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The water’s surface was a breathing mirror, shivering with light as the cerulean night sky layered onto the slow ripples of the tide, creating a gorgeous shimmering effect onto each splash.
It should be the best environment for any techno troll to sleep in, and it was. The only sound you could hear in the whole reef were soft snores and the slow flowing of water throughout the tribe. Everyone was fast asleep.
All but one.
King Trollex laid irked in his cocoon, irritated at the fact he still couldn’t sleep after so many hours. Why could he never have a full night's sleep?! As he laid stiff in bed, his mind began to wander, thinking about anything and everything, until eventually landing on John.
His eyes furrowed in thought, an idea forming in his mind.
Well, it wouldn’t hurt to just try..
Finally, after hours of sleeping attempts, the techno troll finally gave up and swam out of his cocoon, slowly but surely making his way to the surface, using glowbugs to maneuver through the sleeping reef.
Trollex eventually emerged from the salty waters, the cool air giving his scales a tingly feeling. He knew he couldn’t be out here for too long, but to be honest, he didn’t really care as much as he should’ve. He needed to find John.
When Trollex finally wiped the remaining water from his eyes, his fluorescent green eyes met sparkling blue ones.
“John?!” Trollex yelped.
“Trollex! Whaddya doin out here?” John Dory said blithely.
“Looking for you! What are you doing out here!?”
“Looking for you!”
Trollex slapped his hand to his face, a wide grin forming.”Of course, I shouldn't have expected anything less than you.”
John Dory chucked, and positioned himself to be cross legged, scooting closer to the water. Trollex also leaned closer, propping his arms onto the shore, his bottom half still submerged in the water. The bioluminescence from Trollex slightly lights John’s face in a teal-ish tone.
It stayed silent for a moment, until John let out a sputtered cough.”Uh–uhm, so what are you doing up so late..?” He wondered.
Trollex put on a slightly pained expression.”Uh, couldn’t sleep..my mind was racing..you?”
John also took on the same expression.”I dunno.. I’m used to sleeping alone, but ever since my brothers and I reunited, it's been kinda…” John waved his hands around.
“...Hard..? because of the sound?” Trollex finished.
“...Yeah..It feels so wrong thinking like that, y’know? I shouldn’t wanna be away with them.. If anything I should spend more time with them..” John let out a strangled sigh.
“I see where you’re coming from, but then again, you shouldn’t force yourself to change so fast.. It’s been twenty years of you sleeping in complete silence for flippers sake..! Instead of fighting this alone, you can maybe voice this out to your brothers.. So they don’t misinterpret it?” Trollex explained.
“Oh..” John muttered. A brief lull in the conversation allowed Trollex to continue the conversation.
“I’m used to the hum of the reef though, makes me feel like I don't have all these responsibilities and I'm just..me.”
“What does it sound like?” John asked.
“It's like..a lullaby you can feel inside you rather than hear.”
John chuckled softly.”Hm, guess I already know what it's like then,” Confused, Trollex tilted his head to the side in lieu of asking why.
“It sounds to me you’re describing yourself.”
Trollex let out a stifled squeak in response, his lips tightening, and his eyebrows knit tightly together.
“Y’know,” John started. “it’s crazy…how opposite we are,”
“Hm?” Trollex perked up.
“I mean, you live in water, and I live on land… you’re a leader and I'm not.. You can handle stuff and I.. can’t..” He trailed off.
“Hey.. you’re not as ‘useless’ as you believe you are.. You’ve done stuff that I couldn't even start to think about..”
“Yeah, name one,” He said halfheartedly.
“..You managed to look for your brothers, and went on a several day mission across completely new lands and risked your life several times for them.” Trollex ranted.
“It wasn't that big of a deal…”
Trollex’s jaw dropped.”It very much is a big of a deal! You were the talk in the reef for weeks!”
“Really?”
“Yes! Couldn’t go a day without hearing about ya!” Trollex chuckled.
“Huh,”
A slow quiet fell over the scene, the only sounds coming from the slow splashes of the sea and the soft humming coming from the techno troll.
Before they knew it, the sea began to shimmer to gold as the sunrises’ rays hit the water, the bird beginning to chirp and the world getting ready for the next day.
John took in his surroundings, and whispered softly, “..Guess we stayed up all night, huh?”
Trollex sat up a bit more, a small smile tugging on his lips. “Guess I didn’t have to sleep after all,”
John chuckled,”You’re trouble, you know that?” He slowly stood up, quietly stretching his muscles.
“Hm, here I was thinking you like trouble,” Trollex sneered, earning a flushed face from the pop troll. Trollex’s grin slightly faltered. “Well, i have to go… back down,”
John solemnly nodded, watching the techno troll swim back down, his eyes soft but heart swelling with love.
When the final splash finished, John finally whispered to himself, “Yeah, I really do like trouble,”