Ralph was no stranger to wanting what Felix had.

Oh, he'd more than learned his lesson about playing hero, but it was taking him awhile to piece together what he was missing that the other character had.

Whatever it was, it was driving him to distraction, like an itch that needed to be scratched.

Following his adventure, life had improved in general for Wreck-It Ralph. His contribution to and presence in the game he was part of no longer went unappreciated. Mary, while still generally nervous around him was able to get over it long enough occasionally to offer him one of her infamous pies or cakes on occassion and even the insufferable Gene would tolerate his presence with no more than a passing glare. Of course, there were always the trips to Sugar Rush and nights out at Tappers to look forward to.

He'd even, with Felix's help, managed to build his own residence instead of the garbage heap. Each of the Niceland residents had their appartment programmed but he could always occasionally count on for an invitation to spend the night at Felix's. The man and the Sargent were always pleased to see him.

He did not need to jeapordize the arcade or dip in performance because of having a bout of guilty concscience, so his first thought was to head to the Bad-Anon meeting that week.

"Is strange to see you here Ralph. No new members to motivate though." Zangief greeted him at the door, giving Ralph a slap on the back. "But, is good to have you back. Maybe we go get drink after? Catch up?"

Ralph nodded. He sat through the Bad-Anon meeting but all that was being said by the members were things he already knew. He wasn't upset with his life, he took pride in his work, he was well-respected and had friends who understood that 'Bad Guy' did not mean he was himself a 'Bad' guy.

So what was bugging him about Felix?

He went home later and settled in at his shack and took up his old post of staring up at the appartment windows. There was Felix and it looked like his wife...were they having an argument? Well, it was none of his buisness really and...

"Hey now!" Ralph upset his bed as he crashed over to the window.

It had looked very much from Ralph's position that the Sarge had just struck Felix. Ralph looked harder, just to be sure.

There was no mistaking it now. She HAD hit him. There was Felix taking out his hammer to repair his bruised face...and then they were.

OH.

Ralph had his answer and had just learned something about Felix which was at once something he found unbelievable and wished to purge from his memory banks as quickly as possible.

It made some sense. He had a good job, he had good friends, he had his medal and his own house. He wanted companionship. Someone to share it with, as Felix and Calhoun did. He returned to his bed and lay down, wrapping his feet in the covers and thinking.

How many women did he even know?

The Sarge was easy on the eyes and loyal as could be to Felix but well he was now definitely sure he would like someone more gentle. He pressed onward.

There were the Sugar Rush girls.

Quite apart from 'girls' being something of the operative word here, Ralph could fit Vanellope into the palm of his hand. Ralph shuddered. He'd wreck something in that situation alright.

His mind was not his best friend tonight but it all seemed to add up. Most games had programmed couples. The Princess and Mario...PacMan and Ms. PacMan...Link and Zelda.

One thought of finding Zangief's silk briefs in that manky old lost and found was enough to quell the next idea before it even had a chance to start.

"No no...no no no. Definitely women."

He gave up on it for the time being and tried to clear his mind to get some rest. The next day was Saturday. Busiest workday of any week.

He awoke in better spirits and stretching, headed out to get in position for the day. In a game like Fix-It Felix Jr., it wasn't too terribly far off that he would find himself in the company of the titualr hero.

"Well heya Ralph! Good night last night?"

"Um oh yeah. Yeah, went out for a bit. Yourself?"

Felix frowned when Ralph looked away. "Are you sure, brother?"

"Nope, just fine. Thought I'd drop in on the uh - the boys at the Bad-Anon. See if there were any new members. Give 'em the old bad-affirmation, y'know. I'm sure you had a great night. I mean, not that I'd know because...I was at Bad-Anon..." Ralph trailed off.

"Sure I did, Ralph." Felix chirped, but there was real worry in his voice. "You're not thinking of game hopping again..."

They both chuckled awkwardly, Ralph with obvious discomfort, Felix with total confusion.

In a moment the screen lit up.

Saved by the quarter.

Ralph immersed himself in a world of bricks and climbing and growling and groaning in theatrical bad-guy style.

Felix watched him. Ralph took pride in his work and he liked to give the kids a show but he'd never quite seen him that intense. Something was definitely up.

At long last the stream of kids began to ebb and Felix caught up with Ralph as he was picking himself up after tumbling from the building for the last time.

"Why don't you visit us tonight. Up in the appartment. We'll watch a few cutscene s, get some cherries from Pac-Man. An' I won't take no for an answer!"

Ralph almost didn't want to. Say he was sore, make up an excuse. What came out of his mouth though was: "Sure Felix. Sounds great."

"Aw the Sarge'll be excited to see you! Remember, bring the cherries!"

Maybe he would die on the way to Pac-Man.

"Well hello there Ralph. Good t'see you! Visiting Felix?"

"Yep, yep, thanks Mary."

"Got some cherries there, I see. From Pac-Man, I'll bet."

"They are my favourites."

When her awkward pat on his leg (as far as she could reach) caused him to nearly drop the cherries, he knew he was in for a long night.

"Let's try not t'wreck the building on our day off now!" she tittered after him.

Maybe he'd survive. Add 'matronly nag' to his list of traits that didn't particularly turn him on. He took a deep breath and knocked.

"Got it!"

The Sargent answered the door. "Ralph! Good to see you, Soldier! "

"You too!"

She relieved him of his cherry burden. So far so good. No weird feelings. No sudden desire for foreplay that involved getting socked in the face. Normal pleasantries.

"Felix tells me you had a rough day today. Well I say good for you Wreck-It! Nothing like a hard day's work, I always tell my men!"

"Well you know, it's about the customers. They came to play a game with a bad guy who gives them a challenge."

"Keep up that attitude!"

"Will do." He sat down. Work was a good topic. "What's going on in Hero's Duty?"

"Getting an upgrade soon. Versus mode. You know how it is with FPS's and Storlines. If the players get all the way through the story mode they'll need new difficulties and bonus levels."

Ralph didn't, but he eagerly began to press Calhoun for more information.

They chatted about 'President Vanellope' and watched some cut scene that could have been from almost any game by the time Ralph felt his mind start to wander and Felix and Calhoun bid him good night. The couch creaked under his weight but this felt right. Was it really so bad like this? Maybe he'd just needed to remind himself. Yes, that was almost certainly all it was. Good food, good friends and a change in scenery without endangering his game.

He closed his eyes and drifted off into a peaceful slumber that rapidly became more pleasant in ways that made him very glad no one else could see what he saw when he closed his eyes.

However, whoever the mystery person from his nighttime visions was, try as he might, he couldn't remember her face, or what she looked like, or really how tall or short she was. Not the colour of her hair or skin.

By the end of breakfast he couldn't remember much about the dream save for the pleasant feeling he had.

He would find it again. He would.