Reviews :
Firesong-Writes : Aww YAY! Thank you so much! I AGREE. It's incredibly fun coming full circle with these guys, the main core of this story is centered around Gideon's and Kepa's relationship, but I'm kind of having a good time dragging out the RalphxVanellope fluff and spiciness. They get a swap scene coming up around chapter 20ish, so that'll be fun to revisit :D
Lyssdoodle : Yeeeee LMAO nyoom. I FEEL that, seriously.
Burgie : Yes absolutely! Thanks for reading along :D I hope you're enjoying so far!
Snake557 : Thank you friend!
Chapter 16*
"Oh, hey, I THINK this is the same park that Koko was talking about coming to, tonight," Ralph stated happily as him and Rancis gently moseyed off of the long grid of a teleport pad; such massive, commercial pads were used for the public to get from one end of Orion to the other, and although they only had certain waypoints, there were several all about the city.
"Yeah, there's like... Some lantern lighting event here, tonight, that's probably what she's wanting to take you to," Rancis stated, he raised his eyebrows in cute delight and side-eyed Ralph's much taller figure. With cute little Callum lazily sagged to Rancis's chest, in a muted sling, he loudly began to babble as they stepped out into Sugar Rush's glorious daytime sunshine.
"Lanterns," Ralph repeated, he furrowed his brows and peered down to Rancis in cute curiosity, their feet pressed off of the concrete dock, past a handful of Sugar Rush citizens, and down into the park's gorgeous, golden, summertime grass, as soft as velvet. Said sprawl of grass was nearly in the heart of Orion City's gorgeous, much bigger spread of Cascadia Park, the city's largest, most infamous park for recreation. As both men began to so lazily stroll towards the huge splay of shade, in a nearby chocolate oak tree, Ralph's eyes looked about the beauty that was Sugar Rush and caught eyes with an area, far off, that looked to be said lantern lighting event area. He bashfully rubbed the back of his head and chuckled, "Well... I learn something new about her, everyday. I told her I was going to take her for ice cream, just her and I, and then told her that we can hang out and do whatever she'd like, in the city, afterwards."
"You'll have a lot of fun, the lantern lighting event is really beautiful," Rancis's deep, polite voice volleyed to Ralph; a few children ran by in a mess of giggles as they tossed a frisbee, though as the two pressed into the shade, Ralph grunted to a sit and rested his back against the massive tree's hefty trunk. His eyes glossed upwards in appreciation for the gigantic tree's gorgeous kiss of pink leaves and shade, Rancis gently kicked off his canvas shoes and began to worm Callum out of the sling on his broad chest. He eyed Ralph and smiled, "You doing okay, with all of that, by the way? You think the topic will come up, whilst your with Koko?"
"What topic?" Ralph wondered dryly, he nonchalantly smiled, though the second Rancis halted his and Callum's movements, and shot Ralph an annoyed glower, Ralph heaved a hot sigh and looked off in defeat, "Yeah, it... Might. To be honest, I'm sort of hoping it doesn't."
"Well, why? You know Koko will do everything she can to make you feel better," Rancis assured as he cutely sat on his rear, bringing Callum with him. He carefully set Callum down on his hands and knees, a few feet away from him, and sat back, so to hope that Callum would crawl his way to Rancis. He eyed Ralph and shrugged a little, "I mean, right? Methinks you should just tell her everything that's on your mind. Vanellope's two girls are extremely intuitive. She'll meet you where you are... You worried she won't, or something? What's with the sweep under the rug?"
"I don't know, it just feels easier," Ralph grumbled as he heaved a raspy sigh, tucked his arms and hands behind his head and aimlessly glossed the sunny leaves overhead, though as Rancis leaned down and caught eyes with his son, Callum squealed a happy noise and began to eagerly do what he could to scoot and crawl to Rancis's seated positioning. Ralph raised his eyebrows and softened as he watched the two, and upon Callum crawling the handful of feet to his father's arms, Rancis blurt a chuckle, cooed Callum a few encouraging notions and brought him up to his broad chest in the swing of an embrace, all so sweetly completed with a few firm smooches to Callum's grinning, smushy pink cheeks. Callum loudly giggled and flailed his little hands, an adorable baby that deserved a world of attention, Ralph felt his heart pang with becoming-noisy longing. Ralph lulled his eyes closed and tried to tame his thoughts, "I think I just want to avoid crying. I hate it. I cried to Vanellope last night, it's not something I enjoy doing in front of others... ESPECIALLY in front of my own daughter that's only known me for her adult life. It's weird."
"It's not weird at all, Ralph," Rancis assured as he adjusted Callum against his chest, he furrowed his eyebrows, trained his temporary attention to Callum and began to tidy the cute, white curls atop his head, "It's not like Koko's a total stranger, and... Believe it or not, crying is normal. Hell, I cried to Penny last night. I was running on fumes and Callum threw up on my favorite shoes as Penny was walking in the door. I literally crumpled over it. Y'think Penny thought less of me?"
"No," Ralph grunted, though he blurt a chuckle and eyed Rancis in teasing, brotherly knowing, "Y'get Tessa to fix your shoes?"
"Not yet, it slipped my mind until I went to put them on for THIS outing," Rancis grumbled as he set Callum back down, who then began to aimlessly scoot in a direction opposite his father. Rancis heaved a satisfied sigh and shrugged, "Penny hugged me, reminded me that it will all be okay, wiped my tears, and then... Told me to go take a nap whilst her and Taffyta handled Callum. I don't know, crying in front of strangers is one thing, but your own family?"
"I know, it's... It's been years, Ranc, but I STILL can't get out of the habit of feeling like I need to do everything all by myself," Ralph staggered, he sat away from his lounged positioning and now peered to Rancis, dead on. Rancis grunted and leaned back a little, on his hands, the sweep of Ralph's handsome eye contact, across the massive park they were inside of, was caught with a playground far off, a running track, a pond, Orion City's gorgeous sky scrapers, all returned to Rancis's concerned, dark blue eye contact. Ralph heaved a long sigh and looked down to his big hands in his lap, "I didn't even fully realize I was so bent out of shape, over Koko, before it all came spilling out last night. I hate that I missed her childhood. Vanellope says I can still baby her, but..."
"Well, y'can, I was just gunna say that," Rancis shrugged, he furrowed his brow and eyed Ralph in cute contemplation, "I baby Penny ALL the time. I don't care if she's grown and has a husband and gets annoyed of my hugs or whatever. I'll baby her until kingdom come. You do similar things for Tessa, don't you?"
"Well, yeah, but it's so different, I was able to hold and care for Tessa whilst she was a baby, a child growing up," Ralph volleyed, to which Rancis narrowed his gaze and intently listened, "It's different with an adult child you had no hand in rearing."
"It doesn't have to be different, Ralph, you're choosing to let the difference get in your own way," Rancis skillfully returned, ultimately thwarting Ralph's arguments; he heaved a hot sigh through his nose and looked off as Rancis cutely continued, "I don't know... You have a whole free night with JUST Koko, your youngest child. I think you should be vulnerable, with her. Daughters are different... Sure, each child is special, but daughters hold such a deeper, more intuitive spot for vulnerability. Allow it, Ralph. You'll be surprised."
Ralph bobbed a nod and allowed defeat to lay on his heart, once and for all, though he flinched in surprise the second he could feel Callum's cute, little grippy hands grab for Ralph's big toe as he successfully crawled the dozen foot gap between both men. Ralph raised his eyebrows, softened his expression and caught eyes with Callum's adorable, innocent little face, bright eyes that peered up to Ralph in dewy, gummy cuteness, something Ralph eagerly latched to. He blurt a chuckle and waggled his toes a little, which caused Callum to squeal in discovery.
"Hey, bud, y'made it," Ralph encouraged, he finally swung his massive hand forward, scooped Callum up and brought his nephew to his chest. In the lug, Callum rested against Ralph's chest and beamed an even bigger, gummier smile, something Ralph shook his head to, "Ho, man, you get cuter by the day. Y'know, it's illegal to be THIS cute. I might have to take a chomp outta yah."
"Eat my child and watch what happens," Rancis playfully grumbled, to which him and Ralph shared a laugh.
"Thanks for the advice," Ralph finally sighed, Callum's short attention span had his eyes gazing off to a bug that had buzzed by, "I'm sure tonight will be fine... You hear about the news?"
"What news?" Rancis prod curiously, Ralph looked off in smiling delight, as if it were big news he had no clue how to unveil.
"Turbo challenged Zed and Vanellope to a race this Saturday evening," Ralph grumbled, Rancis raised his eyebrows high in surprise.
"What?" Rancis hissed, they both laughed in riled excitement.
"I know, right?" Ralph barked, Callum squealed a happy noise as Ralph glued his cute, close proximity attention down to his nephew, still rested against his broad chest.
"Oh, she's gunna win, for sure," Rancis tossed his hand and shook his head, though he scrunched and shyly looked around, "I mean... Don't tell Turbo or Zed I said anything."
"You'd lose your job," Ralph erupted with laughter, to which Rancis beamed and shook his head.
"That's gunna be SOME race," Rancis choked with their continued laughter, he softened and allowed the heartwarming sight, of Ralph and Callum, so soak into his retinas. He sighed and sagged his shoulders, "Y'think Vanellope will win?"
"Oh I KNOW she'll win," Ralph assured, he sneakily nudged his nose into Callum's and was successful in getting a giggle out of him, though he darkly carried on, "If she doesn't win the race, she'll still be a winner, by the end of the night."
"... Well, damn, dude," Rancis blurt a hard laugh, to which Ralph softened and leaned back against the tree, whilst Callum remained cutely rested on Ralph's broad front, "So, you and Vanellope are doing alright, now?"
"Yeah, much better," Ralph sighed, he lulled his eyes closed a little and snuck a sneaky smile into his conclusion, "If I'm being honest with you, she covered for me, when you called. I wasn't showering... I feel like I fell in love with her, all over again."
"Oh, dude, y'guys were swapping and Vanellope PICKED UP?" Rancis wrinkled his nose in entire dismay, to which Ralph popped his eyes open and choked a laugh, alongside the flag of his hand.
"No, no, User, we were just kissing," Ralph grinned, Rancis looked off in sighing relief.
"Oh, phew," Rancis eased a shaky chuckle, "Don't scare me like that."
"No, no, I'm not an idiot," Ralph grumbled with a cute smile as him and Callum caught gazes, once more, "She wouldn't have time to even think about her phone, if we were swapping."
"I don't need any of this info," Rancis retort in playful annoyance.
Although the day had easily come and go, Sugar Rush's lovely sun had done whatever it could to hang to the horizon line. Although Ralph was well aware his little outing with Koko was extremely formal, he still wore said comfortable black t-shirt he had on earlier, as well as a fresh pair of dark, faded red jeans he had that were similar to his game-day overalls. In a cute, patient lean against the hub of the palace's teleportation hub, Ralph awaited Koko's figure to materialize off of it. Although a few voices could be heard in the palace's dining hall, just around the bend, he avoided trailing out into the open, thus distracting him from the task at hand. With a heavy, readied sigh, he promised himself that whatever conversations that would come up, between him and Koko, he'd dutifully allow it, no matter what. With a pop of Koko's gorgeous, berry-crimson coding, the teleportation pad buzzed with life.
"... Oh! Hey, dad," Koko chimed as she halted in her footsteps off of the teleportation pad; she wore a beautiful cream blouse and a comfortable pair of faded grey skinny jeans. Her beautiful, long, chocolate brown hair rippled down her chest and front in spirals of golden brown goodness, the twinkle in her familiar honey-brown gaze peered up to Ralph's in lifted, girly delight, "Y'been waiting here long? I'm sorry."
"No, I just got here," Ralph assured honestly with a nod, he inhaled a shaky breath, lifted out of his slouched lean and approached Koko with tenderness. Although Vanellope had very dutifully given him the advice of longer, more fulfilled eye contact, alongside other notions of a more matured version of babying Ralph was now due to trying out, Ralph felt a lump gather in his throat. Although he didn't ever get much time with Koko, he sagged his broad shoulders in continued, tendered warmth and allowed the softness, between them, to immediately set the tone. Ralph narrowed his gaze, peered into Koko's eyes with an easy sprinkle of honesty and ushered her a quiet compliment, "You look very beautiful."
"Thanks, dad," Koko cooed with a gentle flinch of cute stun, she breathed a shaky giggle and looked down to herself, "I figured I didn't need a ballgown."
"I considered wearing mine," Ralph grumbled cutely, his smile easily broadened into a full grin as Koko erupted with adorable laughter, alongside a gentle swat to Ralph's chest.
"C'mon, I've been saving my appetite all day," Koko eased in a hiss of excited, girly desire as she returned to the teleport pad, with Ralph in tow, and with a quick whisk of their coding, the two were off.
A/N : Hey guys! Quick catch-up. Ringling has given us a bit of a spring break, and I'm taking a hiatus from the internet. I'm also running out of chapters - can you believe I haven't written a single thing since January? I had chapters stock-piled, but I'm about 3 chapters away from the end of my chapter rope. I'm going to take this little spring break to bust out a billion chapters to finish off the rest of my spring school semester. This routine works really well for me. As much as I adore my saga, doing this while trying to get good grades is hard. I was able to keep up with it last semester, but the 1st semester was very much a 'getting to know you' semester, and now shit's getting real... Sooooo
I'll be following this routine of stock-piling an asinine amount of chapters on my breaks, and I'll be keeping with my upload schedule of Monday-Wednesday-Friday throughout the year! I feel that works well and gives me the weekend to breathe lol.
All to say, I'll be back with chapter 17 NEXT Friday. Sorry to keep y'all waiting for the cute, gooey Koko and Ralph daddy-daughter date chapter, but I want to play catch up with myself. My goal is to have at least 10-15 extra chapters written, that'll see me through to the end of my spring semester, and then I have all summer to just shove chapters up everyone's butts lol.
Thanks for understanding guys! See yah next Friday :)
