Reviews :
Burgie : You're right to feel that way! Only time will tell...
Firesong-Writes : Bahaha I know the part with Kepa and Nox was fun to write. He's like uhhh can I help you lol. And, I'm glad you all aren't sure where to land with Callum. I feel bad saying this but you guys won't be sure where to land with Callum for quite awhile. One day it'll be clear and you guys will either adore or loathe him - but until then, I'm at least glad you guys aren't sure haha.
Snake557 : Thank you! I know, it feels like it was forever ago. It's weird writing for Chase again.
Song Listened To :
Brother Aiden by Bruno Coulais
*Chapter 120*
Vanellope's and Ralph's tender, whispery conversation erupted into stifled laughter they tried to contain. The house was quiet, the hour was well past midnight, the palace lot was still with sleep, though the two were only just now sauntering to bed for the night. With lights that dimmed on their way to their bedroom, Vanellope filed into their bedroom first, and as Ralph came about the bend with a slow swing, his eyes caught with a gentle beam of light from Gideon's bedroom, just down the hall. The tiles were illuminated a dim gold, Gideon's soft glow of a room light casted into the hallway and in a tight, vertical splay up the opposing hallway wall of his bedroom door, and with such a gather of information paired with the pinpricked silence that radiated from Gideon's bedroom, Ralph changed routes. Ralph ushered silent footsteps, though big and wide, he gracefully eased to Gideon's room and dared to take a peak inside with the utmost innocence.
Ralph's honey-brown eyes peered about Gideon's almost painfully tidied bedroom. A man of orderly perfection, quite unlike his younger self, it was clear Gideon's fervent need to have control over his surroundings was obvious. Walls so beautifully splayed with all sorts of artwork, pops of color, Ralph's eyes almost rolled into the back of his head with the trail followed to the ceiling, artwork that had nowhere to go but up. Splayed on his stomach, Gideon silently snoozed on his bed. With his left arm dangled off the edge, he was dressed in his street clothes, as if he had returned home, flopped on his bed for a quick bout of decompression and instead fell asleep where he lay. Ralph huffed a silent chuckle and figured he should wake Gideon so that he could properly get ready for bed and have a sound, solid night's sleep. With care, Ralph pressed into Gideon's bedroom with the intention of waking him up through the patient method of an exterior swap.
"Alright, Gideon," Gideon loudly pressed to himself, hovered in his surreal, colorful lucid state, his young eyes eagerly peered about his glowing surroundings. He stood proud, cued his royal purple coding and allowed a huge splay of grass to crop up in an endless field of green, pixelated and blocky at first, though sorting itself out to rich, insanely realistic textures and vivid colors. Gideon grinned, he bounced on the balls of his feet and directed his energy to the sky, "This time, a WHOLE sky for Kepa to fly in."
"Y'think she'd ever come visit your lucid state?" Finch wondered; having reversed roles, Gideon was a younger version of himself, an adolescent that was stout and cute, a boy just approaching puberty. Finch's dark, void-like appearance stood next to Gideon in hovering, blackened, stoic wait, like a cloak that hardly kissed the ground, Finch stood almost as tall as Ralph and peered down into Gideon's fresh eyes through haunting white orbs, "That might give away too much, huh..."
"I almost did," Gideon sighed, his voice crackled in boyish youth, he scratched the back of his head and shrugged, "I'm not worried about that, right now. I know she's a kid at heart, too, she'd love to fly about here one day, don't you think?"
"Oh, I know, that's why I asked," Finch erupted into annoyed laughter, "Who knows, y'guys swap codes, maybe you'll sprout wings and sharp teeth and claws and fur!"
"Swap codes," Gideon wrinkled his nose in cute disgust, though hits of his adult brain continued to kiss his soul in fervent reminders that even though he was allowing his own inner child at play, much deeper, mature topics and issues were continuing to be shoved to the wayside, just the way his adolescent self would enjoy. Gideon finally sighed and allowed his adult brain to get in a quiet remark, "Look, it'd be fun... But I'm pretty sure my coding would have to be corrupted, first, in order to take on her physical appearances."
"Weirder things have happened," Finch mumbled in scheming delight, though he flinched in a flicker of terror and suddenly vanished like a wisp of a dark cloud as Ralph's voice could suddenly be heard.
"Hey Gid," Ralph called happily, though as Gideon whirled around, he felt the swathe of adult-anxiety rush his much littler main frame, it made Gideon's adolescent figure dizzy.
"Dad," Gideon's cute, higher pitched and youthful voice called, something that had Ralph curiously scuffing to a halt about half a dozen feet from him amidst the velvety green grass.
"... Gideon, you're... You're a kid," Ralph choked an incredulous laugh, put his hands on his hips, shook his head and grinned in almost confused delight, "What's goin' on? Are you trying to fall asleep?"
"No, I guess this just happened," Gideon mumbled nervously, he now sagged in on himself and looked about his infinite play place, "I just... Closed my eyes, but..."
"Your, uhh... Adult-self fell asleep with the light on, with your street clothes on," Ralph rattled cutely, he looked down at his own young son and felt his heart tug in firm nostalgia, it was enough to almost put tears in his eyes to see the stark difference, to see just how much of a man Gideon had grown into. Being right in front of his young boy again, fleeting weeks that simply shot by, Ralph relished in these amazing memories he was being so graciously afforded, "I figured I'd come wake you up so you could properly wind down. Unless you'd like me to leave you be."
"Oh, no, I appreciate it," Gideon chirped cutely with a nod, he still shyly sagged in on himself and looked about, to which Ralph also drew his eyes around.
"What dreams are you dreaming up now?" Ralph prod patiently, he knew Gideon definitely wasn't an open book as of late, and barging in to his lucid state was actually rather a gutsy move; he was thrilled at least this adolescent version of Gideon was taking it with stride.
"Oh, just... A happy place," Gideon shrugged his little shoulders and smiled up into his father's eyes, "Y'like?"
"I do," Ralph chirped, though as he looked over his shoulder, he felt his stomach dip in dreaded realization of something.
Although this place was beautiful at first glance, upon further inspection, Ralph took note that it looked to be held together with nothing but messy glue. Almost delightful distortion, the sky looked as if it was on the verge of melting, the grass began to warble in confusion, it were as if this place was a visual representation of what it meant to read between the lines. Upon further inspection, Ralph noticed a structure out on the horizon; a light house, the infamous one, decrepit and in the process of melting, much to Ralph's silent horror. Ralph thumped a swallow and swung his forced, cheery gaze down to Gideon's and felt his heart ache, this happy dream place Gideon was desperately trying to realize was something Ralph now understood was a very haphazard attempt at soothing his own inner child. Ralph was absolutely certain that this beautiful place maybe used to be a masterpiece of solid foundation, though the more Ralph peered into Gideon's golden eyes, the more he saw Gideon's tired, adult soul. Stripped of childlike innocence, his little face read emotional exhaustion, though it was strangely taped together with that youthful, boyish smile he always used to don. Ralph choked a silent noise in the back of his throat and felt as if his knees were about to give out in sheer grief, grief that laid waste to his heart, grief he knew he was feeling due to being inside of Gideon's lucid state. Empathy at its finest.
"C'mon, son," Ralph grumbled gently, he leaned in a careful reach and gripped Gideon's much tinier shoulder, and with a soft jostle, Ralph closed his eyes and willed the two out of Gideon's lucid state, "Let's get you into bed for good."
Ralph popped his eyes open to reality and peered headlong into Gideon's gorgeous, dark wooden glossy headboard. He blinked a few times, peered down to Gideon's face and felt his heart surge at the sheer stark reality before him. What was just a sunny visual of Gideon's adorable, chubby little kid face was now replaced with the furrow of Gideon's chiseled, adult appearance. Groggy eyes that blinked open through the furrow of his thick, auburn brows, Gideon's deep voice grunted in a groan as he began to slowly sit up in his bed. Ralph scoot down Gideon's bedside a little, though still remained seated on the side of it. It was here did Gideon lazily swing his legs about and take a seat next to his father on the edge of his bed. Both men peered out into Gideon's dim, tidy bedroom. The only thing messy or disorderly about it was the musings on his walls, the hundreds of ideas and splashes of color Ralph and Vanellope allowed Gideon to. Ralph felt bravery soak him, how desperately he wanted to really get to Gideon's root and understand just why he did what he did, the sheer idea that Gideon had a visual playing field to express all of his hopes and dreams, to revisit memories like turning on a movie and watching it play out, Ralph understood the weight of Gideon's sorrow. It was here did he finally wonder why no one else seemed to take interest in this raw ability Gideon was blessed with.
"Do you always revert to a child in your dreams, son?" Ralph patiently asked, the room was warm with his fatherly love, he peered to the side of Gideon's face and felt his heart swell at the sight of the sheet's indentations across Gideon's cheek and eyebrow.
"Sometimes," Gideon's now stark, raspy deep voice croaked out into the room, a voice so tiredly caked in inner turmoil, it had Ralph wanting to grimace in the continued hit of felt grief, "Some days are easier than others..."
"... And, today?" Ralph prod, taking note that his happy place seemed to be melting out of Gideon's grip; Gideon squeezed his eyes shut and shook his head.
"Pretty difficult," Gideon's deep, powerful voice rumbled in the back of his throat, darkened bass that made Ralph's eardrums wiggle.
"Get some sleep... We can talk more about it tomorrow if you'd like," Ralph strategically left the ball so deep into Gideon's court, he knew this was nearly one of the only ways to get Gideon to volley back. Ralph grunted to a stand to further drive the point home, "I know being back on palace grounds likely isn't the easiest thing for you, but... You know I'm always in your corner."
"Dad?" Gideon gently pressed, Ralph raised his eyebrows in a forced show of nonchalance, turned to peer into Gideon's eyes and hovered at the ready.
"Hmm?" Ralph hummed lovingly, Gideon faltered on a word and peered down to his hands in a swing of humility.
"You, um... Wouldn't have happened to talk to Callum today, did you?" Gideon's voice crackled in a nervous peak of almost cheeky cuteness, and though Ralph held his breath and looked off in brooding contemplation on just how to answer Gideon's question, Ralph brought his twinkling, fatherly eyes back to Gideon's in a swing of cheeky challenge.
"Lash may be your new User best friend, and Zed may be King of the castle, but..." Ralph's voice trailed, he tilted his head down and peered to Gideon through the tilt of his eyebrows in a swing of full, grinning, cunning intimidation, "I'm programmed to be a bad guy. Sometimes I like to remind people."
Gideon held his breath and felt a wiggle of fear spill over his spine. Not intimidated by much, not worried to challenge nearly everyone, he peered hard into his father's eyes and now fully understood that Ralph was likely the only being on this entire planet that he would absolutely not want to go toe-to-toe with. With Vanellope's wit and his own terrifying show of strength, just by simply standing in hovering wait, Gideon swallowed hard and bobbed a gentle, grateful nod of nervous understanding. He looked down to his hands, now bobbed a harder nod and finally revisited his father's intimidating eye contact with a smile of full gratitude.
"... Thank you," Gideon hummed in warm, loving conclusion.
"No one messes with any single one of my babies and lives to tell the tale," Ralph's deep voice grumbled, and though Callum was definitely alive, Gideon raised his eyebrows in a prickle of realization at just what Ralph's words insinuated. He froze as him and Ralph held gazes, the sheer show of fervent protection laid in Gideon's direction, the drive to stop at nothing to defend his own kin, Gideon felt honor sweep him clean through. Ralph bobbed a nod in Gideon's direction, finished the conversation with a subtle wink and began to leave Gideon's bedroom, "Sleep well. You deserve it."
Gideon sagged a little and tried not to grin, he choked a small little laugh and nodded in cute defeat as him and Ralph caught eyes, once more.
"Love you, bud," Ralph grumbled in mild annoyance as he stepped out of Gideon's bedroom and began to slowly close the door behind him.
"Love you, dad," Gideon called gently, and as the door silently clacked and Gideon was left alone for the night, Gideon sighed a shaky sigh and peered down to his opened palms. Wrecking hands that reminded him his roots, reminded him of the beast he had come from, though more importantly reminded him that Ralph's bad guy status worked like an ace up his own sleeve, simply a power move that not a lot of people had as an advantage, and with this, Gideon closed his bigger fists and felt as if by simply being related to Ralph, he had a similar edge.
