Stargazing
Three Years…
Ralph lay back staring up at the stars of Niceland, a pastime he'd spend his entire life practicing. The little 8-bit stars were his only companions all those years he lived alone in the dump.
The stars were reliable; always there for him, and never tossed him aside like the trash he'd lived in. Their happy twinkling comforted him when there was no comfort to be found elsewhere.
He liked the Niceland stars.
Tonight, he gazed up at those same stars, contemplating how his life had changed so drastically in 3 years. He never imagined this was where he'd be sleeping on a roof with his It-colleague, a hardcore space marine, and a hyperactive candy go-kart racer.
Vanellope had suggested a slumber party atop the original apartment building. It wasn't the most convenient place to sleep, but they made the best of it. Felix thought the idea was great, always the party-goer. Calhoun thought it silly, but after admitting the only slumber party she ever attended was with a platoon of heavily armed soldiers sleeping back to back against each other to elude cy-bug attacks, she figured a little lightheartedness never hurt.
After using on a pile of bricks for a bed almost his entire life, Ralph had no problem sleeping anywhere. Besides, the top of the building would bring him closer to the stars.
With several lounge chairs tied together and a thick layer of blankets spread on top, the little family found their spots to sleep. Vanellope had crawled up Ralph's side as if scaling a mountain. He was surprised she didn't plant a flag when she made it to the top. With a smirk his way, she settled down.
Calhoun's head rested against Ralph's side, and a pillow supported her from underneath. Felix snuggled into his wife's side, his arm across her middle as Calhoun's arm wrapped around him.
"No married people lovey dovey junk, got it?" Vanellope warned them, firmly.
"I promise," Calhoun replied, crossing her heart. "Scouts honor."
"What's a scout's honor?" the girl whispered to Ralph, making him chuckle.
They'd talked and joked and laughed as if they'd been inseparable since being plugged in. Then after a while everyone but Ralph slowly fell asleep.
All those years of sadness that led to the anger he carried inside him had boiled out of him to where getting up every day wasn't a chore. Though Ralph found a renewed enjoyment for his job, it was moments like this that he never thought he needed. The recognition from his co-workers, the delicious desserts, and the nice shack he lived in didn't compare to the friendship he'd found.
Ralph understood now that all that stuff couldn't cure loneliness. True, close friends was the only cure, and their mismatched family was the greatest thing that ever happened to him.
He glanced down at the little, dark-haired ball curled up on his chest like a kitten. His hand blanketed her, the gentle rise and fall of her breathing against his palm. He heard Calhoun's murmurs of 'humanity's last hope', and Felix's content sigh as he drew closer to his wife.
Ralph gazed back up at the stars, thankful for the three people who weren't afraid to call him their friend. 30 years was an eternity to wait, but these moments made it all worth it.