Reviews :
Lyssdoodle : haha true! Well, she was kicked out of End of Line Academy. After Sugar Rush was won, she returned to Game Central Academy for the duration of Out of the Blue. She now just got this job at Arcadia Academy. She definitely has been put through the ringer haha.
Burgie : Yes! It's a sweet chapter for sure. It's fun to have everyone in one spot, though it excludes Ralph and Vanellope for... Reasons xD
Firesong-Writes : Aw thank you! Yeah, I wish I could properly expand on Academy life. Gideon gets a decent amount of exposure to something new you guys will get to read about, in terms of Academy. It doesn't last for very long, but it does give solid foreshadowing into Gideon's pending character development.
Song Listened To :
In Great Strides by Joris de Man & The Flight
*Chapter 12*
Vanellope exhaled a long, happy, noisy sigh of cute relief as her and Ralph lazily moseyed into their dim kitchen. She crossed her arms and cutely glanced over her shoulder as she watched Ralph hover his hand over their larger kitchen island, and with the ignite of their beautiful purple coding, he cued up a menu that lay flat to the marble below him. With a few presses of his larger pointer finger, house lights began to turn on at his will. Although Vanellope had seen Ralph day in and out, she furrowed her brow in a prickle of continued surprise and took note of Ralph's stature. No longer sporting a hefty gut, he stood proud, and although he still had a bit of fluff on him, his powerful chest expanded with a deep inhale as he sleepily rubbed his eye with his left hand. He scrunched his face and quietly began to gape in the midst of a very exhausted yawn. Due to waking up a few hours early every morning, to go work out with Zed and Ace, on top of wrecking the Niceland building for game day, he was almost always sleepy by the time dinner rolled around, something Vanellope had to adjust to.
"Y'hungry?" Vanellope cued cutely, she bit her lip and eyed Ralph in soft hopefulness, as if to wonder if she could potentially tread on the thin ice that was the hot topic at hand; the loss of Koko's childhood and the entanglement of needing to hold a baby to satiate that void, something she had only barely seen when Berri and crew were babies.
"Yeah, starved," Ralph grunted with a laugh as he trailed his yawn, though he turned to head to their much larger fridge and grappled the handle. In the swing of opening said frosty cool blast of air, Vanellope leaned her hip against their kitchen island and assessed Ralph as he began to innocently pick through a few packages and tupperware in their fridge, "What are you in the mood for?"
"You can pick, I'm up for whatever," Vanellope eased kindly; after doing everything she could to keep her core coding balanced, the handful of times she went back to Turbo and Lash for an alignment in these past two weeks, she felt further at ease, a balance she was excited to finally have. Although still in the thick of no communication with Ralph, about their troubles, she narrowed her eyes and knew she had to just jump in, no matter how scary it was. Hopeful that Ralph was mentally in a place to finally discuss their issues, she softened her approach and allowed her eyes to traverse Ralph's body, "You look like you're bulking up, a bit. Zed's really pushing those workouts, yeah?"
"Yeah, every day," Ralph droned with a smile, he glanced in Vanellope's direction with warmth that had gotten brighter and brighter each day, and though she was hopeful that having solid guy time with Zed and Ace was doing the trick, she wondered if this impending conversation would finally put a cease to the dead air between them, a hope that they could get to a romantic spot, once more, without sweeping their issues under the rug, "He has Ace and I doing different stuff every morning. I mean, I get so sore in muscles I didn't even know I had."
"King of the game, King of kicking butt," Vanellope mumbled cutely, to which Ralph blurt a happy laugh and bobbed a tired nod. His gaze fixated into the fridge in polite contemplation, and though Vanellope felt uncertainty continue to hit her, she finally scrunched her eyes tight and began to pick at the band-aid, "Ralph... You look great. What made you decide to up-and start working out with those two? The toughest, buffest guys on the lot?"
Ralph's innocent little smile began to sag to something more moody and contemplative, and it was here did Vanellope immediately start kicking herself. Already she started mentally planning days to which she would visit Turbo for another alignment, and before she could hang her head in defeat, Ralph tossed his apologetic eyes to Vanellope and gave her a soft look in which she hadn't seen in months. Vanellope froze, the prickled look of innocent concern on her face, Ralph shook his head and allowed his eyes to aimlessly gloss Vanellope's face and shoulders, the beautiful black hair that spilled down her chest and to her waist, Ralph lulled his eyes closed and finally sealed the fridge shut with a gentle thud.
"If... I'm being honest with you, babe, it... It's because of that one day you went into Vidrix and the guy at that candy shop gave you his number," Ralph grumbled tiredly, something he had been keeping in ever since. He bravely took a few steps closer to their kitchen island and faced Vanellope in a similar lean to what she was sporting, though he twiddled his larger fingers and shyly glanced into her eyes, "I just... Look, I know I've really... REALLY dropped the ball. I'm struggling with a ton. Stuff I don't even really know how to verbalize, but... I don't want to lose you."
"You'd never lose me," Vanellope eased calmly, she narrowed her eyes and shook her head, "Is it me nagging you to do chores? Or... I-I'm sorry I get outwardly frustrated at you because you leave stuff lying around, I'm not like... Trying to be a bitch, or anything."
"You're not, I mean... Yeah, that gets annoying, but, it's..." Ralph shook his head and aimlessly peered down to the gorgeous, white herringbone woodwork underneath their feet. He heaved a raspy sigh and glossed his gaze tight to hers, "I just slowly haven't felt right, in my own skin. I used... Television and food as my comfort and escape, and... I KNOW you're upset that I used to sleep in my recliner. I'm trying to be better, for you."
"I don't need you to be better for ME, Ralph," Vanellope urged tenderly, desperately, she gestured to her chest and furrowed her brow, "I want you to be better for yourself, I want you to tell me what's wrong. I-I mean... I have an inkling of it, but, I think it'd be nice if you TOLD me."
"It's really not that big of a deal, Van, it's something I'm just going to have to get through myself," Ralph guffawed with a sweet, nonchalant smile, though he flinched as Vanellope urgently shook her head with adamancy, something he wondered why he was so surprised at.
"Ralph, this isn't a game, we aren't married to go through troubles ALONE," Vanellope urged, though Ralph sharply furrowed his eyebrows and gave her a stern look, as if she was on the verge of finding the tipping point, something that began to make her incredibly nervous.
"It's how I've always operated," Ralph's voice grew serious, he gestured to his chest and stood out of his lean against the island, as if to prove he was about the become animated in well-concealed frustration, "Sure, I had Bad-Anon, but in those old days, I went home with myself and no one else."
"We're not in the 'old days', Ralph," Vanellope retort; she, too, tried to keep her frustration under wraps, "We're married, we have a whole fleet of kids who have had their OWN kids and who have branched out and wrangled in all sorts of different walks of life that make up the palace. NONE of this is a singular, 'go at it alone' kind of life, anymore, Ralph... Would you RATHER it be that way?"
"Yeah, I'd RATHER be lonely," Ralph barked in hot sarcasm, Vanellope clenched her fists and was well aware she envisioned this conversation to go beautifully, full of love and tenderness; she could easily feel all stressors well on their way to slipping back into old, clogged routines.
"Well? The way you're acting, I'd be stupid not to believe you!" Vanellope shouted, Ralph grit his teeth and bent down a little, so to mildly get in her face.
"I spent the better half of a year thinking you, and EVERYONE I loved, everyone I had made a life with, was DEAD," Ralph hissed in a seethe of bubbling anger, something Vanellope never really saw in Ralph, a mild grumpiness he never let get away from him, unlike this instance; she reeled and took a nervous step back, "NO ONE can even BEGIN to understand the pain I went through, pain I went through ALONE!"
"You don't HAVE to go through it alone anymore, Ralph, you're not alone any longer!" Vanellope begged, she firmly gestured to her chest and gave him a look of sorrowful desperation, "I'm RIGHT here, Tessa's here, Oliver... Koko! You're acting like the separation was all your fault, Ralph, you had NOTHING to do with it!"
"It still doesn't take away from the fact that it nearly killed me!" Ralph yelled, though much to Vanellope's whole entire surprise, his anger very rapidly began to melt into a crumple of lip quivering sorrow he so desperately tried to conceal. He massively failed the second he stood to correction and continued talking, only to have his deep voice rasp in and out of teary crackles as his glassy eyes dart about their warm home in mild desperation, "And I had to sit back and watch Felix, Calhoun and Tammy just CARRY ON... They had their own little unit, and I-I... I had NO ONE."
"Ralph," Vanellope cooed sorrowfully, and though she so badly wanted to step out and rest her little hand to the back of his, she remained still and cautiously assessed his demeanor.
"I understand you went through the pain of having to raise Koko without me, but... You HAD family, you had two of our children, you had your sister," Ralph rasped, he grimaced a silent noise and did everything he could to hold back tears, typically a creature not seen shedding tears whatsoever, Vanellope stood frozen in baited shock as his deep, trembling, teary self continued on through the clog of his nose, "Tessa had the knowledge that we were all alive... I had no one. No shred of hope."
"That's valid, Ralph... But you have everyone, now," Vanellope gently urged, she dared to take a step closer to her husband, in which she was thrilled he was receptive to, "I'm here, and there's no way I'd sit here and tell you I had it worse, or whatever... We both suffered, in very different ways. It wasn't anything any of us could help, and, quite frankly... We owe Tessa our lives. I don't know where we'd be if it weren't for her, I mean... Seriously."
Ralph bobbed a nod as a few tears slipped down his cheeks. He hiccuped a silent few breaths and tried his hardest to quell his rushing emotions as he wiped his cheeks, he looked off and grimaced a tight look of sealed dread, as if he was prepared to tuck this conversation away, once and for all, though Vanellope bravely rested her hand to the back of Ralph's hand.
"In the act of you NOT expanding on this issue, I figured it didn't affect you as badly as it affected me," Vanellope prod sorrowfully, "I should've... Been more attentive, I should've asked you how I could've helped you through this drama. You were adamantly there for me, with every last fiber of your being. You put your own feelings on hold and it just... Bottled until, well... Now you're here, not able to keep it in, any longer."
"I failed you, I'm doing everything I can to right it all without unearthing the pain," Ralph's deep voice crackled, and though he did what he could to catch the tears on his cheeks, it was a futile effort due to the floodgates that had opened; Vanellope eased a loving smile, shook her head and sagged both of her hands into Ralph's, so to get his attention off of drying his tears, once and for all.
"I know it hurts... I still have hurt, as well, but it HAS to be unearthed if we're to move on," Vanellope begged, her twinkling, equally as teary eyes stared deep into Ralph's as she carried on, "You know you haven't failed me, or Koko... Just because you weren't around doesn't mean we didn't keep the spirit of you alive."
"I just wish I could've fathered her the way I did with Oliver and Tessa, when they were babies," Ralph crumpled, once more, and shut his eyes tight in a grimace, "I-It's why I'm desperate to hold any other baby on the palace lot... It gives me some form of normalcy, in it. I get to grieve a little bit more."
"Grieve her childhood?" Vanellope questioned, Ralph nodded, to which Vanellope heaved a hot sigh through her nose and shrugged, "Well... I think this is a conversation to have with Koko. I know you two discussed things shortly after we all reunited, but... I think it's time to revisit this, once and for all, and put this to bed, Ralph. It's ruining you. I KNOW Koko doesn't feel as if you've abandoned her, or anything."
"I just wish she knew that side of me," Ralph mumbled, "I mean, now it'd be weird babying her and stuff, yeah?"
"No, Ralph... I mean, in the vein of TREATING her like a baby, yeah, but you can still baby her, she's STILL your youngest princess, you know," Vanellope prod cutely, she shrugged and looked off, "It just will look different. Take her on an ice cream date, go to the park with her, ask her what she likes to do in her spare time, and DO that thing WITH her. Give her long hugs, look deep into her eyes when you tell her you love her... There are still SO many ways that you, as her dad, can baby her. It's not forever gone..."
"Thank you," Ralph meeped as he furrowed his brow in teary agony and grappled Vanellope's hands.
"And, Ralph, I... Know it may not be the best timing, but," Vanellope cautiously trailed, and though she wasn't at all prepared to even embark on this topic, she inhaled a shaky breath and bravely carried on as her twinkling eyes peered into Ralph's soul with apprehensive shyness, "I wouldn't be opposed to the idea of having a fourth, with you."
"...Really?" Ralph's voice crackled in teary, astonished delight, his demeanor seemed to warm from the dead, and though he remained in a dumbfounded stupor, Vanellope blurt a giggle and bobbed a soft nod.
"Yeah, Ralph," Vanellope breathed with airy, sweetened, teary delight; the two caught in a whirlwind of twinkling eye contact, amidst the scoff of shy huffs of laughter, and though Vanellope pressed on with caution in the fact that work still needed to be done, she was relieved that these words were exactly what Ralph needed to hear, "If we had another baby, it'd be our very first baby outside of Kingdom responsibilities, or a scary stretch of separation... As much as we love our first three children, this fourth one... Whew."
"Would get a world of attention we couldn't afford prior," Ralph grumbled cutely with a nod, he sagged his shoulders and looked as if a whole entire planet of weight had lifted from him.
"I don't think jumping right in and trying for a fourth child is wise, right this second, but... I'm rather fond of the idea," Vanellope continued, the shy dance of twinkling stars, in their eyes, seemingly kissed the room a rosy glint of pink, "It's not something I'd want to do to distract from the problem at hand... I think you should still do work in yours and Koko's relationship, continue seeing Zed and Ace every morning... I got my own demons to battle, as well."
"I know you've been seeing Turbo," Ralph's deep voice grumbled cutely, and though Vanellope tried not to look to surprised, her heart jolted in nervousness, "I've... Been thinking about visiting him too. It's not something I'm keen on, but... I can see your improvement, and I'm interested."
"Y'know what... On top of that, I think we deserve a vacation," Vanellope blurt, to which Ralph flinched with a wide, bewildered smile that finally graced his wet cheeks. Vanellope shrugged and looked about Ralph's chest in cute, aimless searching, "I don't know, I see Vidrix and that ocean line every single day... SURELY those resorts are to die for. What if we just got away for a weekend? Go to game day on a Saturday and then spend all of Sunday and Monday morning in our own little world."
"Not like we don't do that here," Ralph cutely retort, obviously not against the idea.
"Well, THERE it'd include room service and access to Vidrix's crystal waters, on top of total privacy," Vanellope volleyed, Ralph sagged and looked off.
"Touché," Ralph grumbled cutely.
"I'll chat with Lash about it all... See where he thinks would be best for us to go," Vanellope shrugged, "Why don't you get you sit down and talk with Koko, I'll get with Lash, and the reward will be a getaway. You and me... Y'game?"
Ralph cocked an eyebrow and shyly peered into Vanellope's eyes; suddenly the whole idea of unearthed problems and game plans seemed to turn Ralph's whole entire world on its side, and with said thrust of a reversal, he nearly reeled at the sight of his life flashing before his eyes. The insane amount of turmoil, the ups and the downs him and Vanellope had been through, only to so diligently come out of the other end, in one piece, he sagged his shoulders and tried not to crown a dorky smile of smitten love. Feeling silly for burying this issue so deeply, and truly believing that underneath him was an explosive volcano, he was shocked to find that Vanellope's simple digs only unearthed a hot coal that had eventually gone cold, no embers left or anything. He sighed for what felt to be the first time in his whole life, and though he still tip-toed around their little sparkled sliver of rekindled intimacy, Ralph inhaled a shaky breath and felt bravery come back to his skin.
"I'm game. You, uh... Y'gunna get yourself a new bikini?" Ralph patiently wondered, his tone came across dry and uninterested, though Vanellope beamed a huge grin over the fact that Ralph's face was very quickly turning red.
"I might, what's it to you?" Vanellope playfully snapped, to which Ralph wrinkled his nose and finally allowed a small smile to grace his cheeks.
"I just need to know whether or not I need to shield you from onlookers, on the beach," Ralph grumbled, clearly not the reason why he was prodding; Vanellope shook her head and gave him a sassy side-eye.
"Or, you can try and one up me and make it so I'M the one having to shield YOU from onlookers," Vanellope shrugged, she cutely sagged her hands out of Ralph's and back stepped, her face crowned with a girly grin and a splash of pure honey-glow.
"As if," Ralph grunted with a smiling laugh as he finally wiped his cheeks of tears, though Vanellope cocked an eyebrow and, although she slipped out of the kitchen and began to head to their bedroom, so to dress down for the night, she obviously looked Ralph over and concluded their little battle with a peak of shy, coy eyes.
"I don't know, I'd say you're pretty much there, as is," Vanellope cooed as she vanished, and it was here did Ralph raise his eyebrows in bashful surprise, flatten his shirt and overalls to his chest, and was floored to see that they were, indeed, fitting a little differently; determined to make it to this little getaway with high hopes, he bobbed a nod of conclusory thought and bit his lip amidst the challenge he had just set upon himself.
