Trolls 3.0

Meeting Spruce

Vacay Island was a sight to behold.

It was big and loud and colorful, with its saddled flamingos, sunglassed dogs, white sandy beaches, and endless summer sun. But they were not there on a vacation. They were there on a mission. Branch looked around skeptically, trying to tune out the colors and music. "Are you sure he's here?" he asked John Dory.

JD chuckled. "Oh Branch, I know it's been years, but come on, you can't tell me you really forgot what Spruce was like, right?" He nudged Poppy. "He would always try to surf in the pool!"

Poppy giggled. "Seriously? But there's no waves there!"

"I know! Exactly!" JD laughed heartily. "Gotta admit, I don't know for sure if he's here, little bro, but if I'm gonna take a wild guess..." He trailed off when he and the others heard the sound of someone whooping delightedly. John Dory, Branch, and Poppy all turned their heads to the sound, coming from the ocean, and gaped at the sight that they saw.

John Dory pumped his fist. "BINGO!"

And it was bingo indeed. Up on a pale lavender surfboard and riding a huge wave was a purple-haired Troll, his locks flowing in the wind as he rode the wave like a pro, some music that sounded like it belonged in an intro for a 70s TV show playing in the background.

Poppy squealed in excitement.

Branch gasped. Could that really be his brother, Spruce? He looked every bit like a surfer dude, having really tapped into the 'vacay' part of Vacay Island. Branch got his answer when the Troll washed ashore gracefully, shaking himself off of any excess water droplets that clung onto his blue skin and gasped at them. His gaze went right to John Dory first, having instantly recognized his sunglasses that he always toted.

"JD?" he asked, baffled.

"That's riiiight!" John Dory sang out, playfully punching his younger brother on the shoulder. "It's me!"

Spruce was delighted. "Wow! It's great to see you again, bro!"

"Yeah! And you're not gonna believe who I have with me." John Dory stepped aside, allowing Spruce to behold the less-than-enthusiastic Branch.

Spruce beamed, recognition lighting his face. "Bitty B!"

Branch groaned, annoyed. "That is not my name." He grew even more annoyed when Spruce grabbed him with one arm and gave him a noogie with his free hand.

"It is to me!" Spruce laughed, finally releasing Branch. It was then that he noticed the pink Pop queen standing to one side. Spruce's eyes widened, then he turned up the charm, putting on his best grin and smoothing his purple hair back. "Oooo, and who is this lovely Troll?" he asked. In a move that was making Branch furrow his brows more and more by the second, Spruce strutted up to Poppy, took her pink hand in his, brought it up to his lips and kissed it sweetly. "A pleasure to meet you," he said. "Has anybody ever told you that your smile is so bright that it would make the sun turn jealous?"

Poppy could only blink, a breathless chuckle escaping her lips. So, with the Pop Queen speechless, Branch cleared his throat and piped up. "This is Poppy. Queen of the Pop Village... my girlfriend. " He made sure to put emphasis on the word girlfriend . It worked, thankfully for him, and Spruce immediately tensed and backed off, realizing the mistake he'd made.

"Err, right, of course! Because who wouldn't want to be with cute little Bitty B, am I right?" He playfully elbowed Branch, making the Troll groan.

"Once again, NOT MY NAME."

Spruce laughed, then turned his attention to JD. "So what's the news? Why are you guys here? I mean, we haven't seen each other since..." He trailed off, his smile faltering as he recalled what had occurred all those years ago. "Oh... right."

JD gave him a grim look. "I know, I know. But we're going to get the whole band back together, and everything's going to be all right!"

Spruce glanced at him, surprised. "Really?"

"Are you going to join us?" JD asked.

Spruce straightened his black-and-white flowered vest. "Well, BroZone wouldn't exactly be BroZone without me!"

JD laughed. "I beg to differ, BUT we're not getting into that right now. What matters is, you're in!" He high-fived the purple Troll who gladly returned the gesture.

Poppy clapped happily, but Branch was not so enthusiastic. "Who knew that all it takes to resolve the differences that separated us would be a high-five ," he muttered bitterly.

Poppy noticed his behavior and placed a gentle hand on his arm. "Hey," she said softly, "at least they're getting along. It could've been worse," she pointed out. She gave him a small smile, and eventually, he smiled back. In a way she was right. Spruce could have behaved in the defensive way that he himself had when John Dory crashed King Gristle and Bridget's wedding. Or, they could've gone really extreme and fought. But that didn't happen, so that was a good thing. He sighed, watching his two brothers reunite and reminding himself that they still had two brothers to go. Poppy tugged him by the hand when she saw John Dory and Spruce start to make their way back to the caterbus.

"Come on!" she said with excitement, "we still got way more road tripping ahead of us!"

"Oh great," Branch mumbled, secretly looking forward to the psychedelic rainbow waves that his hands would make afterwards.

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A/N: They're totally going to find Spruce on Vacay island - the BroZone site states that he loves surfing and grilling. He's also the 'hearthrob' of the group, which explains his flirtiness.

This fic can actually be paired with my 'Surfin' Spruce' photoshop edit on Tumblr, which has also been included here 😁