*Chapter 25*
The two quickly head back to the party hand in hand. The rest of the night was full of laughs and spirits with their friends. Ralph and Vanellope even managed to steal a kiss or two while no one was looking. As the night ended, everyone went back to their game after Game Central Station was cleaned up. Everyone went their own ways to rest up before the next game day. The next few days after that, Ralph and Vanellope were inseparable. Their new found relationship put them, and everyone else, at ease. They were glad it was finally out in the open. After game day on a rainy Saturday, everyone had found themselves in the penthouse of the Niceland building. Taffyta and Vanellope had showed up to hang out after a long day of gaming.
"Hey guys!" Taffyta chimed as her and Vanellope entered the penthouse.
"Hey," Ralph smiled as Gene, Felix and Calhoun waved happily.
"Sorry we're late," Vanellope sighed as she sat down on the couch next to Ralph. She pat his chest lovingly and smiled up at him, "The train got delayed."
"No harm done," Ralph smiled.
"Everyone up for drinks?" Gene asked as he got up and headed towards the bar.
"Yes please!" Taffyta beamed. Gene took everyone's drink orders as they relaxed in each other's presence.
"How was racing today?" Ralph asked the two racers.
"Don't ask," Vanellope grumbled as she shot Taffyta a look.
"Make Vanellope's drink with extra sore loser," Taffyta said to Gene with a laugh.
"I LET you win," Vanellope barked as she sat up straight, pointing her finger at Taffyta.
"I'm so certain spinning out and nearly having a game over was apart of your plan," Taffyta said in a playful, snotty voice.
"Very funny," Vanellope muttered as she slumped into Ralph's side, her arms crossed.
"That must've been hilarious," Ralph chuckled as he slid his arm over Vanellope's shoulders.
"Yeah, hysterical," Vanellope rolled her eyes playfully as Taffyta nudged her.
"You spun out?" Felix asked in a worried way, his arm gently around Calhoun.
"Taffyta cut me off," Vanellope said as she gave Taffyta a death glare.
"Hey," Taffyta beamed as she shrugged, "Everyone wants to be in first place."
"Yeah, and NO ONE wants to come in ninth!" Vanellope shouted with a small laugh.
"Ninth?" Ralph winced.
"There are only nine racers," Calhoun barked with a small laugh.
"Ouch," Felix laughed.
"I'm President, and I can't even keep my cart from spinning out," Vanellope heaved a sharp sigh and shot Taffyta a small smile, "I'll get you back."
"I'll be waiting with baited breath," Taffyta said dramatically as Vanellope rolled her eyes.
"I'm sure you were great," Ralph said with a smile.
"See, you have to say that because you're her boyfriend now," Taffyta laughed as she elbowed Vanellope.
"Bah, I was biased from the beginning," Ralph sneered as he tugged Vanellope closer to her.
"See, Ralph wasn't even there and he knows I was great," Vanellope laughed.
"Keywords, 'Ralph wasn't even there'," Taffyta laughed as she used air quotes with her fingers. She then quickly took off her racing gloves and slapped them on the coffee table.
"Oh come off it!" Vanellope shouted with a laugh.
"Calhoun, what kind of drink did you want again?" Gene asked from across the room.
"Just, water," Calhoun said with a small smile.
"Just water?" Taffyta said as she wrinkled her nose.
"You've been awfully quiet, is everything ok?" Ralph asked gently.
"Oh, I'm fine," Calhoun stated as she looked up at the ceiling with a knowing look, "Drinking shouldn't be apart of my diet for now."
"Why not?" Ralph asked blankly.
"Well," Calhoun smiled at Felix for a second. Felix nodded and hugged her closer before Calhoun hurriedly continued, "Felix and I are coding a baby."
"…What!" Vanellopa shouted as she stood up, "Are you serious?"
"Yes!" Calhoun laughed and stood up. She lifted her shirt just barely, showing a loading bar on her lower stomach.
"A baby!" Taffyta exclaimed as her and Vanellope quickly crowded Calhoun to get a look at the loading bar.
"Congrats!" Vanellope laughed as her and Taffyta glommed onto her, giving her a huge hug.
"Awesome loading bar," Taffyta ogled as her and Vanellope leaned down to get a good look at it, "I thought the loading bar thing was just a joke."
"I think it's pretty nifty," Felix said, trying his hardest not to burst with excitement.
"Felix, you dog," Taffyta laughed as she tipped his hat with her fingers. Felix beamed a blushed, smug smile.
"I'm so excited!" Vanellope squealed as she turned to face her boyfriend, "Ralph, you're going to be an uncle!"
"Uncle Ralph," Taffyta laughed as she sat back down on the couch.
"That's great," Ralph exclaimed happily, "Congratulations, you guys!"
"Thanks," Calhoun smiled as she sat back down with Felix.
"Oh my gosh this is so exciting," Vanellope beamed as she tugged on Ralph's arm a little, "When will we find out if it's a boy or girl?"
"We won't know until their code is fully written," Felix said with a smile as him and Calhoun caught eyes.
"No wonder your game play was so good today, Felix," Ralph laughed as he looked down at Vanellope, "We can be sore losers together."
"Two losers are better than one," Vanellope sneered towards Taffyta as she high-fived Ralph.
"Yay," Taffyta said in a dull voice as she rolled her eyes playfully, "Double the sore."
"It'll be so fun to have a baby around," Vanellope ignored her sister and beamed after Gene brought everyone their drinks. Vanellope smiled at Ralph, "Don't you think?"
"Definitely," Ralph said, trying to sound sure of himself; Vanellope noticed otherwise and wrinkled her nose.
"You could probably hold a baby in the palm of your hand, no problem," Vanellope chuckled as she pat the back of Ralph's large hand.
"Uh, yeah," Ralph stated, feeling nervous.
"We're going to have to baby proof the Niceland building," Felix chuckled.
"If you ever need a sitter," Vanellope said eagerly as she pointed to herself, using her thumb.
"Thank you," Calhoun chuckled as she frowned a little, "It's going to be hard leaving the baby here during the game day."
"I'm sure Ralph and the Nicelanders will take good care of him or her," Vanellope smiled as she looked up at Ralph, his happy facial expressions failing miserably.
"It's true," Felix smiled at Ralph, "Ralph wouldn't let anything happen to him or her. He's a big, teddy bear of a guy."
"Right," Ralph said with a small smile. He glanced down at Vanellope before quickly avoiding eye contact.
"You okay, there, dude?" Vanellope asked him gently as she furrowed her eyebrows.
"Great, everything's great," Ralph chuckled, he gave her a look as if to say 'I'll tell you later'. Vanellope gently held his hand as a response.
"I heard trying to program a baby with someone that's not from your game is actually pretty difficult," Taffyta said gently as Calhoun nodded easily.
"It's difficult?" Vanellope asked innocently, Taffyta shot her a look.
"Yeah, didn't you learn this stuff?" Taffyta asked with a small chuckle, Vanellope's face got hot.
"Um," Vanellope stammered, "What do you mean?"
"I forgot," Taffyta sighed, "I don't think Sugar Rush is programmed with that information."
"What information?" Vanellope asked innocently.
"How to code a baby," Taffyta laughed as she gave Vanellope a look, "You feeling okay?"
"This is quickly getting awkward," Ralph chuckled nervously as he shifted in his seat.
"If I never learned any of this stuff, then how do you know it?" Vanellope asked, her face bright red, "We're from the same game!"
"I've just learned through the years," Taffyta said gently, "Outside sources."
"Oh, of course," Vanellope said sarcastically as she sunk into her seat, suddenly feeling sheepish.
"Haven't you ever wondered where self coded babies came from?" Taffyta laughed in a question.
"I-I guess I never thought about it," Vanellope said nervously as her face grew practically purple with embarrassment. She suddenly felt as if super glue was holding her and Ralph together.
"I don't suppose a code ed. lesson from all of us would be extremely embarrassing, would it?" Felix laughed as him and Calhoun scoot closer to each other, their faces eagerly watched the show before them.
"You have this stuff hardwired in you?" Vanellope quickly asked Ralph, feeling as if she was suddenly missing out on everything.
"Y-yeah," Ralph chuckled, "Maybe Nintendo characters aren't wired for baby coding."
"The train ride home is going to be interesting, to say the least," Taffyta laughed to herself as she rubbed her face and choppy white hair with her palm.
"At least you're not uneducated," Vanellope said with a frown, "I-I know the act of it all, but I didn't think you could actually code your own baby that way."
"Then how did you think it happened?" Taffyta laughed as she motioned to Calhoun and Felix; they gave Vanellope a smug, almost shy look.
"I-I… I didn't put two and two together, I guess," Vanellope chuckled nervously.
"You mean one and one together," Taffyta snorted a laugh.
"That's hilarious, Taffyta," Vanellope shot her a look. Ralph stifled a chuckle.
"Hey, it's either I tell you on our train ride home, or you and Ralph beat around this awkward conversation for hours on end," Taffyta glanced at Ralph as she leaned closer to Vanellope.
"Point taken, thanks VERY much, Taffyta," Vanellope growled as she gave Taffyta a look, her cheeks flushed.
"Who needs another drink?" Ralph chuckled nervously as he quickly got up and left the common room to go back over to the bar.
"Look what you did!" Vanellope hissed to Taffyta silently, her eyebrows furrowed deep into her angry eyes.
"It's not my fault you're not up to speed on how life works," Taffyta whispered sarcastically and loudly back to her. Calhoun and Felix shared a silent laughing fit.
"Ralph probably thinks I'm stupid now," Vanellope glared at Taffyta and threw her hand up, remaining in her angry whispering.
"Ralph could never think you're stupid," Taffyta hissed, "Don't worry, I'll tell you everything you need to know on the train ride home."
"Oh I'm SO thrilled, I can't wait!" Vanellope said sarcastically as she sat back into the couch. Ralph came back with another root beer.
"It's a huge feat if you can code a baby with someone from another game," Ralph smiled softly as he sat back down next to Vanellope, hoping to quell the awkwardness out of the room.
"Really?" Vanellope asked innocently, eagerly gazing up at Ralph, "Why?"
"Do you really want to ask that question right here, right now?" Taffyta chuckled to Vanellope as she raised her eyebrows.
"She's going to find out eventually," Ralph said with a gentle laugh as he sipped his drink. He looked down at Vanellope, his cheeks blushed a little bit, "Since Calhoun and Felix aren't coded from the same game, or even the same decade, making a whole brand new code out nothing, but their own code, is really difficult."
"Because it's two completely different codes," Taffyta added.
"I see," Vanellope said gently as she sunk into herself. She suddenly felt out of her element. She could feel that super glue begin to awkwardly stick her to Ralph again; she felt like a deer in headlights. Ralph chuckled and could sense her uncertain vibes. He gingerly tucked his arm around her further, hoping to ease her.
"Have you guys planned any baby names yet?" Taffyta asked Calhoun and Felix gently. Calhoun and Felix looked at each other knowingly.
"We were thinking, if it's a girl, we were going to name her Tammy," Felix smiled.
"Named after me," Calhoun beamed.
"And if it's a boy, we were thinking Felix the third," Felix beamed.
"Following the tradition, eh?" Ralph chuckled. Felix nodded with pride
"Forgive me if this sounds rude," Vanellope started, "But what's the point behind coding a baby? All the game characters are already coded by User when we're created, right?"
"Coding a whole other game character with someone is pretty much the highest expression of love," Taffyta said gently, "Taking care of and raising a whole new set of code, with the one you love, is purely for selfless expression... And I guess I've heard it's fun, or something."
"I see," Vanellope said as she softened, absent mindlessly easing into Ralph's side.
"You know a lot about this, Taffyta," Felix chuckled, Calhoun lifted her shirt to look at the small, orange glowing loading bar on her stomach.
"Believe it or not, I used to have a boyfriend," Taffyta chuckled in an embarrassed way. Vanellope shot her a look.
"You what?" Vanellope laughed as she sat up straighter, "When were you going to tell me this?"
"It was when King Candy was in charge," Taffyta chuckled as she waved her hand, "It doesn't matter."
"All we're coded for is racing and sugary sweets," Vanellope chuffed as she slumped into the couch again, "I feel as if a wire in my brain has just been left unplug for User's torturous enjoyment."
"Vanellope," Taffyta chuckled in a sigh. Vanellope put up her fingers for air quotes.
"'Let's make these characters virtually stupid, so that when it comes to real life events, they won't know squat! Brilliant!'" Vanellope mocked before slumping into herself.
"You're not stupid," Ralph chuckled.
"It's not normal to know how to code a baby," Taffyta chuckled as she shook her head, "The people who DO know how to code a baby are the minority in this arcade."
"I guess that helps," Vanellope said gently as she lulled her head a little. She gently perked up and gave Taffyta a confused look, "So, since I glitch so much, my code is more easily accessible than anyone else, right?"
"Right, but not in the way you're thinking," Taffyta explained as she pat the couch next to her, signaling for Vanellope to sit next to her, "Here, let me show you."
"What are you going to do?" Vanellope asked eagerly as she touched shoulders with Taffyta, sitting close to her like instructed.
"Ok, now glitch back to where you were sitting," Taffyta said as she gently grabbed Vanellope's arm. Vanellope quickly glitched away from Taffyta, her code shooting back to her position next to Ralph. Vanellope yelped in pain and gazed down at her blue coded arm. She shot Taffyta a look of surprise.
"What, are you…?" Vanellope breathed in pain as she gazed at Taffyta. She was holding a shuddering piece of Vanellope's pixelly code. It shivered and bounced around in bouts of shiny blue pixels and binary. Taffyta held it firm between her pointer and thumb.
"This is your basic code," Taffyta explained, holding it for Vanellope to see.
"Ow," Vanellope winced as she tried to focus on Taffyta. Vanellope held her glitching, confused arm.
"Because this is finalized code," Taffyta continued, "You can't mesh this exterior code with anyone else and get a baby out of it."
"If you can't mesh codes with someone, then how do you, c-code a baby? Isn't meshing codes the point?" Vanellope asked in pain, more concerned about her quivering arm. Taffyta shot her an annoyed look.
"You mesh unfinalized, interior codes with someone by having sex, Vanellope," Taffyta blurted out as she quickly let go of the shivering piece of Vanellope's code she held. It zipped back to her arm with a snap, causing Vanellope's whole left side to bulge and glitch with blue binary. Ralph's arm bulged in soft red code as well before everything settled.
"You couldn't save this conversation for the train ride home, could yah," Ralph said with an annoyed chuckle.
"Ow," Vanellope frowned as she rubbed her arm gently.
"YOU'RE her boyfriend," Taffyta barked with a small laugh, "I'm just doing your job for you, buddy!"
"My job?" Ralph laughed as he wrinkled his nose, "Am I suddenly the code ed. teacher in this group or something?"
"I hate to interrupt this awkward conversation," Felix chuckled as he stood, "But Calhoun and I are going to go to Hero's Duty's code room to see when the baby is due. Do you guys want to come?"
"Of course!" Vanellope said eagerly as she quickly stood, thankful to get out of the awkward situation. Ralph and Taffyta followed suit as they five left the Penthouse.
"Awkward code ed. conversation with my friends," Ralph heaved a long sigh as everyone piled into the elevator, "Now, awkward close perimeters in the slowest elevator in the world… with my friends."
"Ralph secretly is enjoying all these sappy times," Taffyta laughed as she was shoved to the back of the elevator.
"A family that sardines themselves in an elevator together, stays together!" Vanellope laughed as she gently hugged Ralph's arm with one of her arms. She tucked her other hand into his large one, relishing in the warmth.
"A bit unconventional," Felix chuckled as everyone crammed together, "But I guess it could be worse."
"Family," Ralph breathed gently as he smiled down at Vanellope, "Never thought I'd have myself one."
"Taffyta is just adopted," Vanellope laughed as she tried to look over Calhoun's shoulder to catch eyes with her.
"I'm chopped liver, yeah, I get it," Taffyta scoffed playfully as she tucked her long, white blond hair behind her ears.
"Hardly," Ralph chuckled as he gave her a kind smile.
"Thank you, Ralph," Taffyta barked as she glared at Vanellope playfully.