A/N: A one-shot based on the following headcanon from wir-headcanons on tumblr.
Headcanon #1273: Baby Mine
Once when Vanellope came into Ralph's house after she had a nightmare, Ralph held her and rocked her singing 'Baby Mine' until she fell asleep again. Headcanon from: saziskylion
A funny snuffling sound drew Ralph from a deep sleep. He rubbed at his face with one huge hand before peering into the dark, eyes adjusting to the low light. At the foot of his bed was a tiny shape, sniffling quietly in the dark.
"Vanellope?"
As soon as his voice broke the silence the little girl scrambled up onto the bed and leapt onto him, burying her face in the space between his neck and shoulder, clinging to him fiercely. She was still dressed in her pajamas, her messy hair free of its usual ponytail and adornments. He placed a huge hand on her back to reassure her, it nearly covered her entirely.
"Hey kiddo, what's wrong?" he paused and heard only her quiet sobbing. "Are you hurt?"
She shook her head and pulled her face back to look at him, sliding down to sit in the palm of his hand. Wiping at her nose with one sleeve she finally spoke, her voice cut out here and there as she tried to get her crying under control.
"I h-had a nightmare." She finally managed; her big brown eyes were luminous in the dark, so full of fear.
Ralph opened his mouth to reassure her but before he could she began frantically babbling the contents of her dream.
"The Cybugs- Felix and Cal- A-a-and they couldn't… and I couldn't…a-and you were…a-and I didn't make it…"
"Shhhhh slow down kid, everything's ok now, it was just a dream." He reassured her, stroking her head with one huge finger.
Her eyes went impossibly wide as she choked out the last bit.
"I wasn't fast enough!" she cried out, launching herself against his shoulder to bury her face there once more.
Ralph put a hand against her to hold her close, he could feel her little body shaking with deep sobs, her wet tears falling onto his neck.
"Hey kiddo, it's ok…We're all ok." he did his best to clumsily pat her back. "C'mon kid, you know I'm no good at this stuff…"
She slid down from his shoulder to rest in the crook of his arm, looking up at him with those huge eyes, tears streaming down her face. The wrecker was completely at a loss for what to do but began rocking the little girl gently to try to soothe her. From somewhere in his mind an old lullaby surfaced and without knowing why, he began to sing to her. Surprisingly his voice lost all of its gruffness, becoming smooth and gentle.
Ralph expected her to yell at him for treating her like a baby but instead her crying slowed, she seemed almost in awe of him. So he continued to rock her gently and sing to her until her crying was replaced with sniffling hiccups and eventually her eyes drifted shut. He held her for a while, unsure what to do now that she had calmed down.
"Uhm, Vanellope?" he whispered, making her stir slightly and peer up at him through sleepy eyes.
"Aren't cha gonna call me a diaper baby?" she asked, her head drooping, somewhat ashamed of herself.
"No, Kid, you're not a diaper baby." He tipped her chin up and gave her a soft smile, "That's me remember?"
She gave him a small smile in return, sniffling a little.
"Shouldn't I get you home?" he asked.
She shook her head and wriggled out of his arm, crawling onto his huge pillow where she curled up like a kitten.
"Just don't crush me in your sleep." She mumbled, nestling into the pillow.
Ralph lay back down, his head resting next to her. Vanellope wriggled a little closer to him; one of her hands wound its way into his hair, as if to reassure her that he was there.
"And Stinkbrain?"
"Yes President Fartfeathers?"
"Thanks."
"C'mon, c'mon! Wake up!" Vanellope cried out, jumping up and down on his stomach.
Ralph sat up groggily, making her tumble down onto the bed.
"Whadda want kid? It's Sunday, the arcade doesn't open till noon."
"I know that!" she replied, crossing her arms haughtily for a moment before her expression softened. "I wanted to see Felix and Sarge."
"Oh." He replied, realizing she wanted some peace of mind after her nightmare. "Alright. How're you doing?"
She gave him a thumbs up.
"Never better! And I managed not to be killed by your morning breath." She scrunched up her face and plucked at her hair. "It didn't melt my hair, did it?"
Ralph glared at her a little and shoo'd her off the bed.
"Har har har, let's get going." He stood and stretched before swinging her up onto his shoulder.
As they headed out the door she glanced down at what he was wearing and tugged at his ear.
"You sleep in your clothes?" she asked incredulously. "You really are a hobo."
He rolled his eyes.
"Kid I didn't even have a bed up until a little while ago, let alone pajamas."
"Well than I'll get you some." She said finally. "With bricks on them…and smashed up stuff."
Ralph shook his head slightly and walked up the path to Felix's house, knocking on the door as gently as he could so as not to break it.
Felix opened the door, already dressed with his hair neatly parted as always. In a flash Vanellope flew down from Ralph's shoulder to tackle the little handyman in a fierce hug, knocking the wind out of him.
"Oh my land!" he said, staggering back a little to catch his balance before hugging her back. "Well good morning Vanellope!"
The door opened a little wider and Calhoun appeared, her hair a little mussed, still dressed her sweats and tank top.
"What's all the racket about?"
Upon hearing the sergeant's voice Vanellope released Felix and leapt up to hug Tamora around the neck.
"Calhoun!" she cried happily as the woman embraced her.
"Well good morning to you too little soldier." The older woman replied before setting Vanellope down.
"What can I do for you this morning?" Felix asked the pair.
"Well Vanellope just wanted to-" Ralph began.
"Pancakes!" the racer squealed, running into the house happily, heading toward the kitchen.
The wrecker gave a little shrug. "I guess we're here for breakfast?" he gave the handyman an apologetic look but Felix just grinned back.
"Why that sounds wonderful Brother! C'mon in!"
They all settled down into the kitchen and Felix set about mixing up the pancake batter.
"C'mere Speed Demon," Tamora called to Vanellope, motioning her over. "How about we fix that rat's nest?"
Vanellope obediently crawled up into Calhoun's lap and let her brush out her tangled hair. Ralph was always amazed at how Vanellope would instantly agree to whatever the sergeant asked of her; she really admired the older woman.
Felix poured the first pancake out and after it cooked a few moments he flipped it expertly up into the air to land back in the pan with a sizzle. Vanellope's eyes went wide and she jumped down from Calhoun's lap to dance around Felix.
"Oh please, oh please, oh please! Show me how to do that!" she begged, jumping excitedly from foot to foot.
"Wellll…" Felix hesitated but immediately gave in when she turned the puppy dog eyes on him. "Alright."
He poured a little batter into the pan and waited till the one side was cooked.
"Now be careful, remember the pan is hot." He said, letting her take the handle.
"Ga'doy!" she replied and began rocking the pan like he showed her, the pancake sliding around.
"Now you just have to gently-"
Before he could finish, the little girl swung the pan up with all her might, causing the pancake to fly impossibly high before sticking to the ceiling.
"Whoops." She said sheepishly before setting the pan back on the stove.
Calhoun tried to hide her smile as she handed Vanellope a bag of chocolate chips.
"Hey little monster, how about you put these on instead?" she offered.
Vanellope excitedly snatched up the bag.
"I can do that!" she chirped happily.
They finished making the pancakes (and also removing one from the ceiling) and sat down at the table to eat. Vanellope upended nearly the entire bottle of syrup onto her pancakes before digging in.
"Slow down a little, Kid. It's not going anywhere." Ralph teased, tugging on her plate.
Vanellope pulled her plate back and bit into a pancake with a little growl before swiping food off of the wrecker's plate. She looked up at him, eyes full of laughter, daring him to try and take it back.
Ralph shook his head and continued eating; the four of them talked happily for a while until it grew late.
Tamora stood up from the table, putting her dishes in the sink, ruffling Felix's hair as she walked by.
"Want me to take you back to your game, President Toothache?" she offered.
Surprisingly Vanellope hesitated before glancing at Ralph hopefully.
"Actually I was going to take her back, Sarge." The wrecker replied, reaching down to pull the little girl onto his shoulder. "Thanks for breakfast and everything."
He shook his shoulder to remind Vanellope of her manners.
"Oh! Thanks for the food!" she chirped, grinning happily from her perch.
"No problem at all," Felix replied with a warm smile, "have a safe trip back!"
"Sure thing," Ralph replied, turning to go. "see you in a bit."
As the wrecker walked them back to Sugar Rush, Vanellope tugged at his hair.
"Hmmm?"
The little girl looked around to make sure no one was near before leaning in to whisper in his ear.
"Can I come over again sometime? If I…I mean if you get scared and want me to protect you or whatever." She straightened up and looked at him with a teasing grin. "Since you are such a diaper baby after all."
"Sure thing, you can come over whenever you, I mean, whenever I get scared."
The little girl ruffled his hair and smiled back warmly.
"Thanks Doofus."