A/N: Taking place before TBT
__________________________________________________
"This is... not going to work," Spruce said resolutely.
The purple-haired Trolling scrunched his nose. His baby brother in no doubt looked cute – too cute for his own good – but how was he supposed to bust a move with them onstage with this... this clown's outfit?
All right, the outfit wasn't that bad. It was the same outfit that he and his brothers wore every time – a colorful vest, and the long white slacks. Problem was... Baby Branch was not quite the same size as them yet, something that John Dory hadn't taken into consideration at the time that he put the outfit together for Branch. The blue vest covered Branch's entire little body, his eyes hardly able to peek out from the top of the garment. The pants hung almost like a gown's train behind him, far too long and annoying to keep from tripping on.
Next to Spruce, John Dory blew a raspberry. "Ah, it's fine! He'll grow into it." He paused, and then added, "eventually."
Clay, who also felt as uncertain as Spruce, glanced at his brother. "Right... but we're not going on stage eventually. We're going to go onstage with him tomorrow. That's only 24 hours from now, bro!"
"And I can tell you right now," Floyd chimed in, "this might be our style, but it is not his." He picked up one of the loose pant legs and shook it for emphasis. "Not yet anyway," he added.
"So you're going to have to find something else for him to wear. Unless you want us to mess up the choreography," Spruce concluded.
To give even more finality to the point, Baby Branch peered down at the attire and then innocently looked back up at John Dory with his large eyes. "My clothes don't fit," he whimpered.
John Dory, at a loss, sighed, seeing that they were correct. "Okay... fine." He went off, rummaging through their stuff, until he pulled something else out. "How about this?" He held up another outfit that also looked far too large.
"No, JD," Spruce sighed. "Just look at how small he is!"
"Well, he can't just perform in his diaper!" John Dory insisted.
"Dude, I'm sure it'll be alright. He's just a baby," Clay pointed out.
John Dory refused to give up. He searched again and then snapped his fingers in triumph. "Ah ha! This'll be good!" In his hands he held up a small pair of glasses, round framed and bright white. "These were my old shades. Not as cool as the ones I have now, but hey, they fit my face back then." He went over to Branch and then gently placed them on his face. "Alright, now how do ya like that, bro?"
Branch blinked, thinking, allowing himself to get a feel for it. A part of him wished he could have a cool puffy jacket like his brothers, but the glasses were still fun! So much fun, in fact, that the small baby went and toddled onto his feet and started busting out a few adorable moves of his own. "I love it!"
The brothers grinned broadly and exchanged high-fives, triumphant in finding their resolution.
"Boo-ya!" John Dory cried, striking a fly pose. "Now you're just as brodacious as the rest of us!" He scooped Branch up into his arms and began to head off with Spruce, Clay, and Floyd in tow. "Come on, little bro. It's time to get ready to debut Bitty B!"
The other brothers snickered. "Bitty B?" Spruce questioned.
"Come on, dude, you're going to tell me that you don't like it?" JD smirked.
The purple Trolling shrugged. "It's all right." He didn't want to fret too much over a nickname for the little guy. Regardless of what it was – or what any of their nicknames were for that matter - he knew that the crowd would still love them all the same.