First They're Sour, Then They're Sweet
Later that night, Felix and Tamora walked the racers back to their individual homes. Just like their go karts, each house was designed in the same style as each racer. They were perfectly intact, even after everything the console had been through. The race track that Ralph created for Vanellope was still there. Just looking at it made Taffyta angry.
Nougetsia was cheerfully skipping between the couple, holding both of their hands. Occasionally, they lifted her up in the air and she happily kicked her legs, laughing silently. Crumbelina was beside Felix and Candlehead was beside Tamora. The rest of them all walked ahead, eager to have their own space after sharing the same bed for a short while.
Taffyta was lagging behind, still contemplating the events of earlier that day. If she were being honest, the thing that scared her most about assuming her new role wasn't leading, but trying to save this game.
Vanellope just happened to be a glitch. Nobody asked how or why; they all just assumed she was an accident. Like an unfinished part of the game. What would have happened if someone tried to be a glitch?
Taffyta kept the question to herself. Messing with the code was dangerous work. But maybe it was her only chance. Soon, it wouldn't just be the number one fans of the game who noticed Vanellope was gone.
"Well," Felix said, stopping in front of the line of houses. "Guess you kids better get settled back in."
The rest of the racers that weren't close by thanked them both, and once again apologized for being so much trouble, and hurried into the candy homes. Except for Candlehead, Crumbelina, and Nougetsia. They stayed behind, all with saddened faces.
"Hey, chin up, girls," Tamora said, bending down on one knee. "Don't stress yourselves out too much about your game. We'll find a solution."
"That's not it..." Crumbelina mumbled.
Felix looked at her. "No? What is it?"
None of them said a word until Candlehead gently grasped Tamora's hand and said, "Can we stay with you guys?"
The couple shared a look with each other, surprise and a subtle hint of happiness within their faces.
"You want to come home with us?" Tamora asked them.
The three little girls shared a synchronous nod.
Felix beamed. "Of course you can. It's your home, too."
The five of them were about to depart, but they stopped when they saw Taffyta looking down at the purple and orange paved road. She looked as if she was trying to concentrate hard enough on the ground to move it. She'd been trailing circles into the pavement with her shoe with her hands behind her back. There wasn't any words that she'd spoken since the meeting was adjourned earlier.
Part of her wondered if she'd made the right choice in accepting the position.
"Are you doing okay, Taffyta?" Tamora asked.
"Huh?" Taffyta looked up. "Yeah, just fine. You know, you guys didn't have to stay behind for that meeting. We've all got our homes back and now you've got yours."
"Well, we still wanted to show our support." Felix said. "We still care about you kids."
Whenever they said the word "care", Taffyta felt something twist in her chest. Nerves, or something. Taffyta lowered her head.
"Well... thanks, I guess." She mumbled and started towards her pink house. "Goodnight."
Felix and Tamora watched her go.
"If you need anything, we're close by." Tamora said to her.
The pink racer only nodded without turning around. She had too many things on her mind that night to respond to anyone, or return to the towering pink hard candy home that she thought she missed. There was a conflict within her, with one side of her brain compelling her to follow them back to Fix-It's game, where she felt safer and admittedly happier.
But the other part was not only telling her it was wise to stay, but that there was some unfinished business that she had to attend to.
She looked at the castle with the future of Sugar Rush in mind. There had to be something hidden in that almost-forgotten building that could easily solved their game problems. Maybe it sounded like a better idea in theory than in practice, but right now, with Vanellope gone and the entirety of Sugar Rush looking up to her to become this resilient leader, there didn't seem like any other option.
Once back at the apartment, Felix and Tamora made sure the three girls were settled in bed and gently closed the door to their room. The apartment seemed eerie because of how empty it was. There were still some remnants of the disaster the racers made out of the living room, with a destroyed Rubiks cube in the corner, a patch on the once-torn curtains, and a lost sock.
Felix thought he would feel better now that his little problem was solved, but he had many troublesome thoughts on his mind that night. One of them being that he noticed the obvious freeze between his wife and his closest friend.
"The nerve of that guy..." He heard her mumble.
He knew he should give her time, but he hated seeing them drift apart like this. They've already lost one member of their group. He didn't want to lose another. Though he still felt cross with Ralph, he thought it was best if he overcame it.
Ralph was still one of his best friends.
"Tammy, I know it wasn't one of Ralph's finest moments, but..." he began. "I think we should-"
"Forget it, Felix." Tamora spat out. "I'm not talking to that great buffoon. You seriously think what he did was right?"
Felix shook his head. "No, I think he wasn't using his head when he did it, but-."
She plopped down on one of the dining room chairs with a loud thump. "Then I don't think he deserves any of our kindness. He might have cost those poor kids their homes forever."
There was no arguing with that point and Felix was just as worried about it as he was when he first saw Ralph show up without Vanellope. The worst part about it was seeing poor Crumbelina's reaction to it right after she'd just shared her nightmares with Felix. He told her that he was sure Vanellope would return, and then he had to go and disappoint her like that.
Even if it wasn't him who left Vanellope to roam the endless void of the Internet, he still felt like he was to blame. It wasn't within his control but he did encourage this risky adventure through the police line tape.
"My dear," Felix said, his head hanging and his hand resting on the kitchen countertop. "I understand how you feel."
Tamora sighed. "But I don't think you do, Fix-It. You're telling me I should just drop it and act all chummy with Ralph like he didn't just go against one of the main rules of existing in this arcade?"
"No, that's not it at all!" Felix rubbed the back of his neck. "I just thought maybe you guys could hash it out and understand each other's perspective."
"I think he understands mine perfectly well," She slumped in her chair and pressed her thumb and index finger to her forehead. "I just can't believe he would go and pull a stunt like that and then expect everything to just be okay."
Felix walked over and sat across from her. "My thoughts are that... we can fix it if we just put our heads and our ideas together, differences aside. That's how me and Ralph became a good team."
Tamora looked at him. "This isn't like that."
"Yeah, but, Tammy..."
It was quiet between them for a few seconds, with Felix concerned that he might have upset her even more. Maybe he should have let it go for tonight and waited until some time passed. Maybe sometimes he was too forgiving and a bit of a pushover when it came to his friends and family.
It just didn't feel like it was possible for him to be angry at anyone for a long period of time. That and Felix always believed in this undeniable power of connection and togetherness.
"Look," Tamora's hand laid atop of his. "I know how much it means to you for all of us to get along. I'm not saying that I'm going to forget this blunder of his, but..." She gave his hand a gentle squeeze. "For your sake, I'll try."
Felix gave her a half-hearted smile, still feeling bad about rushing her. "Take as much time as you need."
Tamora leaned forward across the small table and gave him a gentle kiss. When she pulled away, she told him, "You are too good for this world, Fix-It."
"Aw, shucks..." She really knew how to make his face and ears tint every chance she got.
And they both let out a collective sigh at the same exact time, taking in the silence of the apartment. Though the atmosphere felt a bit off, aside from the fact that most of the racers had homes of their own again. That was something Felix was looking forward to, wasn't it?
He should have said something more meaningful to them before they scattered off into their little homes. He looked over at Tamora and saw her brows pinched in thought. Perhaps the same thing was on her mind.
"It's quiet." She finally said, looking up at the lone ceiling lamp above the kitchen table.
Felix nodded. "It sure is. Um..." He traced the geometric patterns on the flat surface. "Tammy?"
She turned her head to him, with the shadow of the light spread across her eyes.
"I, um..." He struggled to find the right words. "I'm worried about Taffyta."
"What about Taffyta?"
"Well," He bit his lip. "It's just that... on the way back, I was thinking that this whole election business was put on her without a warning. She seemed like it was too much weight for her little shoulders."
Tamora locked her fingers together. "Hey, you heard the rest of the candy court. If anyone can handle being president, it's that little muffin. She's carried the rest of those candy critters since before Vanellope."
"But she's just a kid."
His wife shrugged. "Vanellope was just a kid, too."
"Right..." Felix looked towards the living room across from where he was sitting. He noticed there was a small lollipop stuck on the arm of the couch. "Maybe we should've let those little scamps stay another night."
He didn't think he would miss them this soon. It was difficult not to feel attached to people who relied on him and it made him feel like maybe he let them go much too soon. He didn't want to say it before, but it made his heart leap out of his chest to know that Candlehead, Nougetsia, and Crumbelina had warmed up to him and Tamora. It made him feel more accomplished than fixing the entire apartment complex six times in a row.
It made him wonder very briefly why he and Tamora never discussed a family before. His tone sounded glum and Tamora didn't miss it. She gave him a reassuring smile.
"They'll be fine, Sweetums. It's like they said before, they've been lone rangers since their game's upbringing. When those kids wandered into my game, they took down those cy-bugs like a lioness taking down a crowd of wild zebras." She laughed at the twinkle in his eye after she said it. "And Taffyta's going to be a great leader. She's one tough cookie. And she's got one heck of a role model who happens to be the best darn leader I know."
Felix chuckled. "I know, Tammy, you are a pretty good leader."
"I was referring to you, silly."
They shared another quiet laugh and then he added, "You know, she kind of reminds me of you."
Tamora turned her head away. "What, you mean frustratingly stubborn and a little angsty?"
"No, I mean underneath that hard candy layer of hers, there's a squishy soft spot made of all the sugary sweetness you could find." He pressed his palms onto the table and leaned closer to her. "And it takes someone very special to get through all those layers."
Tamora reached up and cupped his cheek. "You really are a charmer, Fix-It."
Felix nuzzled her palm and his expression turned serious. "Let's just hope that no matter what happens, she'll keep doing the right thing from here on out."
"You got that right."
AN: Okay, so after a very long time of trying to avoid it, I created a tumblr. My username is the same as the one for FF. I only have one post and it is a post.
Also, I know this is shorter than the others, but I don't actually have a specific word count for each of my chapters that I follow. Just specific ideas :3
I have another question. What would happen to the games if the arcade experienced a power outage? I feel like things would be bad but wouldn't the characters still exist? They're built into the game, right?
Update: Thanks for the responses! I changed several things here and added a little more sweetness (no pun intended) because I've got a different idea for the direction of the story. A little more drama and a little more risk.