My feels made me write this… It's sort of a continuation of I Still Care, but I decided to keep it as a separate story. Once again, the TurboxTaffyta (Taffytastic?) relationship shown here is not a romantic one, though I suppose I can't stop some of you from thinking that (I admit, I'd ship them hardcore if Taffyta was an adult).
Disclaimer: Disney owns the characters. I own the fanart.
The Greatest Racer Ever
By ERiN OPPEL
Taffyta jammed down the pedal as she came around for the final stretch. Clutching the steering wheel tightly, she maneuvered her way around the racers who were in front of her until there was only one left.
She had been chasing Vanellope's taillights all day to the point where she thought the image of the back of the president's kart would burn into her retina. Thanks to the new avatar's sudden spike in popularity, she had been winning pretty much all the races. Much to Taffyta's chagrin, the girl with the glasses was controlling Vanellope, and she always won. Not that she had anything against her friend, but it had been a few days since she had won a race, and this was her last chance for today as the arcade would be closing in a few minutes. In fact, it may be her last chance in a while, since she didn't know when the game would randomly select her for the roster.
I've got to win this, the pink racer vowed, gritting her teeth. She kept a steady gaze on Vanellope's kart, which was now only a few meters in front of her. The finish line was coming up. If the president glitched now, it would be all over.
After quick calculations, she upshifted and Taffyta caught up to Vanellope on the outside. But as soon as she was alongside her, the black-haired girl bumped her kart into Taffyta's.
The pink racer stifled a yelp as she swerved, losing a bit of control. Don't panic, a familiar pale racer's voice rang in her head reassuringly. You know what to do.
Taffyta instinctively drifted and got a boost from it, putting her kart back on the right track. Letting out a sigh of relief, she accelerated forcefully. She didn't make eye contact with Vanellope as she overtook her; instead she focused on her goal. All the tension was released when she crossed the finish line and screeched to a stop. The second place music played (for the gamer, of course) and Taffyta couldn't help but cheer at her own victory. At least the girl with the glasses didn't seem too upset about her loss.
Her code was reassigned to the first place podium, while Vanellope and Candlehead took their positions at second and third place, respectively. Taffyta stood proudly accepting her gold trophy. She twirled through the confetti that fell and winked at the screen. "Stay sweet!" she chimed, a few notes happier than usual.
"Oh well," the girl with the glasses said to herself.
The boy who had been playing against her (as Candlehead) complained, "Argh, Vanellope is so cheap! And her kart seriously looks like a failed texture hack."
The two gamers began to argue hilariously about Vanellope's "unfair advantage".
The game started showing the "Insert Quarters" screen and the racers were free to move around at will. However, Taffyta stayed where she was because the last part of the conversation caught her attention as the kids left the arcade.
"Whatever happened to King Candy? He was a great racer, for an old guy," said the boy.
Taffyta sighed and thought, If only he was around to hear that. She made a mental note to tell him later.
"Hey! Earth to Taffyta!"
She blinked and glanced down at Vanellope at the bottom of the podium. "Huh?"
"I said congrats on your win!" The president held out her fist. "Sorry she made me knock into you, but you recovered just fine. Smooth move!"
Taffyta jumped down gracefully and bumped fists. "Thanks, Prez," she replied coolly. "You weren't too bad yourself. Don't listen to those haters."
Vanellope scoffed and shoved her hands in her pockets. "I've heard plenty worse than that." She looked at Taffyta quizzically. "You know, I can't remember the last time you wanted to win so badly."
The blond held her trophy close and explained, "Yeah, well, it's for an important reason."
Vanellope cocked her head with a mischievous glint in her eyes. "You mean besides boosting your self-esteem?"
Before Taffyta could retort, Yuni from Dance Dance Revolution called out, "All clear! The arcade's closed!"
Taffyta looked at her friend with anticipation. "I'll tell you later. Right now I've gotta do something." She jumped back into her kart and drove in the direction of her garage in Strawberry Fields.
Turbo paced back and forth in his room boredly. Despite no longer wanting to take over the game or the entire arcade, he still wasn't allowed outside the castle without an escort— Taffyta being his first and only choice.
He had been able to watch the race from the balcony, as he always did when Taffyta was racing. When he saw her win, he swelled with pride and wished he was out there to be the first to congratulate her. Normally she would come visit him as soon as the arcade was closed, but she seemed to be taking longer this time.
Maybe she has other plans, Turbo thought. After all, she was a popular racer; it was possible her friends wanted her to hang out with them, and he wouldn't blame her for it. He never thought about it before, but he realized it must've been embarrassing for Taffyta to be seen spending time with him—the arcade's enemy. The last thing he wanted was to make her look bad in front of the others.
A knock at the door made him stop in his tracks and look up hopefully. "Taffyta?"
"No," came the dull reply.
Turbo frowned in disappointment. "What is it, Sour Bill?"
The green candy ball opened the door and said, "President Von Schweetz wanted me to inform you that your community service begins tomorrow."
Turbo growled, "You tell that glitch that I'm not taking any punishment from her!"
Sour Bill turned away and mumbled, "If you ask me, she should've gone with execution…"
After Sour Bill had closed the door, Turbo laid down on his bed and sighed deeply. Obviously, he hadn't gotten the best reception, but he hadn't expected to. His atrocities would always mark him as a villain in the community. Vanellope was nice at least, but he still couldn't get over his hatred for her. His only friend was Taffyta, and he was content with that.
A car horn beeped outside his window and Turbo went to the balcony out of curiousity.
There he saw Taffyta down below, sitting in her kart, the Pink Lightning. She smiled up at him and took a lollipop out of her mouth. "Come on, old man!" she called. "Let's head over to the town square! I'll let you drive this time."
The white racer smirked. "I'll be down in a second."
The town square was not far from the start of the main race track, and was a spacious area surrounded by kart shops, restaurants, and accessory stores. Many of the race spectators mingled about. A few racers—Rancis, Crumbelina, Jubileena, and Adorabeezle—sat at a picnic table to have a snack.
Taffyta and Turbo parked beside a chocolate fountain in the center of the square. As soon as some citizens saw the former king, they ran away in fear. Normally Turbo would've laughed at their cowardice, but he was with Taffyta and didn't want to chase anyone away from her as well.
"So," Turbo started, getting out of the Pink Lightning and ignoring suspicious glares from other inhabitants, "what brings us here?"
Taffyta slid off the hood of her vehicle and replied nonchalantly, "Just getting you out of that stuffy castle. I wish Vanellope would let you at least come to see the races."
Turbo sighed. "Not until I complete my stupid community service, I'm afraid." He sat on the edge of the fountain and crossed his arms. "Lousy glitch." When he noticed Taffyta's slightly narrowed brows, he added, "Sorry, I know she's your friend, I just can't stand how she does her job."
The girl sat beside him and smoothed out her dress. "I know. But she's doing it for your own good. What, you think everyone's just gonna let you live here without making up for what you did?"
Turbo glanced around and said glumly, "No, but will it really make a difference?"
"What do you mean?"
The racer clammed up, not wanting to worry Taffyta with his insecurities. "Nevermind," he replied with a crooked smile. "I'm just glad you're here to help me."
"Why wouldn't I? You've already done so much for me; I wouldn't have won so many races if it wasn't for your coaching." Taffyta looked down and fidgeted with her gloves. "I'd be lucky to turn out half as good a racer as you."
Her words warmed his heart. Turbo nudged her arm gently and said, "You're well on your way to surpassing me." When Taffyta just shrugged, he insisted, "No, I mean it. You're a lot more like me than you think." He quickly added, "Well, minus the crazy, murderous tendencies, of course."
Taffyta managed a small chuckle.
Turbo went on, "I knew you had potential right from the start. Otherwise you wouldn't be my favourite racer."
"I just want to make you proud," admitted Taffyta.
He patted her shoulder with a genuine smile. "Are you kidding? I'm already proud."
Taffyta beamed, swinging her legs casually. "Oh!" She suddenly hopped off the fountain and sauntered over to her kart. "There is something I wanted to give you."
Turbo watched curiously as she reached behind the seat. She returned to him with her tiny hands behind her back, obviously carrying something quite large.
She stopped in front of him and began shyly, "I've never done this before, and I don't know what to say, but I really wanted you to have this." She presented him with a tall object wrapped in a shiny red candy wrapper.
Turbo grinned in delight and took the heavy gift, feeling the paper crinkle beneath his fingers. She even remembered his favourite colour. He peeled off a bit of the wrapper and a flash of gold caught his eye. Intrigued, he removed the rest of the packaging and stared in amazement at the polished trophy in his hands. "Is this yours?" he asked.
Taffyta shook her head. "It's yours. I won it for you." She pointed to the base the trophy was attached to. "Read the plaque."
Turbo looked at the gold foil on the chocolate stand and read the neatly written words aloud, "'For Turbo, the greatest racer ever and'—" He paused, glancing up at Taffyta with soft eyes. "—'my hero'."
The blond girl rocked back on her heels, smiling.
Turbo continued staring at the inscription, trying to form words in his head. But he was speechless. This was the best thing he had ever gotten, worth more than any of the regular trophies he ever won combined. Finally, he stammered, "I… Taffyta, this is… It's Turbo-tastic… Thank you."
"I would've given it to you sooner, but it took me a while to win another race," justified Taffyta quickly.
After a second of admiring his priceless gift, Turbo asked, "You know why I'm the greatest racer ever?"
Taffyta guessed jokingly, "Because your ego's as big as a jawbreaker?"
He chuckled, then gazed at her with a warm smile. "Because I have a friend like you."
The joy on Taffyta's face was evident by her shining blue eyes. She immediately wrapped her arms around Turbo in a tight hug.
The pale racer blinked in surprise at first, then put his arms around her too, still holding the trophy with one hand. Tears prickled at the corners of his eyes, but his heart sank when he noticed the strange looks the racers nearby were giving them. He was sure they were going to ostracize Taffyta now. "Your friends are watching," Turbo notified, ashamed.
"I don't care," Taffyta murmured into his shoulder, not seeming the least bit uncomfortable. "You're my friend. I wouldn't trade that for all the trophies in the game." She pulled back to sit beside him again and stated firmly, "And if they or anyone else in the arcade have a problem with it, screw them."
Turbo smirked and held out his fist. "That's my favourite racer." The two of them fist-bumped before they saw Jubileena walk up to them.
"Uh, hey…guys," the cherry girl greeted with a quick glance at Turbo. She failed to hide her awkwardness, but at least she was trying to be friendly. "We were, um, going to meet up with the rest of the group at Cinnamon Beach. …You want to come with us?"
Taffyta grinned and stood up. "Sure thing, Jubie!" She turned to the racer still sitting unsurely. "Hey, Turbo! You coming or what?" she encouraged with a hand on her hip.
His gaze went from Taffyta to the expectant racers, then to the gleaming trophy in his hands. If his friend wasn't afraid to include him, he might eventually become accepted again. And even if he didn't, it wouldn't matter because one special girl thought he was the best. This time, he was determined to live up to his title so that he could always be Taffyta's hero. Nothing, not even power or fame, was going to deter him from that.
Turbo finally flashed a yellow grin and gave his signature thumbs-up before following the pink racer back to her kart.
Yes, it's cheesy, but it IS a fluff fic after all. I know this friendship pairing might not be everyone's cup of tea, but I just feel it makes a lot more sense than the others I've seen. Thank you for giving it a chance, and please review to let me know how I did! :)