"First Hug" Pt. 1 (Ralph's POV):
It was time to go back home; Part of me knew I had to go back to save my game, but the other part wanted to say and watch Vanellope get chosen by a player and win her first trophy. I wanted to see the look on her face when one of the gamers would choose her as their avatar, making her feel special for the first time in her life! But I couldn't stay; I had to go back to finish fixing the mess I caused. So with a sigh, I knelt on one knee to say goodbye and promised that I'd come right back after work to hang out and introduce Vanellope to a variety of worlds bigger than the one she'd been trapped in all her life. But before I could say anything, she came running up to me, jumped onto my shoulder, and hugged me! I was so shocked; I had never been hugged before... Everyone was so afraid that I'd crush them or hurt them, that they wouldn't even come near me. But this kid, this tiny, physically delicate, 9-year-old kid, willingly jumped onto my shoulder to hug me! I couldn't just leave her hugging me without doing it back. So, I carefully cupped my hands around her tiny figure and gently squeezed her back. She felt so fragile against my large and heavy hands. I made sure that this first hug wouldn't be the last for her or me. She nestled her head into the side of mine, with her cheek squished up against my shoulder and her heart beating softly but rapidly against mine. Her heartbeat was fast, as fast as it could be for a kid in a Candy World... But it seemed to slow down a little after I put my hands around her to hug her back. It's like she felt safe and secure, not having to worry anymore about rejection or being hurt by someone in any way. She seemed to trust me. Trust me enough that I wouldn't crush her, hurt her, or worse... She began to tell me that I was more than welcome to stay in the Castle with her, with my wing where I could Wreck and Stink as much as I wanted with no fear of being mistreated or unhappy. I was so touched. When we first met, I never would've imagined that such a bratty and sarcastic guttersnipe would deep down have a Heart of Gold to not only let me but WANT me to stay in a big fancy castle with them as their Best Friend. We finally let go of each other, but I still had my hands cupped for her to sit in them comfortably. She looked up at me with tears in her eyes, wanting me to say 'Yes', out of fear that once I returned home, I would go back to a life of misery and loneliness. I looked her in the eyes and told her, "I'm already happy. I've got the coolest friend in the world!" She blushed at my comment, I continued to tell her that I had a job to do back home. As cool as it sounded to live in my own wing in a castle with my new Best Friend, possibly as her 'Vice President Stinkbrain', I had to return to my game to keep doing the duty I was programmed to do, A BIG duty at that. That comment got a chuckle out of her for sure. As Felix called me back to the ship, the kid and I exchanged some playful yet admittedly immature nicknames, that I'm sure will come up more often than naught in the future, and we waved goodbye till the ship was out of sight from Sugar Rush. As Felix, Sarge, and I flew out of the game, I continued to think about all that had happened that day, and how not only did I receive my first Medal, and my first Hug... I had finally received the greatest reward ever... My very first Friend.