Chapter Text
John Dory could be a very heavy sleeper.
He had to be in a way. After all, his family’s pod growing up only had three bedrooms. One for his folks, one for his Grandmother, and one for him and his brothers. Usually, the babies slept in his parent’s room for the first year or so, but with four younger brothers John Dory very quickly had to learn how to sleep in a crowded room. Even after his parents were gone, he still had to share a bedroom with Clay and Bruce, and both were major snorers. Not to mention they’d both jump in his bed whenever they had a nightmare and didn’t want to bother Grandma.
By the time the band broke up and he was on his own, John had become used to the snoring and almost nightly interruptions of smaller trollings crawling underneath his bed sheets. So much so, that he had trouble sleeping for the first few nights that he was alone. He could remember just curling up in his sleeping bag on the cold ground, trying to pretend that he could still hear his brothers’ breathing. Hear Clay shifting around as he dreamed. Feel Baby Branch or maybe Floyd curled up next to him. They’re at home. John would tell himself. They’re safe at home, tucked in their beds. Safe and warm.
Boy was he wrong about that one.
Eventually, he had gotten used to the quiet nights. It got better when he found Rhonda. She’d curl up next to him, and a warm body close to him was way more comforting than it should’ve been. Then when she was grown John got to sleep in an actual bed once more (motels were expensive so he’d only sleep in one if the weather got too bad). Rhonda was his home and his family for years.
So, at first John Dory was a little uncomfortable sleeping at his brother’s place. Don’t get John wrong, Branch’s bunker was amazing. The place was built to be both a protective fortress and a cozy comfortable hideaway. There were even enough bedrooms for all of them, each one with an on-suite bathroom. Branch really went all out for them. And none of them were there to see it built. They were damn lucky that Branch even allowed them to stay.
Well, Floyd staying that made sense. The red-headed brother was still recovering from the whole, getting life sucked out him thing. John would be lying to himself if he didn’t think that Floyd was really bad off. His younger brother couldn’t walk, couldn’t keep warm, some days he couldn’t even feed himself. What made it worse was that the doctors weren’t quite sure what was going on. Branch probably saw how worried they all were when Floyd was in hospital, so let them stay close out of pity. John would forever be grateful for that.
Floyd had been taken to the bunker only a few days ago, so they were all currently staying down there. Bruce would go back to his family in a week, but for now all the brothers were together.
John pulled the soft blanket closer to himself and rolled over. Turning away from the wall in a half sleeping state. Then his heart stopped, and suddenly he was wide awake.
As his eyes met another set, that stared at him from the other side of his bedroom.
It took a moment of harsh breathing to calm down his pounding heart, before he recognized the person staring at him. A tiny green trolling with blue hair was sitting on his short dresser, just looking at him with warped eyes and a blank face.
“Keith?” John asked, still a little freaked out, “What are you doing?”
Keith didn’t answer and for a moment, John thought that he was going to be murdered very soon.
John Dory had been rather shocked to learn that Branch had acquired another little brother for the family. Maybe even a little upset, and during that fight on Rhonda…let’s just say that John had a lot of regrets, and he was trying hard to accept Keith’s role as Branch’s baby brother. One of Branch’s conditions for staying with him was that they all had to get along with the kid. It was one of the rules that John was going out of his way to follow. Keith was very important to Branch, so John really wanted to get along with the kid.
And from what little John Dory had learned about trolling, he was pretty cool. Sure, the kid had some quirks, but what trolling didn’t?
This though. Sneaking into his room at night? This was weird….and a little creepy. Not that John could say that out loud.
“Keith?” John tried again.
“Go back to sleep,” Keith whispered.
“Uhm…”
“Sleep.”
John having no choice but to comply, just rolled over and somehow managed to pass out again. The eldest brother would wake up the next morning to an empty bedroom and wondered if the encounter had just been a dream.