AN: This one's been in the works for a long while, so I hope you all enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Wreck It Ralph.
Shuddering as he tightened the thin blanket around himself, Felix sighed as he watched the characters around him do the same, huddled into groups in an attempt to keep warm. Frowning as one of the younger children still continued to shiver, despite having been placed into the middle of a huddle of Nicelanders that were doing their best to keep the poor dear warm, he clenched his teeth into a smile and loosened his grip, allowing the cloth to slide into his hands as he weaved his way through the herd. Excusing himself until Mary and Diana had moved just enough for him to reach the boy, Felix carefully wrapped the blanket around him, his hands rubbing the young boys' back until his trembling had come to an end.
"But Felix, dear, what about you?"
"I'll be fine, Mary," Felix said gently as Larry picked the boy up into his arms, making sure to keep him fully wrapped as the Nicelanders began to migrate over toward the sleeping areas, their turn at keeping watch finally over. "Go get some sleep; I'll come and join everyone else once Tammy's back."
"Don't make yourself sick, Felix," Mary said, her hand coming to rest for a moment on Felix's arm before she forced her own blanket into his arms, her last comment thrown over her shoulder as she hurried away before he could force her to take it back. "You know everyone looks up to you, dear, and without you and the others, we'd have been lost long ago."
Nodding and giving her a small grin in return for her compliment, Felix bit back the curses that he could feel forming on his tongue, instead turning his attention toward the cold beam of light that he and his friends had just been looking after, their keen eyes peeled for any sign of the trading party they had sent out so long ago. Already he could hear the sounds of the third shift making their way out onto the ledge, leaving their cozy homes that had been carved into the line itself to face the bitter wind and do their duty for the good of them all. Nodding politely as they greeted him, the oldest one there and the accepted leader of their 'town,' Felix had to bite his cheek to keep the words he wanted to say tucked away, lest he make a fool of himself.
Litwak's Family Center had finally closed. Fearing death, they had all taken to the Grid, banding together by game type and generation before splitting ways, trying to find a way to survive in their new, hard world. Surprisingly to him, most of Tamora's men and all of the Sugar Rush Racers had agreed to join them, the smaller, eight-bit games that wouldn't have lasted a day without their help, and had been the ones that had managed to find their ledge. A small imperfection in the covering of the wires, imperceptible to the player's eye, it had become their home, a thriving, peaceful city that had looked toward him, Tamora, Ralph, Vanellope, and Zangief to lead them.
Of course, with peace came war, and thus the look outs while their main military force was traveling through the wires to trade the goods they had managed to make for the things they would need in the coming months.
"I miz dem too, you know."
"Zangief," Felix greeted with a nod, his smile real as he turned to look up at the wrestler. When the games had split, Zangief had decided to join them, leaving the companionship of his old comrades to follow the wrecker that had stolen his heart long before their plugs had been pulled. He had become a good friend over the years, and Felix was glad for his company. "I hadn't realized you were scheduled for this shift."
"And I know for a fact dat your shift was three days ago, little fixer, when de trading party left." Reaching down to gently pat Felix's shoulder, Zangief sighed as he sat down next to the handyman, arranging himself so that his bad knee was straight. Glancing over, Felix couldn't help but wince as he took in the knotted scar that covered the joint, one of the first injuries that his hammer had failed to fix. Things were different outside of the Game Central Station, they had quickly learned, and not even a golden magic hammer could fix everything. "We are both worried, no? You for your wife, me for my Ralph. Ze little princess is worried too, but I made her stay inside. Her own shift will be bad enough if dey are not back soon."
"I'm sorry, Zangief," Felix said after a few moments, mentioning toward the wrestler's leg. "I'm sorry I couldn't fix you, so you could go with them."
"Do not mention it," Zangief replied, shrugging his shoulders at Felix's apology. "I am just glad dat you were able to save my leg. Dis way I am at least of use to you and de others, even if I can't go on trading journeys through de Grid. De only ding I am missing is seeing my old game mates, and does bastards can come see me whenever dey want." Laughing good naturedly as Felix winced at his use of profanity, Zangief once again clapped him on the shoulder, shaking him slightly in an attempt to loosen him up. "Relax, fixer. Dey have been gone for three days. We knew dat dis journey would take at least dis long, longer if dat pretty little wife of yours has trouble settling on deal. Do not worry. Worry when we reach day five."
"I guess you're right, aren't you," Felix asked, perking up a bit at his friend's words. "I just can't help it; every time they leave, I start thinking about all the trouble they could get into, and once I get started, I just can't stop. I wish I could go with them, like old times, but someone has to stay and run the city. That just makes me worry even more."
"I understand, little fixer, I do," Zangief said a moment later, pushing himself to his feet to stare down the line, "for I do ze same thing. But only on day five. And day five will not be coming today." Reaching down to pull Felix to his feet, the wrestler began to yell in Russian at the train of cruisers that was slowly heading their way, his free hand waving frantically at the lead. "What did I tell you, little fixer," he said, smiling, as the other characters around them began to make a fuss, glad that their watch shift was ending before it had even truly begun. "No day five, no need to worry."
Laughing himself as the Russian put him back onto his feet, Felix quickly tipped his hat before bouncing over toward the cruisers, his grin widening into a real, true smile as a familiar blonde began barking orders at the characters on the platform from midair, her voice quickly settling them into the best positions to get the cargo she and her men had set out to retrieve unloaded and into the safety of their warehouses. Standing off to the side, he turned to watch as Zangief practically pulled Ralph from his cruiser, both men smiling as if they were mad as they embraced for the first time since the moment they left. Already he could hear the rest of the characters from the city coming to help, their mob led by the dirty haired little princess that made up the last member of their family.
"Ralph, you stink brain, what took yah so long? Maple syrup here was driving me nuts with worry…"
"Miss me, Fix it?"
"Yes, Ma'am," Felix said honestly as he turned back toward the edge of the ledge and looked upward at his wife, his cheeks glowing red as she bent before him for a kiss. Pulling away, he sighed happily as he took her hand between his own, raising it to his lips to place a quick peck onto her fingertips before continuing. "I always miss you when you're gone."
"Cheese ball," Tamora chuckled as she used her free hand to flip down the bill of his hat, pushing herself to her feet so that she could continue overseeing the unloading of the prizes she had brought home. "I was able to get almost everything we need, except for the gears from Eggman. We'll have to go to the southern colony for those, and the pathway won't be cleared for at least another two weeks. Think we'll be able to make do without them?"
"We will, even if we can't," Felix replied, shrugging as he leaned against her leg. "We have before, and we will again."
They had survived this long without them, fighting to keep their little world viable out there on the Grid. They would continue to do so, no matter what.