Reviews :
Burgie : Thank you so much! This story is very heavily centered around the idea that family sticks together, so I'm glad that is apparent right off the bat. And, thank you! I've gotten nothing but positive responses, which I'm very surprised by. IDKY I thought I was going to be burned at the stake lmao. I'm still weighing my options and seeing what I want to do. I'll wait until I have a decent amount of chapters I'm sitting on and go from there. It won't be canon, it'll just be for funsies and for those that want spicier sex/crack/forbidden couple scenes more often.
faolan1230 : Oh wow, I'm flattered! Thank you! Yeah, my crack-ship chapters I still consider tasteful, I've written them in the style of the story with plot and emotion and such, obviously, though there are a few words and terms that are a tiny bit bolder than anything I'd use in the saga, as well as character dialog. A lot of it is a touch spicier, nothing too crazy. It's the pairings involved that makes it weird lmao.
BanannaSammich : Thank you so so so much! I'm still considering uploading it :) I'll wait until I have a handful of chapters written. And, thank you for the reassurance! I reread Wrecking Limits awhile ago and just cringed, I would only want to rewrite it in a way that keeps tightly to the plot obviously, but adds details and more emotion and such. Who knows, guess we'll see.
chuckiboo : Aww, wow! That's so sweet, thank you. I'd like to think I've learned a thing or two in my 8 years with Cory, and almost 2 years of marriage. This story is an outlet for me. No one ever asks for my advice or my opinion on such things, cause I'm the baby of the family and don't have any new, important information to give, so this is kind of my way of giving my input and hoping it benefits someone. I'll consider uploading my one-off chapters, I've gotten nothing but positive responses, I just worry cause some of the pairings I've already written for are a bit jarring and I wouldn't want to freak anyone out too much lol.
Snake557 : Yay! I'm glad you found your login. Thank you friend!
Song Listened To :
Kwolok's Hollow by Gareth Coker
*Chapter 6*
Although not typically a shy or tender moving being, Ralph found himself almost tiptoeing through Tessa's and Zed's common room, the lovely downstairs unit below the whole of their home, which was elevated a story, or two, above the ground. Although typically a closed-off unit, tonight it was dimly illuminated, making clear that Zed had kept to his word and assured Ralph that he was outside, out and about, doing User knows what. Through the press of the unlocked common room door, Ralph eased through their lovely, familiar space. A massive, round room that sat stationed cozily under the whole of their home, said common room had an awesome outdoor kitchen area, a gathering spot to sit and relax, lounge chairs and easy sitting nooks of all kinds, Ralph's eyes trailed from the beautiful, cozy space all tidily littered with beautiful potted foliage. Said indoor space opened up to an equally as grand and beautiful outdoor space, in which his eyes finally caught with Zed's figure.
Although it was dark in their segment of jungle trees, which used to be the flyer's enclosure, their backyard area was comfortably lit with hanging lantern lights. Zed stood far out in their clearing of beautiful trees, he had a few, silver code room holographs out before him, as if he was preparing to partake in a potential outdoor chore. As Ralph's figure stepped out onto the hefty, tidy cobble stones and into the sweet, Sugar Rush grass that properly mapped the entirety of the palace's outdoor space, Ralph felt his stomach sag in mild dread. Well aware that he had been the one to reach out to Zed and very nervously make clear that he had something he needed to run by Zed, he suddenly wondered if maybe he could duck out of this situation and run back to the safety of his own, messy home, though much to his dismay, Zed's crisp voice clipped the clearing with Kingly certainty.
"Too late now, my guy, I know what you're thinking," Zed stated with a small chuckle. He wore a light tank top and a pair of black sweats to clearly get dirty in. Ralph slumped his shoulders and eyed his own son-in-law, the King of Sugar Rush, a handsomely sculpted individual, the top dog on the lot, an alpha in his own, earned right, Ralph nearly found it difficult to swallow. Zed's piercing blue eyes hooked to Ralph's with a kind smile, he gestured Ralph deeper into the space and gave off an air of softness, something Ralph hesitantly gravitated to, "C'mon, dude, I don't bite. What's going on, you needed to speak to me?"
"Yeah, it's... Today's been weird, I just need your opinion on something," Ralph grumbled as he rubbed the back of his head. Also dressed in lazy, dark brown sweats and a white t-shirt, Ralph's hefty bare feet cautiously approached Zed, though he wildly flinched as Zed cued a few juts of sturdy earth to stab high out of the ground, easily over six feet tall, which was Zed's height. Ralph blurt a chuckle, though also allowed his eyes to drag upwards to the jungle canopies over head; due to the twinkle of coding that caught his eye, Ralph imediately took note that Zed had secured their ground in a sound-proof dome of Zed's coding. Ralph immediately sagged and felt safe, and though really the only wandering spirits out here would be the flyers, Ralph was thrilled Zed took this seriously, in the realm of Ralph's much-needed privacy, "Y-you, uh... Planning on wrecking those walls of rock, there?"
"Yeah, you said you were coming over, I figured we'd shoot the shit and swing a bit, huh?" Zed chimed cutely, he flagged Ralph's lower chest in a firm swat and finally sauntered away. Zed inhaled a deep, readied breath and sneakily eyed the few juts of earth, all cutely crowned with patches of grass, and though Zed's clenched his fists and was prepared to have a small wreck fest with the man that started it all, he was hoping his intentionally sloppy form would cue Ralph into full-blown teacher mode, a secretive vein of love that would give Ralph immediate purpose.
"Guess... It HAS been awhile, if I'm being honest," Ralph grumbled, he cracked his knuckles and nearly beamed in the act of forgetting his troubles, the main reason he came here, though as he raised his eyebrows and awaited Zed to take the first hit, he quickly noticed Zed's stance and form and cleared his throat. With purpose, Ralph gently approached Zed and flagged his much larger hand in his direction, "Bah, wai-wai-wait, what's THAT, your Majesty, you planning on doing a little dance first?"
"Yeah, I thought I'd seduce the rocks first, y'know," Zed barked in smiling irritation as Ralph cutely budged into Zed's bubble, "What, am I doing it wrong?"
"Have I taught you nothing?" Ralph grumbled, though Zed sneakily smiled as Ralph fell into Zed's cunning little trap. Ralph cleared his throat and began to softly man-handle Zed's figure. He tucked his much larger finger underneath Zed's strong chin, cueing him to lift his head. With his other hand, he tucked into Zed's lower back and forced Zed to puff his chest, "Gotta stand with confidence, hold your head high. When you take in that big breath, before you swing, drop your shoulders and puff your chest."
"Better?" Zed wondered as he followed Ralph's guiding hand and advice, and with perfected stance Zed knew all along, Ralph bobbed a nod and smiled.
"Much," Ralph cued, he gestured to Zed's feet and continued in a grandfatherly grumble, "Watch your feet, don't pigeon-toe your stance."
"Like this?" Zed wondered, though he inhaled a thick breath, puffed his chest, reeled back and took a lunge of a swing. Near to perfection, he obliterated the jutting pillar of rock he had cued, and with the pop of crackling, explosive rock, Ralph blurt a laugh and winced as shards of rock went flying; he grinned with pride as Zed panted and peered back to Ralph in a cute show of curiosity.
"If I didn't know any better, I'd say you were directly related to me," Ralph blurt a hard laugh, a wide smile Zed hadn't seen in a long while; Zed bashfully rubbed the back of his head and finally gestured to a few other rock pillars closer to Ralph.
"Tessa does what she can to keep my wrecking on point," Zed mumbled cutely, he eyed Ralph and narrowed his gaze, "Surely wrecking the Niceland building, on cue, isn't nearly as fun as flippantly just throwing swings. When's the last time you just wrecked for fun?"
"User, probably the time we were teaching Turbo how to wreck," Ralph grumbled, he eyed the rock pillars in sneaky delight and did what he could to not seem way too overzealous, "Even then, that was work... Not simply just us out here having a good time."
"Welp, now's your chance," Zed cued with a smile, though he felt his stomach dip in anxiousness the second Ralph glossed his eyes to the still rock pillars and swung back to Zed's gaze in a narrow of soft suspicion. To avoid any prodding, on Ralph's end, Zed blurt a chuckle and gestured outwards, "C'mon, man. Take a swing and then we'll talk about whatever you wanted. Let out some steam, first, I got a feeling you're pent up, anyhow."
Ralph held his breath and continued to stare down into Zed's eyes with a full furrow of mixed emotions, though before he could argue Zed about all the things he was correct about, and clearly lose this argument against Sugar Rush's King, Ralph inhaled a thick breath, clenched his fists, followed his proper stances and took a solid, scary thrust of a swing towards the closest pillar, but ended up knocking down three in his eruption of a warpath. Zed blurt a chuckle, laid a few proud claps to the clearing and smiled to the back of Ralph's head, though the second Ralph continued to face away in shoulder-scrunched agony, Zed softened in a prickle of cold suspicion and gently held his hands on his hips in a bit of a cocky lean. Zed dart his eyes about the clearing as the dust settled, though Ralph stood still with his fists clenched; it was clear Ralph had likely opened some sort of a floodgate and was doing everything he could to reserve it. It was here did Zed understand that a very abrupt man-to-man conversation was likely about to occur. Knowing everything there was to know about Ralph, and his current situation, Zed huffed a snide little chuckle and looked off in mild, smiling annoyance.
"Haven't been doing your homework, I see," Zed mumbled, his deep voice was so soft and caring, yet so stern and dominant that it was enough to make the clearing reverberate with the bass of it all. Zed inhaled a deep, raspy breath and puffed his chest, "So, you came over here to chat about Vanellope, certainly... It better include something different than what we have previously talked about, because if you're going to be upset over lack of any progress, I can safely say, right now, it's your fault due to lack of any homework done, on your end."
"It's not easy," Ralph grunted in hot irritation, the second his wrecking force had now come out in such a way that wasn't reserved for game day, he nearly seethed, something Zed so eagerly hooked to.
"Nothing good in life comes easy, Ralph," Zed stabbed, "So, your homework was to find outlets, do activities, partake in a few chores around the house. List any of the above."
"I did a few chores today," Ralph grumbled, he finally turned to face Zed, though not dead on; his body language eked guilt, pent up frustration, Zed side-eyed him in hot suspicion as the words leaving Ralph's mouth grew less and less confident, "Pretty positive I... Made more messes than cleaned them, but at least I tried."
"Alright, you follow my instructions on outlets?" Zed heavily questioned, he was well aware he was putting Ralph in the hot seat, though after months of tip toeing around such a huge, sleeping beast, Zed was aware he likely needed to shake the ground Ralph was on.
"I do enough wrecking during game day, man, I'm exhausted when I come home," Ralph argued, he nearly gave Zed a glower, "Easy for someone who DOESN'T have a game day."
"Yeah, I mean, running this entire User-damned game is a cake walk, anyhow," Zed shrugged, he narrowed his gaze and gave Ralph a dirty look; well aware the two were secure enough in their bond of a relationship that fighting wouldn't result in a game over, Zed was eager to push every single last one of Ralph's buttons, "I wouldn't understand the concept of having a start and end time of anything. After all, being Sugar Rush's King doesn't end when the Arcade closes. You were King once, weren't you?"
"Bad example, I get it," Ralph grunted in apologetic irritation, he exhaled a trembling breath and eyed another pillar a few feet off, nearly threatening it with his mind.
"Y'wanna take more swings? I wouldn't blame you," Zed instructed as he lazily crossed his arms after gesturing a flippant waggle of his wrist out to the clearing, "I, too, would want to murder anything inanimate if I was participating in full-fledged coded abstinence."
"... This isn't something I WANT to be doing, Zed," Ralph loudly argued, he finally faced Zed dead on, and though Ralph was a huge, intimidating guy, he was shocked to see Zed remain perfectly still, unwavering in a swathe of Kingly confidence, it was clear nothing could shake him; Zed shrugged his muscular shoulders and looked off with a sassy dollop of goodness only Tessa could've gifted him.
"I don't know, pretty sure Vanellope wouldn't say no to someone like YOU," Zed grunted, he gestured to Ralph and was glad he had received the intention behind his sly words, Ralph rolled his eyes and looked off in embarrassed cheek. Zed rubbed his chest and grinned in snarky delight as he continued to prod at all of these sensitive points, "Even still, your only other outlet besides wrecking on off hours is self service. Y'gotta do something to get pent up frustration out, my guy. No matter what that looks like."
"Forgive me for not keeping a log of when I jack off," Ralph stabbed in now further embarrassed irritation, steam could nearly be seen coming out of his ears, though Zed crossed his arms and gave Ralph a look of cocky cheek, "Not like I've had the energy to do much of anything, as of late. At least I TRIED to clean, today. I helped Vanellope with her ring and I TRIED to put laundry away."
"Next you should actually COMPLETE the act of putting the laundry away," Zed goad, he knew he was fighting dirty, though he was glad to be getting somewhere, "You fold clothes, my guy. It's not gunna jump out and kill you."
"Yeah, well, watch your back, cause I might," Ralph muttered; knowing Ralph was simply spouting hot air, Zed tried not to laugh and instead gestured to the patiently waiting pillars of rock that were jut from the ground.
"Why don't you demonstrate for me, then?" Zed urged, hoping he'd just suck it up and take that swing, and much to his surprise, Ralph stiffened his upper lip, inhaled a thick breath and took a hefty lunge of a swing at the remaining pillars.
In no time flat, all the pillars were gone in an explosive show of Ralph's incredible power, though to top it all off, Ralph uttered a hard, loud grunt and slammed both of his huge fists to the ground in an earth shattering pang of erupted earth. Zed huffed a shaky breath, caught his footing, and eagerly peered to Ralph through the dust that finally did what it could to settle. Ralph heavily panted with his back hunched, his arms shook, it was entirely clear he could likely keep going, though Zed nearly smiled at how Ralph was not only letting his anger out, but beautifully controlling it, as well. Knowing no one in Arcade would dare to step close to the beast that was Ralph, Zed was well aware he was safe in his father's presence, a being that had nothing but love to give, a misunderstood soul that just needed to be heard, no matter if it required a bit of poking and prodding to begin with. Zed gently rounded Ralph's left and stood tight in his gravity, and with both men caught in tight, stern eye contact, Zed swathed the silver-coded dome with a very real amount of stern, fatherly love, something Ralph was not familiar to.
"You're a ticking time bomb, Ralph. THIS explosion could've been so much worse," Zed's stern voice glossed the clearing, though Ralph firmly peered down into Zed's eyes, it was clear he was intently listening through the heavy breaths of frustration he emit through his nose, the tight-lipped look of hot irritation that he glowered into Zed's soul radiated a very strange, real form of needy patience, "I don't care what happens... I need you to find time to wreck recreationally, and, y'know what, I don't care if it's embarrassing to talk about, but y'gotta get rid of coding in one form or another. Whether that's finally swapping with Vanellope or doing the task yourself. You CAN'T live with pent up coding, like this. You want an example? I can get Turbo over here REAL quick, you want a fast lesson on trapped coding?"
"I get it," Ralph stabbed, his voice shook, and though he looked entirely angry, it was clear that his eyes could very easily well with tears at any moment; Zed heaved a raspy sigh and shook his head in the downswing of heightened testosterone.
"For this next week, ditch chores or trying to do things FOR Vanellope," Zed firmly instructed, his voice finally softened, "Get to your roots, sort out the coding inside your body. I STRONGLY recommend getting a lesson in core coding, from Turbo. Strongly recommend."
"I'm not doing that," Ralph immediately rebuked, Zed's firm, fatherly disposition rose from the dead.
"Why, cause it's embarrassing?" Zed loudly wondered, Ralph firmly furrowed his eyebrows and began to look desperate.
"I don't want anyone else nosing around my coding," Ralph argued.
"That's fair, but Turbo's not that kind of guy, he wouldn't dare go nosing and snooping into information that wasn't strictly operating on core coding," Zed heavily defended, he rested his hand to his chest and gave Ralph a stern glower, "That man was hand picked by your own wife, that man holds my daughter's heart. You really think I'd send YOU, one of the most important people in Tessa's life, to that man if I thought his intentions were poor?"
Ralph looked off in defeat and tried not to roll his eyes, though Zed gently swat at Ralph's chest to get his attention; upon receiving it, Zed shook his head and eyed Ralph in seriousness.
"It's in our nature, coding has to come and go, and without that, we build up anger, resentment, bitterness," Zed firmly gestured to his chest and shook his head, "You have a LOT pent up... I KNOW you're upset about Koko, I KNOW you're upset about feeling abandoned and trapped with no one but yourself, whilst Sugar Rush was down the shitter. I GET it-"
"You don't get it, you'd never understand that pain," Ralph suddenly stabbed, to which Zed's piercing blue eyes nearly started to glow with the sheer amount of fatherly dominance that suddenly lit the clearing on fire.
"Oh, I wouldn't understand that pain, Ralph? You're fucking kidding me, yeah?" Zed loudly volleyed, "I was isolated from my brothers due to the very PRODUCT of Turbo's trapped coding, my guy. If there's ANYONE that understands a shred of the previous pain you're suffering from, it's me."
Ralph kept a tight-lipped glower down to Zed though finally began to soften with mild guilt, he heaved a shaky sigh through his nose, sagged his shoulders and although the relief of tenderness was well on its way, Ralph peered down to the ground in dejected sorrow as Zed firmly continued.
"Forget chores, Vanellope will live. You need to figure out your coding first and foremost," Zed firmly instructed, though his voice finally began to soften a bit, "If visiting Turbo is too much of a stretch, then at least let ME help you with your core coding. User knows its all jam-packed with trauma and stress and grief. I also don't care how embarrassing it is. Either you get with Vanellope and swap codes with her, once and for all, or you hide away and get the job done yourself. You SERIOUSLY haven't done ANYTHING in that vein for as long as you've gone without swapping with Vanellope?"
"I just don't have the drive or desire," Ralph muttered in an embarrassed way, he shrugged and glanced his eyes to Zed's, "Kinda hard when your wife views you as this lazy turd who does nothing all day."
"You're the only one who can change that," Zed grunted, though Ralph continued to sag in further dejection.
"Vanellope got picked up on, today, while in Vidrix," Ralph stumbled on his words, it was clear anger had finally segued to sadness as Ralph unclenched his fists, "She was honest with me about it, but... Feels terrible knowing other men, out there, are actively seeking her out and giving her their phone number."
"... Well, shit," Zed huffed shakily, he, too, softened and rubbed his forehead, "At least she was honest with you."
"I really... I just want to be that guy, again. Look, I know I've never been extremely in shape, or anything, but just the THOUGHT of better looking guys trying to snatch up my Queen, I mean..." Ralph's voice wavered, he shyly looked about the clearing in aimless desperation before he narrowed his gaze and peered into Zed's, as if these words unfurling from his heart were a last ditch effort, "Y-You... Y'gotta help me, man, how do I get in shape like you or... Or Ace or even Turbo? I-I know looks aren't anything, but I just... Need improvement, somewhere."
"Hey, if you're ready to train with me every morning, I'll get you to a good spot," Zed rested his hand on his chest and felt as if he was having an out of body experience. Never did he think, for a single second, that Ralph would come upon this idea all on his own. Zed tread lightly, knowing full well that one wrong move could scare Ralph off, "I helped Ace when he was interested in seriously pursuing Libby. It's not the answer to your problems, but it'll certainly help in more ways than one."
"When do we start?" Ralph muttered quietly, as if it were a secret, though Zed looked down to the ground in searching, softened surprise and sighed his answer.
"Tomorrow too soon?" Zed wondered brightly, Ralph squeezed his eyes shut and nodded.
"Yes, but I don't care, I just need to bounce back, somehow," Ralph mumbled as he rubbed his face, "Thanks, for... Dealing with me."
"We're here to pick each other up when we've fallen," Zed stated with a nod, a firm show of love, he pat Ralph's upper arm in an encouraging fashion and heaved a soft sigh of relief, "Meet me here at seven... Game day is at ten, so that gives you time to spend an hour with me, then head home and spend some of the morning with your wife."
"Noted," Ralph grumbled in hot dismay, though he flinched when Zed gave him a sneaky smile and waggled his finger.
"One more thing... Please choose yours and Vanellope's bed, from here on out," Zed instructed, he side-eyed Ralph and broadened his sly smile, "I don't care how comfortable your recliner is... It's time to get back to the heart of it all."
