AN: Another quick one shot I was asked to write on Tumblr! Enjoy!
Disclaimer: I do not own Wreck It Ralph.
It was the nightmares.
The nightmares that kept her from sleeping, that left her covered in sweat and shivering despite the summer heat from the always open windows. The nightmares that forced her to the roof, onto her hover board, flying as fast as she could through the pixelated sky to try and escape what waited for her in her dreams.
But sometimes she couldn't fly fast enough, far enough, and sometimes the world began to blur too much for her to keep going, no matter how much she wanted to.
It was a clearing in the woods this time, her knees going out from under her as she fell off the board, the machine whining as it idled. The grass helps- she can't see it, but the prickling against her palms and knees is almost reassuring. Reassuring and real, slightly damp but exactly what she needed.
Because curling up on the grass, trying to chock back the heaving sobs that were sending her stomach rolling, almost gagging her as she tried to find that calm place that would let her breathe without feeling like she was burning, was something she could do. Something she could to until she had calmed enough to force herself to her feet, back onto her hover board, back to the apartment she shared with Felix. Where she could shower and pull on clean pajamas, try to force herself back to sleep for a few more hours before work began and she had to face her reality.
But she never made it that far. She didn't know how long she'd been lying there- not long enough, because every time she blinked tears still fell and her body shook too hard for her to find some way to steady herself, but long enough for that boing to reach her from the distance.
He stopped jumping a few feet away, his footsteps overly loud. She could have tracked him from a mile away, sneaking up and grabbing him before he even knew she was there.
Could have, if she'd been able to keep the move.
"Oh, Tammy."
He was sitting next to her before she knew, her head cradled in his lap, his ungloved hand running through her hair and rubbing down her back. Soft shushing noises greeted her as he did, gentle words mixed in as he tried to find something.
And slowly it worked. She didn't know how long it took, but sure enough her body started to relax into his touch, sobs quieting until she could finally hear him properly, unable to do any more than just lay there as he calmed her.
"It's okay, Tammy," Felix kept saying, over and over as he waited, wiping away the tears that stained her face as she glances up at him. "It's okay. I'm here."
And for right then, that was enough.