Greetings, fellow Wreckers! samuraistar's the name, fangirling is the game! If you check out my profile, you'll see I've been here for a long, LONG time (10 years). I recently got a copy of Wreck-It Ralph on DVD and naturally, I was hooked immediately. Yes, it took me two years to catch onto the fandom, but I'm here now and I'm here to stay!
And yes: I ship the CRAP out of Hero's Cuties! Felix and Calhoun are the most adorable couple! This started out as a one-shot but it quickly got away from me and has turned into one major fluff fest, so if you can't handle the sugar, then leave the room and brush your teeth! This is all about the It Family, mostly Hero's Cuties!
Please regard me kindly in your reviews! And just to introduce you to a bit of my style, I include quotes in all my chapters. The ones you see here will be (mostly) from songs I have on a playlist specifically dedicated to Hero's Cuties.
"I don't want to mess this thing up; I don't want to push too far." – Lady Antebellum, Just A Kiss
Chapter 1: A Gentleman and His Lady
About a million thoughts and emotions went through Felix's head as he stared wide-eyed at the woman on his doorstep: Surprise that she'd shown up at all (and with a duffel bag), ecstasy to see her again, worry that there was something wrong, and hope that no one would pop up and spoil the moment before he even knew what was going on. His fingers twitched with the urge to whip his hat off, but he remembered he wasn't wearing it or his gloves.
"Miss Calhoun!" he blurted profusely, "Good evening! What, uh…what brings you here?" He would have invited her inside, but the ceiling height of an apartment belonging to a man who barely stood 4' 0" was neither very accommodating nor very comfortable for a woman who was almost 8 feet tall.
"Look," she sighed, looking equally embarrassed, "I know what you must be thinking and I know this is awkward, but let me make this clear: I'm not drunk, I'm not crazy, and I'm not here to hit on you." That last one set Felix's cheeks on fire and he was positive he saw the faintest hint of pink in hers. "It's just…my apartment's being checked for cy-bugs and it's an all-night process. It's kind of like fumigation, only it doesn't take as long. I was just wondering if…if you had a couch I could crash on for tonight."
"Of course," he said compassionately, "That is…if you don't mind that…Ralph is coming later…possibly with Vanellope."
"Possibly?" she repeated.
"Well, you know," he shrugged awkwardly, "Ralph has her over a lot; he even built her a room in his house! She's like Sciatica: She comes and goes." Calhoun chuckled.
"That actually doesn't sound too bad," she half-smiled.
"Great!" he brightened up, "But, um, let's go up to the penthouse. It's taller and more spacious." Fortunately, he still had his keys in his pocket; he quickly grabbed his hat and gloves and locked his door behind him.
One floor and one awkward elevator ride later, he ushered her in to the empty yet well-furnished penthouse. Gene had given him the extra key and allowed him to use the place whenever he wished. Calhoun whistled a low appreciative note.
"Nice place you got here," she said as she looked the place over. There was a plasma screen in the wall where the ice sculpture had been, across from which was the most perfect-looking sofa she'd ever seen.
"Thanks," he said, "No one actually lives here; we just use it for parties—and of course, guests. So…you, uh…make yourself at home and…I'll just call Ralph and tell him where we are! Be right back!" And he zipped down the hallway, leaving an amused Sgt. Calhoun in the living room.
Felix's poor little heart was pumping harder than his near-death experience in Hero's Duty as he grabbed the phone in the Master Bedroom.
"C'mon, c'mon, c'mon," he muttered as he dialed furiously and bobbed on his feet for ten agonizing seconds before Ralph picked up.
"Ralph!" he hissed, "It's me, Felix!"
"Felix?" Ralph repeated, "Why are you whispering?"
"Listen to me." Felix cupped the mouthpiece. "I need you to come upstairs to the penthouse right now."
"What?" Ralph was perplexed. "But I've got the kid here tonight!"
"Well, great! Bring her with you!" Felix insisted, "We'll order pizza and root beer! Tell her it's a sleepover! (…) Why? Because Sgt. Calhoun's here with me and I can't be left alone with her!"
"What?" Ralph sounded incredulous. "Are you telling me you're scared of her now after all you've been through together?"
"I'm not scared of her, Ralph, I'm scared of me!" Felix spread his free hand on the bedside table with his eyes pinched shut. "I've never felt this way before. I'm in love with this woman—have been since I first laid eyes on her. Now she's right here, in my game, in my building! She's so close I can reach out and touch her and I'm pretty sure she'd let me! Ralph…We have something good starting between us and I don't want to mess it up! I want her to feel comfortable enough to keep coming back. I want her…" He ran his hand through his hair with a sigh. "I want her to feel safe."
"Around you?" said Ralph, "Felix, she couldn't be safer around you if the place was padded! You couldn't take advantage of her if you wanted to!"
"I know, I know," Felix waved off, "I just want to decrease the risk. Now will you please help me out?"
"All right, all right," Ralph said, "We'll be over ASAP. Don't worry about it."
"Thank you," Felix sighed in relief, "I'll order us some pizza."
"Okay, cool," said Ralph, "See you in a bit." Ralph hung up and massaged the bridge of his nose. "Ay-yi-yi…"
"Hey, Ralphie! Who was that on the phone?" Vanellope called from the living room. Ralph immediately brightened up.
"Oh, that was Felix!" he smiled, "He invited us up to the penthouse for a pizza party/sleepover! What do you say?"
"Pizza? Oh, heck yeah!" she piped, "Let me pack my bag!"
Felix hung up the phone after calling Pizza Ghost and came back down the hallway. He was just thinking he might offer the Sergeant the Master Bedroom instead of the couch when he saw her sitting at the bar counter…
Hanging up the extension!
"So," she smirked, "you don't trust yourself around me, huh, short stack?"
In half a second his hat was in his fidgety hands and his red face was speaking the volumes of words he was struggling to find.
"Um…" he stammered with that painfully awkward expression of his, "How, uh…H-how much of that did you hear?"
"I came in on you wanting me to feel safe," she answered wryly as she pushed out a bar stool for him, "You're quite the gentleman, Mr. Fix-It."
"Not really, ma'am," he shook his head and hopped up on the seat, "I just come from old code. I don't want you to worry that I'm going to…make a move on you." The Honeyglow spread to his ears and this time, he definitely saw pink in her cheeks.
"And you're not worried at all what your neighbors would say?" she asked with a raised eyebrow.
"About me? No," he answered honestly, "I've always had a good rapport here and nobody would ever think that about me." He looked her in the eyes. "But they don't know you, ma'am, and as much as I like my neighbors, Niceland is as tightly knit as a beehive and every neighborhood has its gossips. I don't care what anyone says about me, but I don't want anything false being said about you."
Had any man but Felix said that, Calhoun wouldn't have believed a word of it, but she knew enough of his honesty that she could tell he meant it.
"To tell you the truth," she said, "I was worried about your reputation. I only came here because I had nowhere else to go. And…" She half-smiled sheepishly. "Even if you don't trust you, I do."
"Thank you," he smiled, "but since I don't, we'll both have to trust Ralph and Vanellope!"
"Fair enough," she chuckled, "I like Vanellope. And I'm sure Wreck-It will keep you out of trouble." She gently poked him in the chest. "And Vanellope will keep me out of trouble," she added quickly. Felix's eyes flew wide and he stared at her and her adorably red face perched on her fist. She glanced at him and shrugged a shoulder.
"What can I say?" she said, "You're a good kisser."
Ding-Dong!
"I don't smell any pizza in there!" Vanellope called through the door. Felix and Calhoun both laughed a bit.
"Saved by the bell!" said Felix as he hopped down to answer the door.
Author's Review:
I don't want y'all to think that I'm making Felix out to be some kind of a pervert; matter of fact, it's just the opposite. He doesn't want to be tempted to do anything untoward to Calhoun and as any of you men would know, it's kind of hard to be tempted when there's a child in the room, especially one like Vanellope!
Plus, there's a sense of propriety here that I think our generation has either forgotten or pushed aside in favor of the YOLO movement. Felix's sense of old-fashioned chivalry is an excellent reminder to us whipper-snappers that yes, there is a right way and a wrong way to do things, especially when you're in love with someone as traumatized as Sgt. Calhoun. She's the last person that should have to think about things like that and Felix, being the sweetheart that he is, wants to relieve her of as many of her burdens as possible, even the superficial ones. That's what I'm getting at here and that's what I hope you'll take away from this (if you're even reading this Review).
By the way, I'm not using her first name until the last chapter or so. I'm not sure why, that's just how it's working.
