Brodacious! A BroZone Oneshot Collection

The Vesting

A/N: Taking place before TBT

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The room was dark.

Floyd tried squinting, trying to adjust his eyes to make anything out, when all of a sudden, he was blinded by a bright light. He yelped and stepped back a little, the shine of the glowbug that had been lit startling him for just a second as it helped illuminate his surroundings. There, contrasted with the sharp light were his three older brothers standing across from him. John Dory was in the middle, holding the glowbug in his hands right under his face, as though he were holding a flashlight and about to tell a spooky story. Spruce was to his left and Clay was to his right. Floyd in the meantime stood there, uncertain of what was happening.

John Dory narrowed his eyes, and then suddenly began speaking in a deep, mysterious voice.

"We've gathered here today to undergo the most revered of ceremonies...."

Then, JD reached into his pocket and thrust a paper into Floyd's hands. The magenta-haired Trolling, growing even more confused by the minute, gave a meek little "Huh?"

"Go on, read it!" John Dory urged.

Floyd looked down and skimmed through the words first, his brows furrowing. "Is this an oath?"

JD rolled his eyes. "No dude, a BROath," he corrected.

"Which is pretty much like an oath," Spruce clarified.

"Only 'better'!" Clay added, making the word better with airquotes.

"Well it is," JD said. He nudged Floyd. "Go ahead, dude, read it!"

Floyd shrugged. He may as well. He looked down at the page silently. He was only able to catch the first couple of sentences when the sound of a throat clearing made him stop. Floyd jerked his head up to find JD glaring down at him.

"Out loud."

Floyd blushed. Whoops. After mumbling an apology, he cleared his throat and, as instructed, began to read the words on the page aloud. Or, as the title at the top was written, the 'BroZone Credo.'

"' 1) Family is numero uno. As fun as performing is, I promise to put bros before shows every time. 2) All bros are made equal, but we are not all the same. We have different colors, sizes, shapes and ages. I won't judge my bro by his taste in music, but by his character. 3) A bro is not afraid to admit when he's scared. When I am, I promise to confide in my bros and summon the Pop Power of all the brodacious superstars that came before us so that we can use all the love, all the smarts, and all the bravery we got to accomplish the ultimate Family Harmony. 4) All bros can make mistakes. I will admit when I'm wrong and work at it to make things right again. 5) Bros were born to sing. I promise to share my talents with others and not keep them all to myself. To earn my spot – '"

"Ooh, wait, wait, wait!" John Dory interrupted, waving his hands. "Stop there for a sec. You gotta raise your right hand now!"

"What?" Floyd shot a glance at Spruce and Clay. In return, they gave him a look that communicated Dude, we did this too. The magenta-haired Trolling shrugged and raised his right hand.

"Okay, good," JD said. "Now you can keep reading."

So Floyd did. "'To earn my spot within this band, I solemnly swear to uphold this oath – I mean, BROath – and honor it for the sake of my family.'"

"Forever?" JD asked him.

Floyd looked up from his paper and gave a small nod. "Forever."

The BroZone leader smiled. "Good." Then he snapped his fingers. "Spruce! Clay! Grab the item," he commanded. The purple and yellow Trollings went off, and JD turned his attention to Floyd. "Floyd, arms up and eyes closed!"

By this point in the initiation, Floyd was still a little confused, but he'd learned to just go with it. He did as told (hoping he didn't look too silly in his T-pose), and waited to see – or rather, hear – what was happening next. He heard some shuffling next to him, and then felt something being placed at his arms. Floyd began to open an eye, hoping to see what was going on, but he instantly shut it again at JD's shout.

"Hey! No peeking!"

As the something was continued to be adjusted on his arms and then against his body, JD spoke.

"By the totally brodacious power invested in me – with an emphasis on the vest" – he paused to laugh at his own joke (one that Floyd was about to understand in just a few moments) – "I now pronounce you an official member of BroZone!!" He whooped and then clapped his hands. "Alright, now open 'em up!"

Floyd blinked, and then looked down and gasped. A smile grew on his face as he beheld the elegant, magenta, polyester puffy jacket of a vest that was on him. It was pristine and brand new, fresh and perfectly form-fitting. It went with his hair, as each of his brothers' vests did, and he didn't need a mirror to know that it made him look, as John Dory would put it, totally brodacious! He turned this way and that, appreciating it no matter what angle he viewed it.

"Welcome to the band, little bro!" John Dory exclaimed. Spruce and Clay added in their own "Woo-hoo!"s and "You got it!"s to the chorus.

"Awww, well thanks you guys... thank you so much!" Floyd cooed, beginning to sniffle. The brothers already recognized the signs of oncoming tears, but didn't badger the little guy about it. Classic Floyd always cried, but he had reason for his happy tears. This was a big moment! Another bro had just joined in on their special pact, and they were going to only continue to live up to their full potential. Before JD could help it, he thrust his hand out in front of him. Spruce recognized the motion and placed his hand on top of his, and then Clay on top of Spruce's. Last but not least, Floyd still with tear-stained cheeks, placed his hand on Clay's. They threw their hands up in the air together and chanted out.

"IT'S BRO-TIME!!"

Laughs and brotherly pats on the back followed... as well as an authoritative female voice from just the other room.

"No, it's BEDtime," the voice of their Grandma Rosiepuff called out, just before she appeared at the doorway of their room with her arms crossed. "Boys," she continued, giving them a stern look. "Do you know how late it is?"

Groans came from the Trollings. "But Grandmaaa," John Dory whined. "We were doing The Vesting!"

Grandma Rosiepuff snickered. She had seen JD do this special little ceremony of his for Spruce and then Clay when they were younger. JD pushed Floyd forward and beamed up at her. "See? Check out how he's flexin' the drip now! Pretty sweet, huh?"

Floyd looked up at their grandmother hopefully, his eyes shining. Grandma Rosiepuff smiled down at him. "It is 'sweet,' dear," she said.

Floyd blushed while JD pumped his fists and Spruce and Clay high-fived.

"But do you know what else is 'sweet'?" Grandma Rosiepuff continued. "Dreams." She pointed a finger to the beds and the boys sighed, knowing that she was right. One by one, they slipped out of their vests and hung them at their bedposts (Floyd taking one more minute to admire his before he too did as his brothers had), and then they slipped into bed. Grandma Rosiepuff then made her rounds to each brother, helping to tuck them in. When she was finished, she turned off the glowbug and allowed it to flitter out the window.

"Good night," she whispered to them.

And "G'night!" came the response of the four band members she was proud to call her grandsons.