Happy Birthday
The young man in Space Marine armor hurried over to the wounded soldier's side, kneeling down and slinging his medical kit off of his shoulder.
"Don't worry, Markowski," he reassured the injured Marine, "I'll have you back on your feet in a sec."
"Try to make it faster than that, kid," Markowski shouted back over the sounds of the chaos that surrounded them. "The Cybugs aren't big fans of waiting around!"
The younger soldier sighed, quickly removing a bandage and wrapping it around Markowski's injured leg with practiced ease. Waiting a few beats for the numbing chemicals to kick in, he pulled out a syringe and held it poised over the wound.
"Don't give me the 'This is gonna sting' routine," Markowski barked. "Just do it!"
The needle came down in the blink of an eye, delivering its medicine a moment later. The medic withdrew the syringe after all of the drug had been administered, quickly jumping back to give Markowski room to get to his feet.
"Thanks, Ralph," the older Marine said, nodding to the medic. "Next round at Tapper's is on me. Now, let's catch up to the rest of the crew, huh?"
Ralph nodded, collecting himself again with a quick breath and brushing an errant strand of sandy-blond hair out of his eyes.
"Lead the way."
The rest of the round passed without much incident; the player was a regular customer who'd grown exceptionally good at Hero's Duty over the years since it'd first been installed, and so no one else got terribly injured. As the last beacon of the day was fired and the Cybugs flew off to their routine extermination, Sergeant Calhoun waited until the rest of the soldiers had been congratulated and dismissed before walking over to Ralph.
"You did good out there today," she said, her voice far warmer than usual.
Ralph allowed himself a small smile.
"Thanks, mom," he replied, his blue-green eyes full of pride. "Just tryin' to do right by you and dad, is all."
Calhoun nodded, smiling in kind.
"And you always do," she said. "Trust me on that one."
The pair turned and walked toward the exit of Hero's Duty, before Ralph stopped short just shy of the exit and had to stifle a gasp.
"Crap," Ralph hissed half to himself, "I forgot it. I'll be right back!" he shouted over his shoulder he turned and dashed back into the blasted landscape, leaving his mother more than a little confused.
"Forgot what?" she called out, but by then her son was so far away that she could barely hear his reply.
"My present!" Ralph answered. "Can't show up to a birthday party without one!"
Calhoun just shook her head, chuckling.
"You are your father's son, sweetheart," she said, composing herself again a few moments later as Ralph came hurrying back into view, clutching something in one of his hands.
"Got it," he said, his breath hitching just slightly. "Sorry about that."
Calhoun just shrugged.
"Let's get going," she said. "Being fashionably late is one thing, but if we don't hurry up your godfather's gonna have drunk all the root beer in Tapper's by the time we get there. And that's not an exaggeration, either."
"You don't have to tell me that twice," Ralph mumbled, remembering all too clearly the last time his godfather had gone on a root beer bender. Fortunately for everyone in the arcade, however, Wreck-It Ralph was at least an obnoxiously happy drunk.
The two soldiers walked through the tunnel and hopped onto their train, quickly swapping out their work uniforms for casual clothes on the way back to the Central Terminal. Once there, they headed over towards Tapper's. Ralph tried to hide the spring in his step, but he was only somewhat successful.
"So," he said after a minute, as the entrance to Tapper's got closer and closer, "you think she'll like it?"
"I'm sure she will," Calhoun said, giving her son a reassuring look as his father, Fix-It Felix, ran over to join them with a smile. "It's right up her alley, after all."
Vanellope von Schweetz swiveled around on her bar stool and frowned, looking over expectantly at the game's entrance.
Her agitation didn't escape the notice of the big hulking man sitting next to her, and he gave his best friend a concerned look.
"Somethin' eating you, kid?"
"He said he'd be here," Vanellope said evenly. "He's not here yet."
"I'm sure the last game just ran long," Ralph replied. "Trust me when I say that guy wouldn't miss this party for the world. He's a total sap, even if he acts tough."
Vanellope arched an eyebrow, tugging absently at one of the red strings on her hoodie.
"What does him being a sap have to do with anything, Stinkbrain?"
Ralph had to fight to hold back a smile; he didn't want to throw his own godson under the bus.
"He loves a good party, that's what I mean," Ralph said, side-stepping the truth by a few words. "And there's no party like a party at Tapper's."
Vanellope sighed, clearly unconvinced.
"Whatever you say, big guy," she shot back, still anxiously eyeing the door.
A few moments later, Ralph heard something on the edge of his perception and let his smile show at last.
"Whaddya know," he told his friend with a glint in his eye, "here they come now."
It was only a matter of heartbeats before the trio of Fix-It Felix, Sergeant Calhoun and the other Ralph came walking through the door. The newcomers barely had time to wave in greeting before Vanellope teleported off of her stool in a blink of blue code, halting right in front of Ralph.
"You're late," she said to the younger Ralph, putting her hands on her hips and trying her hardest to look menacing. Sometimes, being ridiculously adorable had its drawbacks.
"Nice to see you, too, V," Ralph said with a smile, one that was bright enough to make Vanellope forget all about why she was even mad at him. She hated when he did that. "Happy birthday. Sorry we're late, that was my fault. I almost forgot your present."
"You're not buying my forgiveness on this one, Mister," Vanellope shot back, poking Ralph in the chest with a pointed jab of her forefinger. "No way, no how."
"You sure about that?" the young soldier replied, a twinkle in his eyes that was positively mischievous as his parents walked over to join the older Ralph at the bar. "Not even if it's a really good present?"
"No," Vanellope said, poking him again. "And don't even think about making those puppy-dog eyes at me," she continued sharply, "or I'll smack you all the way across the hall."
"Knew I should've left my armor on," Ralph said, before holding up his closed fist. "This is for you, Madame President," he told her, opening his hand and revealing a set of chrome-metallic car keys. They were attached to a small pad by a key ring, and the pad had just one red button on it.
"Oooh, shiny," Vanellope breathed, her eyes wide.
Ralph smiled again, glad that he hadn't botched the first part.
"You should see the car they're attached to," he said, prompting a confused look from his friend.
"Where is it?" she asked, and Ralph pointed to the red button on the pad.
"Push that, and you'll see."
Vanellope looked at the young soldier across from her skeptically, but pushed the button all the same.
When nothing happened, she pushed the button again. When nothing happened again, Vanellope frowned.
"Are you just yanking my chain here, Ralphie?" she asked sharply. But before her friend could reply, the squealing sound of tires coming to a sharp halt cut Ralph off. He smiled instead.
"Looks like it just got here," he said. "What would you say to rain-checking that smack across the hall until you've taken a peek outside, sweetie?"
"I thought I told you—"
"Never to call you that; right, I know," Ralph pre-empted her, before brushing away his wandering strand of hair once again. "But this is a special occasion."
"For me," Vanellope said pointedly, but a smile curving at the corner of her mouth betrayed her. She grabbed Ralph's hand, pulling him along behind her as she walked toward the door.
"C'mon, Doc. Let's go check it out."
The trio at the bar watched them go and smiled; Felix had to reach up and wipe away the beginning of a tear.
"They grow up so fast, don't they?" he mused, and his friendly enemy patted him on the shoulder.
"He's a good kid," Ralph said. "You should be proud."
"I am," Felix replied. He paused, looking up earnestly at Ralph. "I can't thank you enough for bringing us together, buddy. Really."
"You named your son after me, Felix," Ralph said. "That's more thanks than I deserve, period."
The three of them fell into a companionable silence, turning their stools back around to face the bar and getting started on their root beers.
Vanellope couldn't hold back a gasp of surprise as she saw what was waiting for her outside the entrance to Tapper's: it was a sleek, silver kart that looked like nothing the Bakery could ever spit out, with streaks of off-color metal running through it that gleamed with shifting colors in the light of the Terminal.
"Wow," Vanellope said at last, walking towards the kart in a half-daze. "It's gorgeous!"
"Thanks," Ralph said, feeling a little swell of pride at the compliment. "Made it myself. Took a couple months of work, but I'd say it paid off."
"In spades, my man. And it even has a passenger's seat!" Vanellope gave her friend a sidelong glance at that, smiling. "You weren't planning on taking me somewhere, were you?"
Ralph shook his head.
"Not at all," he answered with a smile in his eyes. "You're the one who does the driving, remember?"
He tossed Vanellope the keys, and climbed into the passenger's seat as soon as she'd unlocked the door.
"Now this," Vanellope said appreciatively as her eyes roamed over the interior, "this is a kart. What's the top speed on it?"
"Not sure," Ralph answered. "Never had a chance to take it for a spin. It's powered by a modified rocket engine, though, so my guess is pretty darn fast."
Vanellope gave a smile that was somewhere between mischievous and ecstatic.
"Let's find out, shall we?"
The lurch of force as the engine roared to life was powerful enough to push Ralph back into his seat, and he swore he could feel his ribs rattling.
"Oh yeah," Vanellope said with approval as her eyes lit up, "this is gonna be good."
Ralph's reply was swallowed up completely by the sound of the engine as it roared again, accompanied by the squealing of tires as Vanellope pressed down on the accelerator. Nearby characters wasted no time in clearing a path, and the Surge Protector dove for cover as the kart barreled into Sugar Rush.
Ralph felt himself relaxing as soon as the sunlight hit him, and he leaned back into the cushion of his seat with a sigh.
"Don't know if I ever told you how much I like coming over here," he said, letting his eyes close and just glorying in the feeling of pure, unrestrained speed. "It's about as perfect a change of pace as I could ask for, V."
"It is nice, ain't it?" the driver said, before glancing over at her friend and frowning. "You all right?"
"Yeah, I'm fine," Ralph said, cracking one eye open and looking over at Vanellope. "Why d'you ask?"
"You just looked… I dunno, happier than usual."
The soldier chuckled, leaning forward and looking out through the windshield over the landscape that was currently whizzing by them in a technicolor blur.
"I just like being someplace where I'm not getting threatened by homicidal cyber insects," Ralph spoke after a moment. "Sure, we regenerate if we die, but…" he trailed off, sighing.
"It still hurts," Ralph resumed a few heartbeats later. "But being here, with you, I just feel safe. Like I can let my guard down, and not worry about anything."
Vanellope said nothing at first, but eased her foot off the gas and down-shifted the kart. As it slowed to a stop, she looked over at her friend with sympathy.
"I'd say you could stay here," she said softly, "but I know you'd just say 'no'."
"I'd stay here," he told her in return, "you know I would. But I can't. Even if I'm not written into the code for Hero's Duty, I still have to help those soldiers out however I can. It's what I was born for, literally."
"I know," Vanellope admitted with a sigh, before reaching up and tenderly moving Ralph's errant strand of sandy-blond hair away from its place between his eyes, tucking it back behind his ear. "I guess we'll have to stick to night-time hangouts, huh?" she asked, letting her hand linger along Ralph's cheek for just long enough to make him blush.
"Guess so, Madame President," he said, sounding more melancholic than flustered. "But hey, at least it's better than nothing, am I right?" he finished, smiling.
"Yeah," Vanellope said, "you are."
She leaned over and gave Ralph a quick kiss on the cheek, grinning as she saw what it did to his face.
"Thanks for the awesome kart, Ralphie. Best birthday present I've ever gotten."
A few hours later, after Ralph had gotten a ride back to Hero's Duty and was settled into his bunk, staring up at the ceiling, he was still grinning like an idiot.
"Happy birthday to you, Miss Vanellope Von Schweetz," he whispered, before closing his eyes and drifting off to sleep.
Back over in Sugar Rush, as she finished parking her present in her personal garage, the birthday girl grinned.
She loved making Ralph look like a total dope. She'd have to start doing it more often.
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A/N: I've had this idea bouncing around in my head since I saw the movie for the first time a few days back, and it wouldn't leave me alone. I hope I managed to get the characterizations right, since that's always my top priority. I also hope you all enjoyed it! Vanellope is the greatest, it is known.