at the steady and long pauses between every beat - Johnny's eyes dulled.

" As long as you're here... You're safe."

John reminded himself. " You're safe. You're still alive."

Soft snoring occasionally synced with the twitching of Branch's ears. A sign that his body was still fighting. Still in recovery. As much as healing powers were a blessing a gift - John considered it a curse. It did equal harm as it solved problems.

John hated it. He hated watching Branch ignore his own declining his health. Hated seeing him repeatedly stop breathing in his sleep only to reach for air last second while staying unconscious. That wasn't normal.

He sighed still watching his brother sleep. Grabbing a second blanket he unfolded throwing it over Branch. John cupped Branch's face leaning in to kiss his forehead.

The lines between parent and brother blurred a long time ago. That wasn't going to change now either. Whether or not Branch considered John his father figure - it didn't matter. Loving him as much as John Dory does he would always protect him at all costs - even if it doesn't seem that way.

Soon the parentifed sibling came back out of the bedroom. His shoulders dropped relaxing from the knowledge everyone was here and accounted for. He smiled with glimmer of hope on his eyes. Maybe things could finally be turned around or at least that what Dory hoped.

" Bitty B still snoozing. Hungry?" John said unable to turn off parenting and caring for his brothers.

Bruce and Floyd were both sat at the table while Clay stayed with Viva and Poppy. According to the present clock only an half hour had past. Clay's stomach growled in response making the silent avoidant troll blush in embarrassment. Bruce chuckled flashing him a wink for no reason in particular before turning back to John.

" We could eat." Bruce agreed on everyone's behalf.

Floyd nodded his head in agreement smiling at the familiar sense of normalcy they were creating. John rose his tail into the air sliding on his feet to the fridge. He opened the second door releasing cold air. Inside the fridge were containers instead of ingredients.

" There's hmm... We got dried venison-" John paused turning to Floyd. "Don't ask how we got deer meat." He turned back to face the containers. " And bunch of frozen blocks as meal prep. Branch's doing. He always makes a big batch of something and divides it up."

John picked out one of the containers of meal prep. Deer were obviously too big for trolls to hunt if and when this village did try to hunt. However sometimes they got lucky. They couldn't really be picky about food considering how had to adapt to their current unusual bodies. Trolls did eat meat in the past but, deer was never one of them until the Underground Village was formed.

"What is it?" Floyd blinked still unsure how to react. He didn't want to judge or be rude. Any food that was available was still food at the end of the day.

John opened the container. "Looks like soup. There might be some bread somewhere." He showed it to Bruce.

" When Branch start doing this?" Bruce asked.

" Oh when he was 16 and decided he could cook better than me. " John joked. " He still insists his cooking better cause he's" John air quoted. " More consistent by following the recipe book"  than my winging it chaos." He chuckled.

Floyd and Bruce joined keeping their voices low to not wake the one who was sleeping in other room. Clay cracked a smile and John caught it but, Clay quickly turned his head away. Like he was scared to let them have this moment. John's heart dropped in his chest followed by a frown at Clay's reaction.

Becoming a family again wasn't going to be easy... That was for certain. The least they could do was try but, will Clay let them try without pulling every time? Maybe with time they could bridge the gap. That's all the Timberlake brothers could realistically hope for.