During the winter season, Mr. Litwak would shorten the hours of operation at the arcade. He'd done so every year since opening, just to make sure the kids got home before it got too dark out. Though this wasn't much of a problem anymore, Mr. Litwak always kept this tradition. He'd become used to it, and so did the characters in the games. They relished these longer hours to leave their games and socialize.
One evening in January, Tapper, the owner of the local virtual tavern, looked about his establishment. Normally, he'd see the mighty Wreck-It Ralph walk in at some point, sit down, and order himself a tall mug of root beer. But he was nowhere to be seen. The bartender began to worry for him.
Instead of the red-clad wrecker, Fix-It Felix Jr. walked into the bar. Tapper was surprised to see him without or instead of Ralph. "Hey, Felix," he greeted.
"Well, hello, Tapper," Felix cheerfully replied, "How are you this fine evening?"
"Can't complain." Tapper poured Felix a glass. "So where's the one-man wrecking crew? He's normally here by now."
Felix took a sip. "Ralph's gone over to the Frozen game for a date with Queen Elsa. He was really excited about tonight, though I can't, for the life of me, figure out why." He took another sip.
Indeed, Ralph and Elsa were having a date in her home game. At that particular moment, the two were in a rowboat with Ralph manning the oars. "Did I ever tell you about the time Sonic and I raced boats in the middle of a war zone in the ocean?" Ralph asked.
"That sounds familiar…" Elsa replied, "Wasn't your boat the one that turned into a helicopter and a truck?"
"Yes, it was." Ralph grunted as he rowed the boat. "I kinda wish this boat had a motor like that one did."
Elsa smirked at this comment. "Are you saying you're not strong enough to row us?"
"What? I never said that! I'm strong! I can row both of us!" Ralph went on to prove this, by rowing the boat as fast as he could. Elsa realized the mistake she made and clenched onto the sides of the boat.
"Ralph!" she yelled, "Okay! I take it back; you're strong enough! Please stop!" He obeyed and slowed down the boat.
"Sorry, Elsa. I'm still trying to control my temper." He let out a sigh of exhaustion. "Still, that was a good workout, I suppose."
"At least it was good for something. Let's head back to shore." Ralph slowly rowed back to the docks of Arendelle. He lifted his love out of the boat and set her on the pier. The boat began to tip with the uneven weight. "Hang on, Ralph!" Elsa froze a patch of water around the boat to prevent it from tipping any further. "The ice is pretty thick, so you can stand on it." Ralph held onto the pier and stepped out of the boat. As Elsa said, the ice was thick enough to support his weight. He didn't risk the possibility of breaking it, however, and quickly got onto the pier.
The couple began walking around the town. The snow was shining under the light of the full moon, setting a very romantic tone. Ralph and Elsa held each other's hands. They walked by the candle-lit shops, staring at the items displayed in the window. Eventually, they walked to the castle where Elsa and her little sister, Anna, lived. The castle staff greeted the two warmly as they walked through. They walked up to the highest point in the castle and stared out at the landscape.
"Look at it," Elsa said, "The kingdom. My kingdom." They stared out at the snow-covered land as it crawled to the dark blue sea. "It's beautiful, isn't it?"
"Maybe," Ralph said, "But not as beautiful as you."
Elsa chuckled at Ralph's flirting. "You're really too much, Ralphie." He blushed.
"Elsa," Ralph said, reaching into his back pocket, "I have something I need to say…" Elsa's smile faded. He got something out of the pocket and moved his hand to his front. "I love you dearly and I can think of no better time or place to ask you this." He knelt down, though was still taller than her. He opened his hand. Inside was a small box covered in purple fabric. "Queen Elsa of Arendelle…" He opened the box to reveal a beautiful diamond ring, refracting the moonlight. Elsa covered her mouth in shock. "…will you marry me?" Elsa stared at the ring and then at the man holding it. Ralph's smile faded. "What's wrong?"
"This is just so sudden. I hadn't prepared for you to propose marriage. I just need time to think about it."
"Oh. Okay." Ralph closed the box.
"Yes, Ralph, I will marry you!" She embraced him lovingly.
"Oomph!" Ralph exclaimed, "Didn't take you long to think of your response, did it?"
"Ralph, I love you dearly. I could never bring myself to say no to a marriage between us. I would love to spend the rest of my life with you." She kissed him.
Out of the shadows, they heard an excited voice. "Oh my gosh, this is so exciting!" They looked to the side to see who it was. It was Anna. "I can't believe it; my big sister's getting married!"
"Anna?" Elsa asked, "How long have you been there?"
"Oh, that's not important…"
"Maybe not, but I'm still wondering."
"Well, fine, I've been there since I saw you two walk out onto the balcony. When I saw you two out here, I thought I'd see what you were talking about."
"Eavesdropping is a very bad habit, sister," Elsa reprimanded.
"Sorry. But enough about me. Congratulations on your engagement, sis!" Elsa and Anna hugged.
"Well, if she knows now, there will be no point in hiding the news from anyone else," Ralph commented.
Ralph entered Tapper's, carrying his fiancée in his arms. "May I have your attention, everyone?" Ralph yelled to the digital patrons. "I have something important to say!" Everyone silenced themselves, curious to know what Ralph was going to say. "The beautiful queen Elsa and I are engaged!" Elsa held out her left hand to show off her engagement ring. Many of the customers cheered for the happy couple.
"It warms my heart to see such a happy couple gettin' hitched," Tapper commented, "Drinks all around!"
Felix looked at Ralph. "Over here, big guy!" the repairman yelled, "I saved you two a seat." Ralph set Elsa down and the two walked over to Felix. "Congratulations, friends," Felix said, "I'll have to break the news to Tamora."
"Do you think she could get us a reservation at the cathedral where you two got married?" Ralph asked, "That would be great."
"I'll have to check with her, but I'll get back to you right when I find out." Felix turned to Tapper. "Hey, Tapper! May I please have a large root beer and a cream soda for my friends here?"
"Comin' right up," Tapper said.
Meanwhile, on the other side of the tavern, a devious ginger-haired man was talking to his lackey, Edvard, about the news. "Can you believe it? That monstrous buffoon and the ice witch are getting married! It sickens me!"
"I don't think it's really any of our business, Hans," Edvard replied.
"Nonsense! If those two get married, it will send out the wrong message about our game, that we have no standards about the people we associate ourselves with! Our game will be flooded with those wretched enemies, thinking that Arendelle will allow anyone in, since the wretched monarch is married to a hobo."
"You're going a bit off the slippery slope, sir."
"I am not! And just think about if they have children! It makes me sick just thinking about it!" Hans hit his fist against the counter in disgust.
"Then stop thinking about it."
"How can I stop thinking about it?! It just fills me with so much repulsion…" Hans gagged into his hand. "Wait a minute! I've got it!" He turned to Edvard. "I'll use this opportunity to kill both of them at the same time! I'll have rid the arcade of both of those creatures and I'll become the new hero of Frozen!"
"But isn't there a large possibility that without them, Fix-It Felix Jr. and Frozen will get their plugs pulled?"
"Nonsense." Hans set down the money for the bill on the counter. "Come, Eddy, we've got work to do!"
"The things I do for a paycheck…"
At the end of the night, Ralph walked Elsa back to Frozen's gate. "Thank you for a wonderful evening, Ralphie," Elsa said.
"You're welcome," Ralph said, "And thank you."
"What for?"
"For saying 'yes.'" Elsa, blushing from the sweetness of this comment, kissed Ralph. The taste of fresh root beer was still on his lips, and the taste of fresh cream soda was on her's. They ended their kiss licking their lips.
"See you tomorrow, love," Elsa said.
"Good-bye, beautiful," Ralph responded. He walked to the gate for Fix-It Felix Jr. with a smile across his face.
As he started walking through the gate, he was stopped by Surge Protector. "Excuse me, sir, step aside. Random security check."
"Okay with me," Ralph replied.
Shocked by his response, Surge commented, "You're normally so angry when I stop you, Ralph. What's got you in such a good mood?"
"I proposed to the girl of my dreams and she accepted!"
"That sounds fantastic," Surge replied, monotone, "Did you bring any contraband items with you from her game?"
"Just her cream soda-flavored kisses," Ralph dreamily answered.
"Pretty sure that isn't contraband. Anything to declare?"
"I'm the luckiest man in the world!"
"I'm sure you are. You're clear to go. Have a nice day." Ralph walked on in. Surge looked at him walk away. He sighed, "No one could ever love a surge protector."
Mr. Litwak opened the arcade at the usual time. The kids and old-school gamers cheerfully entered. They converted their dollars into quarters and got ready to play. As always, Fix-It Felix Jr. and Frozen were among the busiest games in the arcade.
"Okay, Ralph," the big man said to himself in preparation for work, "Even though you're excited, don't let this throw off your game. Give those gamers exactly what they came here for: a challenge." He cracked his knuckles. "I'm ready." But despite his efforts, Ralph couldn't help but show some signs of his affection as he wrecked the Niceland Apartments.
One of the kids got the attention of Mr. Litwak. "Mr. Litwak," he said, "the wrecking guy is making hearts when he wrecks stuff." Mr. Litwak watched the next level load. Indeed, Ralph was breaking the windows into the shape of a heart.
"I've never seen this before," Mr. Litwak said, "I'd say it's a Valentine's Day thing, but I dunno if the game has an internal calendar."
"Maybe he's thinking about that ice chick in that Frozen game," the kid joked.
Mr. Litwak laughed, "Possibly. But is the game working fine otherwise?"
"Yeah, I just wanted to ask if you knew what was going on."
"Well, okay. Keep playing." Mr. Litwak went back to monitoring the arcade. Ralph continued to make hearts with the windows for each level.
Elsa was also having trouble keeping her love-induced joy a secret in her game. In so many of the cutscenes where she needed to convey sadness, she could not get herself to frown, let alone cry. The gamers commented on it, though no one informed Mr. Litwak. The actions of the two lovebirds did not affect the popularity of the games for the day.