Trolls 3.0

Father and Daughter

A/N: Requested by mariesme on Tumblr 🙂

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"How is it possible that my little girl is already going to get married?"

Poppy grinned at the recognizably kind voice of her father before she even turned around to see him. Her smile grew wider when she saw him approaching her with outspread arms, his face beaming.

"Dad!"

She threw her arms around him for a loving embrace that he easily returned.

"I'm so proud of you, sweetheart," Peppy cooed to her, and looked deeply into her fuschia eyes when they parted. "A queen by herself is wise and strong, but with the right partner, she can rule even more wonderfully than before. And I must say, I think you've absolutely found the right partner." He winked at Poppy, and then looked behind her where her fiance was standing a few paces away.

"Branch," he called kindly, waving him over. "Would you come?"

"Yes, sir," the blue Troll politely responded, being welcomed into the intimate bubble that father and daughter had created.

Peppy put a hand on his shoulder and spoke. "My boy, I couldn't ask for anyone more suitable to succeed in becoming the next King of Pop Village," he said. "It's a big responsibility, but there's no need to worry. I know that you'll do a great job, having my daughter by your side." He looked between Branch and Poppy, grinning. "You two are perfect for each other. Just perfect!"

Poppy giggled, taking Branch's hand in hers, and the blue Troll bowed his head to Peppy. "Thank you, sir. That means a lot to me."

"Of course, Branch," Peppy responded. "And please, drop the 'sir.' Call me Dad!"

"Oh! Um, sure, um, Dad," Branch replied, a little awkwardly. It was going to take him a little bit to get used to the moniker, but he would, in time. Next to him, Poppy giggled again, and gave his hand a fond little squeeze. He peered down at her, and Poppy could see a little sparkle in his eyes that made her want to close that gap between them and kiss him again. But, she held back for now. She feared if she let herself succumb to one quick peck, she wouldn't be able to stop, and they'd soon be getting into another borderline make-out session as they'd had just moments ago when he'd proposed. Luckily, she had a distraction.

Movement caught Poppy's eye from behind her father, and she saw someone making their way upon the stage. That someone, she recognized with much joy, was her sister Viva, who was carefully tiptoeing her way towards them so to not stir Peppy's attention.

Poppy shared a quick glance with Branch, and she could read the question that came up in her fiance's eyes.

Are you going to tell him now?

Poppy gave a short nod in response. Her dad should know.

She let go of Branch and clasped her hands together. "Hey, um, Dad?"

"Yes?"

"There's something I need to tell you about the trip that we went on."

"Oh? What's that, sweetheart?"

Poppy chuckled to herself, thinking about a tame way to word it. "Well, you see, um, while we were looking for the brothers, we kinda ran into someone else we didn't expect.

"Really?" Peppy looked curious. "Who would that be?"

Poppy gestured behind him, and Peppy slowly turned around. It was a good thing he did. Had he turned around any faster, then the sight that met him would have surely made him fall backwards to the ground in shock. Still, the former king did react strongly. He gasped, as though he'd seen a ghost, and took several steps back, balancing himself on the cane, and having Poppy steady him.

"Whoa, whoa, Dad! It's all right!" she said.

"Um... hi," Viva - who'd suddenly felt bad for spooking Peppy and decided to tone down the cheery greeting to something more mellow - said.

Peppy's heart was thrumming so loudly within him that he could hear it taking up all the sound in his ears. "Wh-who... who are you?" he managed to gasp out.

"I'm the queen of a town called Putt Putt Village, some distance away from here," Viva said, doing a little curtsey. "And my name is Viva."

Peppy felt his eyes water. Right away, he'd known it was her, his daughter, even before she'd introduced herself. She looked nearly identical to the way she and Poppy's mother had looked, and for a quick second he'd been fooled into thinking it was her. But his brain, even though it was older, had worked at rationalizing it all. Their mother would have been nearing his same age right about now, if she were alive.

"My daughter..." he whispered, and Viva responded with a shy nod. He laughed through his tears. "My daughter!"

"Daddy!" Viva chirped girlishly, and went in for the hug once she saw that Peppy had opened his arms out to her.

Peppy held her for a long time, sobbing to himself and overwhelmed.

"Please tell me this is real," he muffled into her shoulder. "Please tell me this is not all a dream!"'

"It's not a dream, trust me," Viva wavered back at him, feeling herself get emotional.

"But how? How are you here? And your mother... is she?" Peppy managed to pull himself away just enough to look into her eyes hopefully.

But Viva shook her head sadly. "She didn't make it... But a lot of us that day managed to escape the Trollstice. And they raised me, away from Bergen Town..." She could get into the more finite details later, but for Peppy it was enough of an explanation for the time being. He sobbed again and held her tight, Viva letting herself relish the feel of finally being able to reunite with more of her family.

Unable to help herself, Poppy approached them, and was pleased to find that both Viva and Peppy pulled her right into the hug. Their family was as complete as it could be.

"Oh, I'm so sorry. So, so sorry," Peppy croaked, holding both girls back so he could properly look at them. "I'm awfully sorry, to both of you. I've been a terrible father. Viva, I couldn't even save you or your mother from being taken by the Chef!"

"Dad, come on, I forgive you!" Viva said reassuringly. "It wasn't your fault. That's just the way things were back then. But luckily, they aren't like that now, so I heard."

"No, they're not, thank goodness," Peppy confirmed, glad that the Bergens were their allies and not their enemies. But the smile that had begun to come on his face faltered a little when he glanced over at his other daughter. "Oh, Poppy," he mumbled. "I'm so sorry I didn't tell you a lot sooner. It was so hard for me to find a way to tell you that didn't make that pretty little smile of yours disappear..." He hung his head.

"Dad, I accept your apology, and also forgive you," Poppy stated confidently. "You're not a terrible father. But you gotta understand, I'm not a little girl anymore. I know that some things in life aren't always easy or even that happy all the time. And I can handle it, okay?" She smiled at him, and he smiled back, relieved.

"Oh, thank you," he said tearfully.

"No problem!" Poppy chirped. "But..." She stared pointedly at him. "Are there any other secrets you wanna tell me about?"

Peppy laughed out loud at that. "No, darling, I promise!"

And he continued laughing, cuddling his daughters close - happy to be with them, and the two of them happy to be with him.