Reviews :
chuckiboo : Thank you so much! This is all from my experience. My father missed out on my childhood, and although we've never dug too deep into it, and his absence was his own doing, my intuition picks up on hints of almost bittersweet sorrow whenever we're together. I love my father so much, but I can see the pain in his eyes when he looks at me as his adult daughter, having missed out on nearly all of my childhood. I draw from that - even though Ralph's situation was far different.
Burgie : Yes me too! Thank you!
Lyssdoodle : Yay! Thank you! :D
*Chapter 13*
In Sugar Rush's late summer, morning breeze, Tessa and Zed stood out on the palace lot's grassy, serene abyss. Stationed half way between the long, outdoor corridor that lead to the palace's common room, as well as their huge building of a recreational hall, the King and Queen cutely discussed a few things before preparing to part ways. Vanellope's soft footsteps pressed down said outdoor corridor, and though she was in no hurry, she had seen Tessa and Zed out of the palace's kitchen windows and figured she'd come have a chat, due to a few things buzzing around her mind. As she stepped out from the overhang and into the clip of hot sunshine, she squinted and took note of Balba's and Marble's gorgeous, lithe figures cutely cantering their way over to Tessa and Zed, across the hilly grass. As Vanellope came within a few dozen feet of Tessa and Zed, she assessed the two in a soft-approaching warmth.
Although they pressed on in close-proximity chit chat, Vanellope nearly grinned at the raw fact that neither Tessa or Zed were aware of Vanellope's presence. Zed eventually eased his arms about his bride and scooped her into a sweet, romantic kiss, the drape of Tessa's arms about Zed's strong neck, Vanellope slowed her roll and now was unsure about breaking their adorable little moment. Although meandering and now wondering if this was potentially a bad time, she was glad Marble and Balba eventually popped their little bubble and began to sweetly tease the two about their public displays of affection. Still draped in each other's arms, Tessa's eyes glossed over her shoulder with a big grin as Marble and Balba pushed into their vicinity, though with the toss of Tessa's eyes, she did a double-take on her mother's figure, who now began to approach with a bit more confidence. Vanellope was sweetly surprised to see Tessa wearing a casual, loose white sundress; an article of clothing she almost was never seen in, though the way the sun hit her, Vanellope narrowed her gaze in sweet delight and ushered her daughter a kind few notions as she approached.
"I mean, it's no wonder he can't keep his hands off of you," Vanellope grumbled cutely as Zed raised his eyebrows in surprise and looked over his shoulder, it was clear he was oblivious to her presence, and though he kept his stance tight to Tessa's, he softly sagged his arms out of their tighter embrace and gave Vanellope a bashful, sheepish look, "Y'look good, Tess, what made you want to wear a dress today?"
"A Mr. Zedian Kalivar just bought it for me," Tessa mumbled cutely, to which Zed bobbed a proud nod and looked Tessa over; although a modest dress, she still sport a tiny bit of cleavage, the way the white, simple cotton sundress flit in the wind truly made her look angelic. Tessa shook her head and bashfully crossed her arms, "I don't know, is it too much? I like it, and all, but... The last time I wore a dress was our wedding day."
"You look incredible," Vanellope assured, to which Zed bobbed a firm nod and sweetly leaned into her figure.
"Told you," Zed mumbled into her ear and the nook of her jaw and neck, and as he firmly planted a few firm kisses into her cheek, jaw and the side of her head, Tessa scrunched her shoulders and breathed a hard giggle of delight before Zed finally sagged out of her presence and gave Vanellope a kind look, "Excuse me, I was on my way to Dead Zed, actually."
"Ah yeah?" Vanellope prod as Zed sweetly gave the back of Tessa's hand a kiss and began to finally part from the two. Vanellope turned around and stood next to Tessa as they cutely watched Zed press on to the outdoor corridor in which Vanellope had just emerged from, "Mr. Finnigan needing some help?"
"He accidentally turned off his and Tammy's firewalls, this morning, and can't get them back up," Zed stated through the grit of his teeth as he raised his eyebrows, "They're not ready for kids, so he's panicking."
"Poor thing," Tessa and Vanellope loudly giggled, though they both waved Zed off as he finally turned heel, though not without giving Tessa a sly wink; she heaved a wistful sigh and scrunched her shoulders, to which Vanellope wrinkled her nose in playful disgust and shook her head.
"You, uh... Seem to be falling quick for this guy, Tess, y'think you're moving too fast?" Vanellope playfully blurt, to which her, Tessa and Balba loudly eased into happy laughter that soaked the morning air.
"Forgive me, I adore the guy," Tessa grumbled cutely, she nervously began to tidy her hair; it was clear she was mildly uncomfortable in her dress, though her beautiful figure shone like the sun, something Vanellope eagerly cued to.
"Babe, you look INCREDIBLE," Vanellope urged, to which Balba and Marble equally nodded; Vanellope gripped Tessa's lower arms, adjusted her shoulders and posture and gently lifted her chin so she stood a bit taller, "Own it! So what, you don't wear dresses often, you clearly look like you WANT to enjoy yourself, but aren't letting it happen. Just relax, you look awesome. Zed has incredible taste, for User's sake, where did he GET this dress?"
"Peppermint's," Tessa mumbled shyly, a rather expensive, luxury brand of clothing that only Sugar Rush sold; Vanellope raised her eyebrows in hot surprise.
"Holy sugar, Tessa," Vanellope grunted with a giggle as Tessa's shy, womanly smile eased down to her bare feet, on the lovely, velvety green grass underfoot, "Well, you look awesome. Hope I didn't interrupt your guy's moment, there."
"No, you didn't, he was headed out, anyways," Tessa stated through a soft, wistful sigh, something Vanellope eagerly cued to.
"... Did you guys like fall in love with each other all over again, this morning, or something?" Vanellope now loudly prod, Tessa erupted in shy, grinning laughter and covered her face, "What the heck is up with you! You're like... Nonstop sighing."
"I don't know, mom, you surely understand," Tessa shook her head and gave Vanellope a loving smile, "We never segued out of the honeymoon phase. I'm not complaining. Surely you and dad understand this."
Vanellope's wide grin unfortunately sagged a little, and though she heaved a sigh and allowed for a save of a sweet smile into Tessa's eyes, Tessa hurried to furrow her brow in a gentle pang of further sorrow.
"... Nothing's gotten better, mom?" Tessa prod in hot worry, to which Vanellope shook her head, shrugged and allowed a sheepish smile to crown her cheeks.
"No, no, it's... It's okay, it's getting better, it's just rough," Vanellope stated through a sigh and a nod, she raised her eyebrows and looked off, "We finally had a heavy talk, last night... Came to a lot of good conclusions, and, we even planned a little getaway."
"Oh, that's great mom," Tessa assured with a nod, and though Balba and Marble hung close, they started cutely chit-chatting amongst each other; although it seemed one sided, due to Marble's silent telepathy.
"I was just on my way to Turbotime, actually... I was going to meet up with Berri and crew, and potentially get aligned, though I was also going to ask Lash which Vidrix resorts he would recommend," Vanellope chimed as she cutely looked down, she almost seemed shy about the manner, "But, then I saw you and Zed out here, and... I actually had a question for you."
"Sure, mom," Tessa stated, a lilt of soft worry coat her soul, she narrowed her gaze and peered to her mother in full-attentioned concern.
"Has your little sister said anything about not having Ralph in her childhood at all?" Vanellope wondered as she shrugged and peered to Tessa in cold desperation, "He UNLOADED about it last night, finally, and... Although Ralph never alluded to anything, I'm wondering if maybe Koko has said anything to further make him feel guilty? Words she maybe didn't think would have any affect but...?"
"No, mom, nothing," Tessa sorrowfully assured as she shook her head, "Not even in confidence, Koko hasn't said a single thing about it. Mom, she knows, without a doubt, that none of that was dad's fault. Poor dad, I think... He needs to just sit and have a long conversation with Koko."
"That was my suggestion, I told him that he needs to get with her, today, to plan an father-daughter date, or something," Vanellope shook her head and crossed her arms, "He seems to be doing better, after last night. He cried real hard, got a lot off of his chest."
"... Dad was CRYING?" Tessa huffed in raspy disbelief, Vanellope bugged her eyes and bobbed a slow nod, to which Tessa held her forehead and looked across her beautiful palace lot, "User... Poor thing. I-I guess we all need a good cry, from time to time."
"It's all I've been doing, these past few months," Vanellope muttered, and though Tessa tossed her a wildly concerned look, Vanellope flagged her hand and eased a sharp giggle, "It's no matter, last night REALLY helped. Anyways, I was headed to Turbotime... Y'wanna come with?"
"Yeah, I'll come with," Tessa said through an apprehensive sigh as she finally sagged her larger hand to the fluff of Balba's lovely mane; Balba smiled and leaned into her touch with the flattened submission of her ears, though Tessa nervously peered back to the flyer's dome of an enclosure, "I... I was just about to check Lickity's and Boss's whereabouts."
"They're off palace grounds?" Vanellope wondered, to which Marble and Balba perked their ears and shot each other looks of soft, cheeky concern.
"They've BEEN off palace grounds, for almost three weeks now," Tessa mumbled sadly, "I checked their wherebabouts yesterday. They said they were just taking a little vacation away from the grounds, to just be with each other and not have to worry about the pack or anything, and... I mean I understand, but THREE weeks?"
"Yeah, that's a lot," Vanellope furrowed her brows, though Tessa pulled out her phone from a baggy, secretive pocket in her dress; Vanellope beamed in elated cuteness, "Ohh, one million points to Zed, again, for getting you a dress with POCKETS."
"I'm telling you, that guy knows what's up," Tessa muttered with a shy, blushing grin, though she unlocked her phone and began to tab to Lickity's and Boss's stats and coordinates, via the remote aspect of the code room that her phone harbored, "No, looks like... They're STILL hanging around Honeydew Ridge. I mean I get it... There's tons of trees, it's cooler weather, but, yeah... I really miss them."
"We do too," Balba mumbled sweetly, she glanced in Marble's direction and shrugged a little, "Poor Royal, too, he... I-I think he leads better with Boss around."
"It's more security, I think," Vanellope encouraged, to which Balba sweetly nodded.
"Yeah, they're on the northern end of the ridge, now," Tessa droned on as she zoomed in a little closer to Lickity's waypoints, though upon clicking on her name, Tessa felt her pupils tighten at the little drop down menu that quickly expanded. Among her normal stats, a brand new little segment, just underneath her health bar, was an adorable, tiny little loading bar which read at a solid two percent. Tessa held her breath and did absolutely everything she could to keep her composure, though she quickly tabbed out of the mess of it and nonchalantly carried on, "I think if they're out there for way too much longer, I'll take one of the flyers on a scout, just to see if they're doing alright and... Hopefully planning on coming back."
"They made no statements about not coming back, they said they'd be back soon, so... I really don't know," Balba mumbled innocently, though Tessa lovingly rubbed her snout and knew, full well now just why they were away for so long.
"I guess we'll just have to find out," Vanellope stated with a shrug, she lovingly rubbed Tessa's bare upper arm and smiled, "Don't worry, they're formidable creatures. They can take care of themselves, and surely they'll be back. C'mon... Let's head to Turbotime."
"Alright," Tessa sighed in defeated nonchalance, though as her and Vanellope said their kind goodbyes to Balba and Marble, and parted ways, Tessa stared off into space in unadulterated excitement she had to tightly conceal, the raw fact that Boss and Lickity were away for so long due to programming a pup, she did everything in her power to keep her raw excitement under wraps, knowing full well that this was definitely Lickity's news to tell, whenever she returned.
