Reviews :
Burgie : Thank you, wow. That's so sweet. I know, if I think on all of it too hard, I'll start crying haha. I love my redeemed boys.
BanannaSammich : Wayyy ahead of you ;D Great minds think alike
Snake557 : Thanks friend! :)
Firesong-Writes : Hey! Thanks so much! Yes, Mara and Beaux are Ace's and Libby's children. Ace is Tessa's first born. And you're definitely right, it all gets ironed out eventually :) Just requires a lot of TLC from the fam.
Song Listened To :
The Waters Cleansed by Gareth Coker ft. Tom Boyd
*Chapter 11*
"He's staring right at you," Tessa mumbled cutely, she jostled adorable little Callum in her motherly arms; although only two weeks had passed since Callum was born, the rapid Arcade growth meant he was about six human months old. Callum's brilliant, dark blue eyes honed tight to Wren's face, a huge, gummy grin crowned his squishy, pink face. Tessa beamed an equally as happy smile and honed her eyes tight to Wren's disposition, "I mean, it's been almost five minutes straight and I can't seem to get his attention."
"It's because I'm the coolest big brother ever, how could he NOT be transfixed?" Wren boasted with a shrug of his masculine shoulders, he stepped a few paces closer to Tessa's calm demeanor and leaned down, so to nearly get right in Callum's face, "Huh, bud? Mr. Reesey Fluggerbutter-cup."
"... Holy shit, that JUST hit me," Mara blurt with a cute chuckle; her, Berri, Wren, Tessa and Callum were all cozily sat at the palace's main hub of a kitchen, at the island closest to the refrigerator. Everyone honed their eyes tight to Mara as she crowned a cute, bewildered little grin, "Reese's Peanut Butter Cups...! How am I just NOW putting that together!"
"That's Uncle Rancis's staple, on the tracks," Tessa mumbled cutely, she raised her eyebrows in cute surprise as she jostled sweet little Callum about. She had him comfortably sat upright against her front, facing out to his family members so he was further visually stimulated, though Wren continued to hang tight to his dewy line of sight.
"Wow, I need to sit down, that's wild, how did I not even SEE that?" Mara huffed with a giggle as she sat down at the nearest bar stool; Berri happily laughed and sagged her hand to Mara's shoulder in soft camaraderie.
"It's okay, Mar," Berri smiled, she kindly peered to her mother and narrowed her eyes, "Mom, I'm sorry Wren and I have to cut our hangout short, tomorrow, to help out with Callum. We have that band meeting right after game day."
"Oh, no, it's okay, Penny and Orph are gunna come hang with me," Tessa stated, she shrugged in nonchalance and continued to jostle Callum a little, motherly antics she was more than used to, her warm smile sagged into Berri's eyes with all the happiness in the world, "Babysitting is going to eventually fall on Zed anyhow... The big Academy switch is happening next week."
"Oh, I forgot about that," Wren hissed as he stood up straight and eased out of Callum's line of sight, though his adorable, boyish face and eyes eagerly followed the movement upwards his big brother made, "Your transition from Game Central went smoothly, yeah?"
"It did," Tessa chirped with cuteness, she shyly looked down to the back of Callum's lovely, curly, white blonde hair, "I got promoted in the move."
"... Mom! You never mentioned that!" Berri exclaimed with a wide, proud smile, "When did this happen? What's your positioning now?"
"Well, Aunt Taffyta just had Callum, I didn't want to take away from it," Tessa giggled, she flagged her hand and gave Berri a loving look of kind understanding, everyone flinched in delighted surprise the second Callum cooed a much louder, babbling noise up to Wren's figure, "I was working as an assistant to the head of self-programmed gamer's relations, and... I was guaranteed a teaching spot at Arcadia Acadamy."
"Tessa, this is HUGE," Wren hissed in grinning delight as everyone honed tight to their Queen, Wren furrowed his brow in bittersweet delight and shook his head, "Why didn't you tell anyone?"
"I don't know, I'm already Queen of the world, I'm trying not to let my head get too big, here," Tessa mumbled sweetly, Berri adamantly shook her head.
"Mom, who else knows about this? Have you announced it?" Berri urged, Mara bobbed a nod and hooked her icy eyes tight to her grandmother's, as well.
"What will you be teaching?" Mara prod.
"Y'gotta tell Throttle like... Immediately, before I do," Wren choked a cute laugh, his handsome eyes hooked tight to Tessa's in warm delight.
"I'll be teaching grid physics," Tessa stated with a swathe of cute humility as Callum flagged his little hands and grinned a gummy smile up to Wren's figure, "It's a foot in the door... I need to talk to Turbo about it all, but I'm hoping I can sort of shadow underneath his teachings to Lash, because I eventually want to introduce and teach core coding."
"Mom, Turbo would DIE to make that a reality," Berri urged with a nod.
"Cause he can't teach that to the masses himself, all of those boys now got a shiny game day," Mara mumbled cutely as she eyed her Aunt Berri.
"I just gotta get my footing inside Arcadia Academy... All of us self-programmed gamers, under palace rule, are making the switch over this coming week," Tessa sighed, she readjusted Callum in her arms and shook her head in bittersweet nostalgia, "It'll be sad to leave Game Central, but... We're moving on to bigger, better things. Arcadia is EXTREMELY competitive. Grid Physics isn't my first choice, but..."
"Hey, your foot is in the door," Wren shrugged, he gave Tessa a hopeful grin, "You're gunna knock it out of the park. Damn, now I wish we were attending..."
"We're not going to be touring forever, my guy," Berri mumbled cutely, "Who knows, by the time we are ready to attend again, mom very well might be already teaching Core Coding."
"Gotta do all that singing and dancing, first," Mara quipped cutely with a shrug of her adorable bare shoulders, though they all daintily flinched as the sounds of all of Sugar Rush's racers could be heard entering the palace's massive garage, far down the stretch of a corridor that lead to such. Mara perked up and waved her finger, in the air, "Alright... Outside of great aunt Taffyta and great uncle Rancis, just WHO do you think will want dibs on holding Callum first?"
"I say Jubileena," Wren mumbled warmly, Berri fingered her lip in contemplation.
"My money's on Candlehead," Berri eased, to which Tessa raised her eyebrows and heard the palace's teleport pad hum with life; she gave all three beings, before her, a look of cheeky understanding.
"I have all you guys beat," Tessa mumbled cutely, "It's my father. I'll bet all the money inside of Arcade that THAT'S who just appeared on the teleport pad."
"Already?" Wren wondered, "I mean, I GET that Fix-It Felix Jr. is now one outlet away, but you really think Uncle Ralph can haul ass here that quickly?"
"Baby time!" Candlehead squeed as her and a few of the other female racers began to cutely glom into the palace's kitchen, with Vanellope, Rancis and Taffyta tight in tow, everyone donned in their incredible, awesome racing gear.
"I call dibs!" Jubileena's cute voice pierced the palace's kitchen, though Tessa flinched in surprise the second Ralph could be seen scuffing into the palace kitchen, a mild, panting mess; he raised his finger up, as if he was just about to cutely call dibs, though upon hearing Jubileena's proper call of a claim, he sagged his heavy hand to the ground and blew a silent raspberry of frustration out to the side.
"Dammit," Ralph muttered, and though no one but Tessa really heard or properly saw Ralph, Tessa's eyes softened to her father, she knew Jubileena had properly called dibs, though her heart began to thud in cute knowing the second her and her father caught eyes.
"Hi, baby boy," Taffyta's motherly voice cooed down to her precious third born, to which Callum's handsome eyes lit up with innocent glee. Although Tessa's now gooey gaze was strung away from the softened, humbled gaze of her father's warm stare, she gave her aunt Taffyta a loving smile and handed Callum over to his mother. Taffyta grunted, lugged Callum to her chest upright and began to firmly smooch his pillowy cheeks, "Aww... Were you good for your cousin today?"
"He was very good," Tessa chirped cutely with a nod, and although the majority of Sugar Rush's racers kindly said their greetings, they began to disperse to their own wings in order to relax and shower after a long racing day; Jubileena, Candlehead and Minty largely stayed behind so to cutely dote on Callum, the palace's shiny new play thing, "Zed even got him to eat some cherries from Libby's garden."
"User, how did that go?" Taffyta eased as she tidied his curly white hair, she smiled into Tessa's eyes and gave her niece a loving side hug before cutely sagging into Wren's strong side-embrace as well.
"Good, believe it or not, last time he cried over it," Tessa blurt a laugh, and though her eyes glossed the three other Sugar Rush racers that hung tight to Taffyta's and Callum's aura, with Vanellope nearby, she could see Ralph cutely chit chatting with Berri and Mara, hovering in anticipation, and it was clear to her that he was itching to hold Callum, once more, but was too soft about it to properly speak up.
"I wouldn't blame yah if it was vegetables, kid, but this is Sugar Rush," Taffyta muttered down to Callum, who easily babbled a cute few incoherent notions up to his mother with bright, handsome eyes. Taffyta dorkily nodded and pretended to carry on conversing with Callum, "I know they're scary, but you've gotta be brave, babe, they're JUST cherries."
"Sugar Rush cherries," Jubileena cutely reminded with a nod, her beautiful, bright red hair glistened underneath the setting sun of the skylights above them.
"Yeah, don't insult your auntie Jubee like this," Taffyta playfully muttered down to Callum, who cutely blurt a happy giggle and pawed at Taffyta's shirt a little.
"Jubileena, I know you called dibs, but," Tessa stated quietly through the grit of her teeth; she was thrilled Ralph was busy chit chatting with Berri and Mara, about a dozen feet away, stationed at the island closest to the corridor of the teleportation pad. Tessa gave Jubileena, Taffyta and Vanellope a sweet, apologetic smile and quietly continued on, "I think... My dad has been wanting to hold Callum, and he didn't get a chance yesterday."
"Aww, Ralph can have him, no prob," Jubileena sweetly stated in a shrug of happy defeat, and it was with the toss of all of the women's eye contact did Ralph feel the burn of their gazes and raise his eyebrows in dewy, innocent, prickled surprise; Berri and Mara caught on, and as Taffyta began to press closer to Ralph, they sagged with wide smiles and peered up to Ralph in knowing cuteness.
"Callum just told me that he wants his big Uncle Ralph to hold him," Taffyta mumbled, she rolled her eyes and shrugged, "I don't make the rules, the boy has good taste and I can't pursuade him out of it."
"... Oh, y-you sure? I heard Jubileena call dibs, first," Ralph mumbled in a sag of humbled, apologetic, bittersweetness that radiated off of him like a beacon of warm light; Vanellope crossed her arms and sweetly assessed the situation as she stood next to Tessa.
"No, Callum INSISTED, it HAS to be you," Taffyta stabbed in sarcastic worry, though as she handed Callum over to Ralph's massive, able hands, she lovingly pat his upper arm and leaned in, a notion only him, Berri and Mara could hear, "He told me you're his favorite."
"Not true," Ralph huffed in sweet, smiling irritation, though as he sagged Callum upright into his upper chest, his massive hand engulfed Callum's tiny body from his upper back and down. Ralph angled his head back and cutely caught eyes with Callum, who eagerly began to grin a gummy little smile and emit whiny noises of pure glee, "Hey, dude. You have fun with Tessa today? She didn't make you do homework, did she?"
"Yeah, I had him on a housekeeping run of the palace," Tessa stabbed with a wide grin as she gestured her hand, "Homework was first, though. He's terrible at math, sorry Aunt Taffyta."
"I mean, same," Taffyta rubbed her forehead and grunted a laugh as she watched Rancis sweetly come alongside Ralph and peer up to his son, who was safely propped against Ralph's chest, "I wouldn't last one day at Academy."
"Which... Mom, you should reveal your good news," Berri chimed cutely, she eyed her mother in sweet suspicion, and though everyone stabbed their eyes tight to Tessa, she scrunched her shoulders a little and shyly looked down to her hands.
"Good news? You're pregnant," Vanellope huffed with a wide grin, to which Tessa wildly bugged her eyes and shot her mother a bewildered grin.
"WHAT?" Ralph barked, Callum squealed a happy noise as everyone urgently peered to Tessa in hot surprise.
"NO I'm not pregnant, oh my User," Tessa erupted with laughter as the group cutely sagged, "I-I... Well... I accepted a position at Arcadia Academy, and I start this following Monday."
"You got hired!" Vanellope hissed in excited delight, everyone was all smiles.
"You're now higher up in administration, yeah?" Rancis's deep voice wondered with kind sincerity, to which Tessa grit her teeth in sheepish, grinning reveal.
"I'm their newest professor," Tessa stated proudly, the whole group gaped and began to erupted with cooing, excited notions; Taffyta wrangled Tessa into a hug.
"Holy User, this is SO exciting!" Candlehead cutely expressed as she clapped her hands together.
"Congratulations, babe," Ralph's fatherly voice grumbled in cute sincerity, over the crowd, Tessa gave him a grin of pure gratitude as Taffyta kept her wrangled in a tight hug, one of which Vanellope tightly joined in on.
"Proud of you, love," Vanellope cooed, and though she was eager to dote on her first born, she raised her eyebrows and softly lofted her gaze to where Ralph was stationed.
Everyone continued to keep their tight attention to Tessa as she went on to explain just what she'd be teaching and just how many students she'd have, and though Vanellope was paying close attention to everything Tessa was saying, she couldn't help but allow her eyes to trail back to Ralph and Callum. Invested in Tessa's words, he split his attention and so lovingly began to mumble sweet little nothings to Callum as his brilliant blue eyes hooked tight to Ralph's. The only thing Vanellope could hear, from him, was simply the drum of reverberating bass his deep voice produced, the certain, adorable little notions Ralph eased down into Callum's figure, as if to have a full-blown conversation with him, and it was the second that Ralph's free hand reached up to Callum's tiny head and so daintily moved his white hair from his eyes did Vanellope clutch her chest and firmly rip her eyes away from the painfully adorable sight; floods of memories came rushing back to her, instances where Ralph so heavily doted on Oliver and Tessa, as babies, she clenched her teeth and felt her stomach line with a fresh batch of butterflies.
"Don't you think?" Tessa pressed as her beautiful hazel eyes hooked tight to Vanellope's; grateful she had kept an ear in their conversation, she shakily huffed a small giggle and yanked herself back down to the planet.
"Yeah, I think so," Vanellope prod, entirely grateful she was able to catch the last half of what Tessa was saying, "Turbo would be more than happy to aid you in that venture, I mean, right Berri?"
"Oh, entirely, that's what I was previously telling mom," Berri warmly encouraged with a nod, "I can't think of much of anything else that would make him happier, honestly."
"He's wanted core coding information to a broader audience for so long, now," Vanellope stated with full confidence, due to the kind treatment him and Lash had gifted her two weeks back. She warmly squeezed her first born into a loving hug and smooched the side of Tessa's head, "I'm so proud of you, babe. You're gunna kill it, I mean, seriously."
"That will make the switch over, for everyone, much easier," Wren assured with firm adamance, a nod and a sag of his hands into his jean's pockets, and with said warm dollop of continued, loving conversation, Vanellope sagged her shoulders and allowed her curious, innocent hazel eyes to trail back to Ralph's figure, as if it were hot to the touch, like staring into the warmth of the sun.
"Then, Mr. Fluggerbutter, here, can take Tessa's class and ace it, like a pro," Ralph cooed kindly down to the infant in his strong arms, his aura looked lifted of any shred of troublesome worry or past pain, and just before Vanellope could feel her heart begin to burst, Ralph cutely gave Callum's squishy nose a solid little smooch; Vanellope rubbed her forehead firmly, cocked an eyebrow and aimlessly looked off as the surge, in her heart, viciously now spread to her core.
"I'm beat, today was difficult," Vanellope grunted, she desperately tried to calm her racing heart, a surge of all sorts of weird emotions came rushing her, though it all ultimately boiled down to needing to clear the air with Ralph, about Koko, once and for all, "Think I'm gunna head home early. We all still down for that family dinner this Sunday, right?"
"Yeah, Turbo and the boys are coming, too," Berri chimed as her and Mara nodded and caught cute, smiling glances.
"Felix said him and Calhoun are comin'," Ralph affirmed with a nod, Vanellope did everything she could to not stare headlong into the heart tugging situation he was in, "He said he could surely convince Tammy to bring all the Kalivar boys, too."
"To Sunday," Tessa playfully lifted her arms in the form of pretending to cheers to the group, to which everyone laughed and lovingly joined in.
"Right before your big first day, mom," Berri chimed sweetly, and as the group began to sag into their own little groups of conversing, Vanellope landed her eyes back to Ralph; the very idea of now going home with him, alone, on the heels of such a stab of emotion, had her reeling in delighted terror of just what could come of any further conversing they'd have behind closed doors. Knowing full well she was about to explode with everything that had been on her mind, she was both thrilled and terrified that it was all about to potentially come to a head within this still very young night.
