Felix stepped off the dance floor, despite the Deanna and Nell's pleas for him to stay.
"I'll be back later, ladies," he assured them. He was expecting Pauline soon, so the handyman decided to take a bit of time to grab a drink and chat with some folks before her arrival.
As he passed by the double door to the balcony, which was propped open, the 8-bit hero heard a voice call out to him. It was Sonic, and he appeared to be a bit concerned about something.
"You might want to see this," the hedgehog pointed passed the railing and to the ground below. When Felix looked, he practically jumped out of his pixels.
Approaching the apartment building was Pauline, followed by her surprise companion, Donkey Kong.
"Oh no," Felix muttered, setting down his drink, he swiftly turned around and weaved his way through the crowd of the party. "No, no, no, no, no…" he continued, rapidly pressing the call button for the elevator the moment he made it into the empty hallway. The doors slid open and the handyman shuffled inside with a sigh, not looking forward the conversation that was to come. As the lift started its descent, Felix took a deep breath inward, placing a hand of his rapidly beating heart. In the periphery of his vision he could see the walls on either side of him moving closer, but he did his best to ignore it.
And as the elevator approached its destination, Felix pulled out a key and slid it into its designated slot underneath the control panel. Turning it, a small alarm rang and the doors opened to reveal a surprised Pauline.
"Felix, what are you doing?" she asked.
"Making sure no one else comes up or down this elevator," Felix said as he set the lift to service mode. "Pauline, you need to go and take Donkey Kong back home," he commanded, nodding to the door.
"No," the petit woman clicked a heel on the tile floor, her stance resolute. "I'm going to show Gene and the others once and for all that he isn't like they say he is."
"I know what you're trying to do," Felix gently placed his hands on her shoulders, his eyes pleading her to reconsider. "But please trust me when I tell you that this is only going to make things worse. I don't want any more trouble."
Pauline looked hurt. "I thought you believed me," she said. "Just because D.K. is a bad guy during hours doesn't mean he's like that all the time. We didn't come to start trouble!"
"I know that," Felix was exasperated at this point. "He's not particularly the one I'm worried about—"
"What is going on here?"
Felix turned around, the feeling of dread crashing over him. The mayor of Niceland stood in the doorway of the stairwell, his eyes scrutinizing the scene before him. So much for trying to keep anyone from coming downstairs…
"Gene," Felix began quietly.
"And what is that thing doing here?" the mustachioed man jutted a stubby finger to Donkey Kong.
"He is not a thing!" Pauline interjected.
The argument suddenly sounded far away to the handyman as he clasped his hands, eyes darting to the surrounding walls. Were they getting closer? No, it's just in your head, it's just—
"—I don't remember sending you an invitation."
"Felix invited me!"
The sound of Pauline shouting his name snapped the handyman out of his impending panic, and he stepped between her and Gene. From the corner of his eye Felix saw that some other, curious Nicelanders had arrived, their heads peeking in from the safety of the stairwell.
"Let's all just calm down," he suggested.
"I am not calming down!" Gene pushed the handyman's outstretched arm away. "Pauline, I am going to finally tell you exactly what's been on my mind."
"You don't do that enough?" the woman retorted, hands on her hips.
"Setting you up with Felix was one of the biggest mistakes the Nicelanders and I have ever made! We thought that you were a nice girl, but little did we know that you were nothing but a Stockholm syndrome riddled tramp!"
Pauline gasped.
"Gene!" Felix was horrified and angered by what had just come out of the Mayor's mouth. And he wasn't the only one...
A loud growl filled the room and all eyes shifted to Donkey Kong.
"D.K., No!" Pauline shouted as the ape raised a large, hairy hand and brought it down towards the offending Nicelander.
Felix was able to move Gene out of harms way, but in doing so, ended up in that position himself, as Donkey Kong's fingers wrapped tightly around his body and lifted him in the air.
With the wind practically knocked out of him, the handyman struggled to get free; his anxiety sent pouring over the edge when he found himself helplessly trapped in the ape's clutches.
Sent into a full panic, Felix screamed, and Donkey Kong dropped him immediately. Everyone in the room stood in stunned silence while the handyman clutched his chest, breathing heavily has he sat on his knees. No one had seen the hero look so debilitated.
"Now look what you've done!" Gene shouted, getting in the woman's face. "That monkey of yours is nothing but trouble!"
"No!" Pauline was close to tears. "H-he was just trying to protect me!" She looked to Felix, who stared back at her with nothing but disappointment and sadness. "Feenie—"
"Please…Just leave," he said between calming breaths. "I'll come by later."
Pauline opened her mouth, looked around at all the wide-eyed Nicelanders (and Gene's scowl), and closed it. Patting Donkey Kong's arm, she ushered the ape towards the door.
"Come on, big guy. Let's go home," she said tearfully as they left.
A few hours later, there was a soft knock at Pauline's door, and she slowly got up from the couch to answer it. On the other side was Felix, and he looked exhausted.
"Oh honey," Pauline said mournfully. "You look so tired."
"It's been a long night," he replied simply with a small smile.
"No," the brunette cupped the handyman's face in her hands. "Its not just tonight. You've been tired a long time now…and it's all my fault."
She burst into tears, burying her face into his chest. Felix wrapped his arms around her and held her close.
"It's not your fault, darlin'," he comforted her.
"I didn't mean for any of this to happen. I know it wasn't right, but D.K. was just protecting me in the only way he knew how. I'm sorry he hurt you…He didn't mean it."
"I know," Felix kissed her on the forehead.
The couple made their way to the couch at some point in the night. It all was a haze to Pauline, as she had a lot on her mind. Felix rested his back on the arm of the sofa as she lay on top of him, their limbs intertwining. Sighing, she listened to the steady beat of the fixer's heart and savored the feeling of him absentmindedly stroking her hair.
"Felix," she began timidly.
"Mm?" he hummed.
"Maybe we should take a break," she looked up into the handyman's eyes when he paused his ministrations. "At least until things cool down with the Nicelanders. Things with them have been…stressful."
"If that's what you want," his voice quavered. "I understand…they've been really awful to you lately."
Felix's eyes grew glassy as he continued. "I've tried talking to them, but they just—"
"I know, sweetie," Pauline kissed him on the cheek, getting teary-eyed again herself. "I don't want to create more of a rift between you and them than I feel I already have."
"I love you, Pauline," Felix said, returning her kiss.
"And I love you too," she replied. She sat up on the couch, her hand sliding down the handyman's arm to entangle her fingers with his. "But I think parting, at least for now, would be the best for both of us."
Felix moved to sit beside her, their clasped hands lying in the space between them. The two of them glanced at each other silently, both understanding deep down, they may never reunite as a couple after tonight.
After a few more beats of excruciating silence, Felix nodded solemnly and slowly removed his hand from Pauline's.
"I guess I should be going then," he sniffed. Standing, he sauntered to the door and opened it to let himself out. "G'bye, Paulie."
"Goodbye, Felix."