Reviews :
Snake557 : Thank you! :)
chuckiboo : Thank you so much! Beaux is not a prominent character - he has parts coming up, but he's not a developed character, sorry. I appreciate your support! Thank you!
Song Listened To :
Rollercoaster by Jonas Brothers
Color Sky by Ben Prunty
*Chapter 241*
With a fluff of her vivid, choppy white hair, Taffyta assessed herself in her's and Rancis's glorious, bathroom vanity mirror. A massive nearly-ceiling to counter gloss of mirrored perfection, hugged by a frame of bevelled, natural light. With a final nod, she dulled the lights, leaving their sprawl of a pearly bathroom now kissed with the sunlight that filtered in. Prepared for yet another day of racing, she felt her heart softly thud with a sting of nauseous excitement. As the memories of her's and Rancis's lovely night prior came flooding back to her, she almost cheesed an annoyed little grin to her feet as she pressed out of their bedroom. She was well aware Rancis was a softy, and any desires or silly wants he had could only easily be stamped out strictly due to the fact that he was easy going, though as the months had pressed on, Taffyta understood that Rancis's wave of baby fever wasn't simply a fleeting want, but a more rooted desire. As her eyes soaked their sunny home, the narrow wing in which was identical to the other racers in their own area of the palace, that hugged the code room, her eyes landed on her husband.
"I wonder how Wren's and Throttle's night went," Taffyta stated in whole nonchalance, she tried to conceal her own little bubbling bout of excitement; she trailed into the kitchen as her and Rancis moseyed to their mudroom area, just off of the entry way's corridor and foyer.
"... Are you REALLY wondering that?" Rancis mumbled, his eyes held a twinge of exhaustion, and although they both slept well, he smirked a little and understood said lack of sleep was due to the throw around of code swapping they had allowed themselves to get lost in, into the wee hours of the morning.
"I meant with the proposal, you pervert," Taffyta snipped with a trail of a tired giggle, she finally stiffed her arms and heaved a hard, wide gape of a yawn, a huge expel of total exhaustion. She finally slumped with a firm exhale and lulled her eyes closed, "Holy shit... I'm so tired."
"You flatter me," Rancis's grumbly, crackly deep voice eased in seductive charm, though as he finally strapped on his racing shoes, he grunted and brought himself to a stand, "Wanna go again tonight?"
"Uh, yeah. Though, I apologize in advance if I pass out five minutes in," Taffyta mumbled, though she wrinkled her nose and rubbed her stomach in annoyance; she tried not to be too obvious. Although she did what she could to remember just where she was, she felt her heart surge in excited nervousness as Rancis furrowed his eyebrows and sharply took note that she was holding her stomach. She nonchalantly began to put on her own shoes and, although well aware that she was on the verge of being caught with her delightful little secret, she was excited to push the envelope, "Do you maybe know what happened to Wren's little high chair? That gorgeous white one that Vanellope and Ralph had made for us?"
"... I put it in the code room's storage, we clearly don't need it," Rancis stated in a mumble of almost sorrowful curiosity, though as Taffyta strapped on her shoes and stood, he raised his eyebrows in a stab of collected shock and took note of the glowing, adorable little smile on her face. He huffed a shaky chuckle and felt his skin come alive, and for the first time all morning, he finally felt wide awake. Rancis began to crown a wide grin, his voice eked out of him in trembling, giddy, reserved cuteness, "O-Or... Do we?"
"Yeah, we'll need it," Taffyta concluded in a great show of womanly warmth, to which Rancis huffed a louder, shakier chuckle and reached for her hands.
"A-Are you...?" Rancis's voice lilted in unadulterated delight.
"Yeah," Taffyta eased in whispery, breathy cuteness through a grin that was about to crack her face in half, though she jolted with a louder giggle as Rancis suddenly scooped her up into a hug.
"You're pregnant?" Rancis wheezed in smiling stun, to which Taffyta draped her arms about his neck and cutely rolled her eyes.
"You win," Taffyta sighed sweetly, to which Rancis blurt a happy laugh, squeezed Taffyta and carefully lifted her off of her feet. As the two just barely pulled apart, their bubble seemingly glowed with renewed, lovey happiness, Taffyta cutely carried on as she could see tears well in Rancis's eyes, "Baby number three. Gotta dust off that list of names we had come up with."
"I-I can't believe it," Rancis huffed as his eyes welled with bigger tears, and with such a sweet, innocent and raw show of warmth, Taffyta grew emotional as well. She breathed a nasally giggle and lifted her shirt, so to prove to Rancis their own becoming, and with the adorable little show of an orange loading bar, it confidently read a progress of five percent. Rancis held Taffyta's hips and eagerly smiled down at it, "Seeing a brand new loading bar, for the first time, will NEVER get old."
"I audibly gasped when I saw it, I'm surprised you didn't hear me," Taffyta softened with a gooey mess of giggling as Rancis so warmly rested his hand to her lower stomach.
"You were putting baked goods in ovens all night long," Rancis muttered darkly, to which Taffyta firmly furrowed her eyebrows and almost didn't let him finish, "I had the last laugh, with this one, this bun is mine."
"...You did NOT just make a 'bun in the oven' analogy," Taffyta barked a laugh, they both were all grins.
"I did, I deserve it," Rancis stated through a cheeky little show of teeth.
"Alright, alright, you got THREE children out of me," Taffyta argued, she released her shirt after a moment of fawning the two had been doing, over their precious, brand new loading bar, "If you want a fourth, there's gunna have to be some serious wagering."
"It took months of batting my eyes, all boiled down to a night of crazy sex," Rancis mumbled cutely, to which Taffyta shot him a grinning, bewildered look of irritation. The two joined in laughter as Rancis sneakily began to lean in, so to properly seal her love with kisses, "If that's all it's gunna take, love, then you're in for it..."
"Are you just forever programmed with baby fever, then?" Taffyta mumbled cutely as Rancis was successful in catching her in a few warm kisses, his able, masculine hands so tenderly cupped her face.
"If I do recall, you had insane baby fever right before Wren turned one," Rancis grumbled down to her face, she hummed an annoyed giggle on his kisses as he continued to overflow her with innocent, warm presses and releases of smooches.
"I just love you, okay? Sue me," Taffyta muttered, to which Rancis now sagged their noses together. They marinated in their knowing, warm silence for a moment before Taffyta ushered Rancis a whisper of hushed, romantic delight, "Let's keep this our little secret, for now..."
"How come?" Rancis wondered cutely, as if he was onboard with her notion, though wanted to know just why, so to better solidify their camaraderie.
"Well... Wren and Throttle just got engaged, I don't want to steal their thunder," Taffyta trailed, Rancis shrugged and bobbed a small nod of agreeing, though Taffyta cutely carried on, "I think we should wait a few days, reveal it once we discover the baby's gender."
"Holy shit," Rancis whispered, barely audible, and as they held eyes, Rancis began to grin like a giddy idiot all over again, "I'm gunna have another baby..."
"Dad of three," Taffyta chimed in sticky sweetness they were now drowning in, "Let's just keep it for ourselves, for now... Should be fun."
"And difficult," Rancis blurt a chuckle and just barely removed himself from Taffyta's close proximity; they both made their way towards their front door in preparation for quarter alerts, "You know how hard it's gunna be to keep my mouth shut?"
"Just act normal," Taffyta shrugged, Rancis softly swung open their front door, and as they stepped out, Gloyd and Candlehead could be seen moseying from down the bend. Taffyta gently waved to them, from across the stretch, and ushered Rancis one final quip of cuteness, "I guess, if you must, you can spill it to Gloyd. Just tell him not to tell anyone."
"He's trustworthy," Rancis bobbed a nod and eased a small smile in the direction of his good guy friend, whom of which began to approach with Gloyd and Candlehead.
As they all said their grumbly, sleepy and kind hello's, the four paired off like they normally would. With Candlehead and Taffyta slowly moseying behind Rancis's and Gloyd's boyish, banter of conversation, their routine was to meet up with Vanellope and Minty in the kitchen, alongside the slew of stragglers that made their way down to the palace's massive garage. In lazy conversation, they eased past the glorious, dimmed hub of the palace's main teleportation pad, typically all lit up and rearing to go. In the swing into the airy, sunlit kitchen, Taffyta furrowed her eyebrows and was surprised to see her alone at one of the islands, near the hearth. She was on a phone call, and looked as if she was frustrated, though on her way to defeated sorrow. She held her forehead, all dressed in her beautiful racing gear, the look of gloomy, exhausted irritation on her face was ironic to her beautiful, cheery look. Taffyta and Candlehead cued to this, and though the rest of the gang began to lazily mosey down the long, airy, narrow corridor that lead to the garage, Candlehead and Taffyta cutely waited for Vanellope in baited concern. It wasn't until she angrily grunted a few frustrated notions into her phone, now yanked away from her ear and held out for further disgruntled emphasis, she urgently ended the call and haphazardly slumped her phone into her back pocket.
"...Alright, babes, what's wrong?" Taffyta cued in a lilt of apprehension, Vanellope pushed closer to the two and began to storm in the direction of the corridor, in which Taffyta and Candlehead urgently perked up to follow her.
"Uhg, it's nothing, I'm just... Ralph's being a jerk, it's fine," Vanellope mumbled in heated, frustrated sorrow, and although every couple had their qualms and spats, Taffyta nervously furrowed her brow and was glad the three fell into step together as they entered the gape of the corridor.
"He forget to take the trash out or something?" Candlehead cued cutely, Vanellope largely rolled her eyes, lulled them closed and almost looked on the verge of tears.
"That and a million other things," Vanellope mumbled, her voice trembled, and it was here did Taffyta feel her heart sink in hot worry.
"... Are you two okay?" Taffyta asked seriously, having picked up on Vanellope's vibe; typically, any banter or minuscule argument Ralph and Vanellope were found in, was lighthearted and resolved quickly. The fact that Vanellope was becoming exhausted over something likely deeply rooted, beyond anyone else's knowledge, had Taffyta wondering just when to step in, all of the sudden. She eyed Vanellope as she scoured for words, though her teary eyes dart about the ceiling of the corridor, as if she couldn't even find where to start, "Whoa, whoa, whoa, seriously... Do I have to throw Ralph around or something?"
"Be my guest," Vanellope mumbled sadly, she shook her head and heaved a shaky sigh, "We've... We've been fighting for the last few weeks. He just... Seems to have gone so much more aloof than he usually is. He just has stopped caring about much."
"What do you mean?" Candlehead worried, both girls eagle-eyed to Vanellope's disposition as they all walked together.
"I don't know what I'm doing wrong... I make dinner every night, he doesn't thank me, falls asleep in his recliner, he leaves his dirty dishes on the end table nearest him, doesn't come to bed," Vanellope urgently listed as a few tears now slipped down her cheeks, "Forget household chores or anything... He comes home from wrecking, tells me how annoyed he is of Gene, he texts Zed like THEY'RE the ones that are married, leaves and doesn't tell me when he's going to come back, he doesn't-"
"Whoa, okay, wow," Taffyta held up her hands and blurt a nervous chuckle. Her and Candlehead very nervously caught eyes, and though Taffyta so badly wanted to stop and console Vanellope, she opted for holding her hand and continuing on their venture to prepare for quarter alerts, "Have you talked to him about all of this?"
"Until I'm blue in the face," Vanellope huffed in a whine of whispery defeat, to which Taffyta squeezed her hand.
"I'm going to assume you haven't recently, but when's the last time you swapped?" Taffyta braved tenderly, to which Vanellope looked off in aimless searching and muttered her regretful answer.
"It's been at LEAST a month," Vanellope mumbled sadly, to which Taffyta bobbed a nod and lulled her eyes closed.
"Yeah... That's the problem. Of course, how are you ever going to get into the right mindset to swap, if he's treating you like he doesn't care about anything," Taffyta wondered gently, as if to side with Vanellope.
"That's not attractive," Candlehead gently agreed, to which Taffyta eyed Vanellope and smiled.
"He loves you, Vin, I wouldn't question that... This MAY be a job for 'ol Zeddy boy," Taffyta smiled in an uplift, to which Vanellope wiped her tears and eyed Taffyta in defeated longing. Taffyta hurried to carry on, "You, yourself, said that all he does is chat with Zed. I think Zed should be the one to give him a kick in the pants."
"Zed's good at that," Candlehead bobbed a nod and hushed her tone, due to Gloyd being ahead of the three, barely in earshot, "He gave Gloyd a bit of a kick in the pants, once... Gloyd's treated me like a goddess ever since."
"See, although Ralph made a wonderful King for Sugar Rush, Zed is an alpha," Taffyta stated with concise tenderness, "Zed is like a bloodhound, he can seek out trouble and set it straight in a second. Zed is sharply aware to the fact that the women, here, are extremely important, and are to be treated with care. He knows that starts with the men, here, and their intentions."
"He does call the shots," Candlehead cued in warm agreeing as Vanellope softened and listened to both girls next to her.
"Zed makes such a fantastic leader because he corrects bad behavior, much like an alpha would do," Taffyta smiled, she shrugged and gave Vanellope a sly smile, "I don't know. I'd chat with Zed. He's a great example for all the guys, here. Hell, he managed to wrangle in ALL of the Turbotime boys and made Turbo, THE TURBO, the Arcade's hugest nightmare... His own son-in-law."
"Wrangling at it's finest," Candlehead and Taffyta shared a laugh.
"Ralph will always be a King, a heart of gold, and he would never intentionally do anything to ruin your guys' relationship, but..." Taffyta squinted and looked off with a cute little smirk, "He IS programmed to simply wreck the building, and scuff-off to his pile of bricks in an eternal loop of 'not caring'. Sure, he has your coding, but... There hasn't been a refresh in awhile."
"Everything he does lately is so unattractive," Vanellope pleaded, "His hygiene has tanked beyond what it was, he doesn't ever stop eating... Look, I enjoy the bit of fluff he had on him, but it's beginning to get out of hand."
"Yeah, I noticed his overalls fitting a bit snugger, the other day," Taffyta stated through the grit of her teeth, to which Vanellope heaved a shaky, exhausted sigh and fixed her hair.
"I'll try talking with Ralph one more time, but... Looks like I might have to sic Zed on him," Vanellope mumbled sorrowfully.
"It'll do the trick, trust me," Candlehead bugged her eyes, "My situation wasn't even that severe. Remember that dinner party we had a few months ago? I guess there were several instances, during the night, where Gloyd would reach over me or not hold open doors for me or do any of that gentlemanly type stuff... I guess Zed had been witnessing it all night and finally came down on him."
"Zed may have his own Queen as a top priority, though it's clear he treats every single one of us like Queens," Taffyta chimed warmly, "We all deserve the best, and he knows that. Ralph isn't exempt from a tough heart-to-heart with Zed, he may very well need a guy's perspective anyhow. We ARE a nagging type."
"I do nag him," Vanellope mumbled sorrowfully, "I'm sure I've just pushed him away... I just... Wish he took care of himself, I-I wish he had a bit of muscle on him, or at least acted like he cared about HIMSELF, y'know? He just... Wastes away in that stupid recliner, I have half a mind to take it out back and light it on fire."
"For User's sakes," Taffyta huffed with a small laugh as she rubbed her eye, "Well... Zed ALSO is the palace's best workout buddy."
"I saw Zed without a shirt the other day," Candlehead bugged her eyes and shook her head, "He like... Has muscles ON his muscles."
"Say what you will about Zed's snarkiness and cunning demeanor," Taffyta gave Vanellope a kind, proud smile, "Tessa picked very well. He keeps all of us in check. Hopefully he's made you and Ralph proud."
"Oh, immensely," Vanellope assured through a sigh, she bobbed a nod and rubbed her forehead, "I'll... I'll message Zed later."
"Fair warning, he moves quick," Candlehead mumbled with a tone of smiling apprehension, "I mean, same-day quick."
"Good, quick turn-around," Taffyta bobbed a nod, "Going longer than a month, without swapping, isn't good for anything, so... Hopefully Ralph comes around sooner than later."
"Yeah, otherwise Zed will have to bring out his secret weapon," Candlehead stated in nervous obviousness as she flashed Taffyta a knowing smile.
"What's that?" Vanellope wondered through a furrowed look of genuine confusion, to which Taffyta cocked an eyebrow.
"Me, bitch," Taffyta barked, to which she was elated to get a rush of genuine, happy laughter out of the two girls she walked with. Taffyta beamed and gestured her arm outwards, "I'll ditch quarter alerts and get in Ralph's face RIGHT now!"
"You really would be the secret weapon, truly," Vanellope giggled, she wiped her eyes and felt refreshed, and even though she still had her work cut out for her, she heaved a shaky breath and smiled, "Thanks, guys... I'll get with Zed."
"We see you skipping out to the tracks, tomorrow morning, with a stupid grin on your face, we'll know what's up," Taffyta muttered, though she knew her words to be hypocritical due to the fact that she, too, had her own secretive reasons for wanting to frolic like a dainty princess all the way to the race-tracks.
"Berri REALLY said, 'tits out for the camera'," Wren's voice pierced the calm atmosphere in Turbo's second story loft, the splay of glass and sky above everyone's heads was sunny and warm.
"...What?" Turbo uttered with the trail of a confused chuckle as him, Theo, Throttle and Chester all lifted their heads, from their respective spots, and watched as Wren eased from the staircase and made himself present in Turbo's large sprawl of an upstairs work area.
"Oh, her photoshoot," Theo mumbled in a sag of cute relief, he shot Turbo a bewildered grin as both boys blurt nervous chuckles, "I thought maybe Wren accidentally wandered into Turbo's room, or something."
"...And found a CAMERA?" Turbo's deep voice nearly bellowed, the glassy loft was now alive with the sound of excited, joyful laughter; Berri and Tatum finally made themselves present behind Wren's figure, though Berri pushed past Wren and nudged him.
"Hey, I don't know what you two do behind closed doors," Wren muttered with a cheeky smile as Berri began to near Throttle, he sat at a larger work table just about the bend, still within earshot and sight of everyone. She cutely sat down with him, though still carried on conversation with Wren as he continued on, a broad spectrum of lazy bodies about the place.
"Nor will you ever," Berri snipped, she waggled her eyebrows and gave Wren a grin of sneaky delight, to which Turbo rolled his eyes and did whatever he could to hide the blush of his eyes, the grin on his face.
"It's an awesome picture, Bear, I'm glad you're putting your foot down with those photographers," Throttle's deep, wise disposition was hovered in stillness; he cutely whittled the glorious taffy bark for Wren's wedding ring at the table he sat at, he carefully carved with a short knife and, although his eyes remained tight to his chore, his tone broadened for Berri as she lovingly sat across from him, "You should be able to wear and do what you want. I know those photographers have direction, for shoots, but it's cool to see you taking the reins."
"Did they fight you for it?" Chester wondered cutely as he strolled over, he was across the stretch sunbathing, though his lazy paws found their way closer to Berri. He sagged his snout into her side, in which she easily swooped her left arm over the top of his head and relished in the feeling of his fluffy, thick, sun-warmed fur.
"A little bit," Berri giggled, to which Wren gently sat down right next to Throttle and revealed the screen of his phone across the table, to Berri. She bugged her eyes a little and breathed a shaky giggle, "Holy shit, yeah. I have only seen the picture a few times, I really like that body suit."
"Meeee too," Turbo seductively droned from across the room, the glass of the loft was alive with the bounce of laughter, once more, though as Turbo stood to also join the group at the table, Theo and Tatum were quick to follow. In a lazy splay of finding places to sit at Turbo's large sprawl of a gorgeous, wooden work table, all sleek with a glossy finish, Turbo stood at the head and smiled down to Throttle's little chore, "I know we already congratulated you two, but... I'm really excited to go through this new chapter, of marriage, with one of my brothers."
"We'll keep each other sane," Throttle mumbled, though he choked a hard laugh as Wren nudged his elbow with his own.
"I'm not that bad, c'mon," Wren stated sadly, to which Throttle shook his head in soft agreeing to Wren's words, as if to sweetly and silently insinuate that he was just teasing.
"Rancis actually... Gave me a much bigger blessing, than just welcoming me to the family," Throttle started, though as the group fell silent, Throttle sweetly stopped whittling and gave Turbo a knowing, warm little smile, "He told me to give Wren our family name."
"OH YAY!" Berri suddenly barked with a wide grin, to which Wren firmly bobbed a nod and gave Berri and equally as excited little smile, "We'll have the same last name!"
"I'm so stoked," Wren huffed shakily with a giddy little smile.
"Oh, awesome, that's HUGE coming from Rancis," Turbo bugged his eyes, to which Throttle urgently bobbed a nod.
"I guess he's been banking on Taffyta caving to the idea of having a third child, I guess he's somehow hoping said third child will be a boy, who will pass on the Fluggerbutter name," Throttle explained, to which Wren firmly rolled his eyes.
"Watch said sibling be a girl. Or gay... OR, just point-blank decide to take on whatever last name their significant other has," Wren chuffed, everyone eagerly laughed as Wren waggled his hand, "Even MORE grand of an attempt is getting my mom to agree to even HAVE another baby. My poor dad has been at it for months."
"She's a tough cookie," Throttle quietly agreed in a mumble as he continued to whittle the lovely taffy bark, though he was at a point where he could potentially start sizing it on Wren's ring finger.
"Everyone's gunna have the same name, hopefully that doesn't get confusing," Theo cheesed, obviously a playful notion, though Wren ran with it.
"What, like in the bedroom?" Wren ogled in total confusion, to which Tatum grinned amidst the pearly show of her little, white fangs.
"Why do you have to make everything sexual!" Tatum was lost in laughter, to which Turbo blurt an agreeing chuckle, rested his hands on the table he stood at and gave Wren an equally as confused little smile.
"Seriously," Turbo chuckled, though he tossed his playful gaze to Theo, "Though, I don't think that'd get confusing unless we all went by our last name, Black."
"Just call out the WHOLE name," Wren gestured his arm out, to which Throttle shook his head and grinned down to his chore. Before Throttle could interject, Wren groaned a faked noise of orgasmic delight and grappled the chest of his shirt, "Turbo Cassius BLACK!"
Everyone was suddenly rocketed into whole, bewildered laughter as Turbo very sharply furrowed his eyebrows and stared Wren down. Berri covered her mouth as the whole group nearly howled with laughter, though as Throttle stopped his whittling, he immediately gaped and stabbed his irritated stare right into Turbo's shocked, confused expression. Wren giggled and innocently looked up to Turbo, though firmly peered to Throttle in a sheepish show of shrinking cuteness, he sagged his hands down his own chest and looked prickled in dewy, sunny warmth. Throttle scoffed a shaky laugh and waggled the taffy bark in his possession.
"Uh, hi, nice to meet you, remember me? Your, uh... Husband?" Throttle held his free hand out to Wren, as if to inquire a handshake, though Wren firmly rolled his eyes and looked off in blushing, grinning delight as the group continued to loudly laugh, "You forget my name, or something? Say it with me, Throttle... Lucian... You got the last name right! But, uh..."
"Y'okay, there, Wren?" Turbo muttered nervously, "Got something you'd like to share with the class?"
"Oh for User's SAKE it was a joke! I was mocking Berri," Wren firmly flagged his hand in Berri's direction.
"I'd be interested to know what you guys call each other, in that aspect," Tatum braved in a sly, smiling, girly show of cuteness as she cupped her hands under her chin and rested her elbows on the table; Theo raised his eyebrows and was immediately flushed, to which the group cued to.
"Ohhh, you opened a can of worms, there, Tate," Berri firmly cooed towards the two as she waggled her hand towards her best girlfriend, "Spill."
"She probably just calls him Teddy," Wren mumbled cutely, to which Tatum shrugged and peered into Theo's eyes, almost as if to ask permission to reveal such fragile information, though she figured she was in good company.
"Teddy, Theo, Ted," Theo listed cutely, he raised an eyebrow and bashfully looked down to the table with a grin, "Sometimes Theodore comes out."
"Ohh, the whole name," Throttle grumbled in cheeky delight as he continued to carve the taffy bark, "I get Tee, for the most part, but when I hear 'Throttle'..."
"Seems as if the full name thing is a trend," Turbo muttered in Berri's direction, to which her cheeks turned pink in shy cuteness, she shook her head and finally buried her nose into the top of Chester's head.
"I'm guessing 'Bo' is a staple," Wren waggled his eyebrows, to which Berri heaved a shaky sigh and giggled.
"Hopefully Nox follows suit, with proposing to Koko, you think it'll happen soon?" Berri wondered, desperate to get the heat off of herself, though Turbo raised his eyebrows and heaved a soft chuckle.
"The poor guy HAS the ring, and everything," Turbo blurt a laugh, to which Throttle nodded, as if he had this information, as well, "He has no clue how or when to propose. I've given him hundreds of ideas."
"I think he's not ready, and that's fine," Throttle shrugged, "Each process is different. It's not something to rush within yourself, and though it's on his radar, he'll do it when he's ready."
"What about Whiplash?" Tatum cutely plucked, though she did so quietly, knowing, full well, he was downstairs in his room; the loft fell quiet in contemplation.
"...Speaking of Whiplash, he's... Been awful distant, since the vacation," Berri cued, she furrowed her brow and peered up into Turbo's curious eyes.
"Yeah, he's been sleeping a lot," Turbo stated quietly, he looked across the glassy dome of his lovely loft and scratched the back of his head, "I think the vacation took it out of him. I'll check up on him later and see how he's feeling."
"It WAS a crazy two weeks," Throttle's deep voice kindly chimed, everyone mumbled lovely notions of reminiscing.
"Poor guy needs to actually get out into the city and make some friends, meet new people," Turbo mumbled, he seemed confident in his notions, "He'll meet someone, I just know it. He has love in him, it... Just might take a hot minute."
"All three of us will have been married and have raised children before then, surely," Throttle stated quietly, though his tone was respectful and calm, in loo of Lash's shortcomings.
"His happiness is what's important," Turbo sighed through his nose and gave Berri a sweet smile, "It's all about timing. Whether it's sooner or later..."
"There and then, here and now," Berri droned, she shrugged her cute shoulders and gave Turbo a sweet smile, though Wren cut the atmosphere in half.
"BARF, you guys," Wren urged playfully, to which the group was rocketed into playful laughter, once more, the tippy top of Orion City's bubble sung with sunny love.
As the evening came to gentle close and everyone had parted ways for the night, Berri hummed a dainty little tune to herself and kindly tidied Turbo's kitchen. She wore a cozy black t-shirt and burgundy cotton shorts, her slick, straight blue hair was messily tossed into low ponytail, her cute bare feet gingerly propped on tip toes as she began to put clean, dry dishes away. Although she was alone in the main parts of Turbo's home, his garage door was hung wide open, in which emit not only the bright work lights, but the gentle, reverberating bass of his speakers playing fun, exciting music to work to. Power tools could be heard occasionally whirring, Turbo was hard at work fixing up one of his vehicles. In the downswing from dinner, Berri furrowed her brow in a ping of confusion and lofted her curious gaze to Lash's bedroom door, tucked near the entrance of the single hallway Turbo had in his home, which also lead to the staircase to his loft, as well as his own bedroom. Berri narrowed her eyes and was well aware she had seen Lash earlier in the morning, though no time after; her heart began to surge in confusion.
Berri gingerly tapped her fingers on the counter top in a slope of dread that began to nip at her heels. She raised her eyebrows in piqued delight as she could hear Turbo's lovely, raspy masculine voice sing to his lightly blaring music, across the stretch, though Berri eyed Lash's door, once more, and finally lifted her hip from the edge of the counter. With a slow, careful saunter, she came to the dark corridor and glossed her beautiful eyes in the direction of the dark staircase, just across and beyond Lash's shut sealed bedroom door. With the way Turbo's home was crafted, the doors sealed so sleekly against the tiles that there was no easy way to tell if there were to be light emanating from the crack under the door. Knowing this fact, she opted to nonchalantly passing his room and head for the staircase, and although she knew not to knock, she desperately wanted to. As she head up to Turbo's dim loft, all illuminated by the light pollution the city gave off, she scoured for any shred of dirty dishes left behind and was successful in finding no mess to be had. In smiling defeat, she returned to the gape of the little spiral stairwell and made her way down, though upon coming back to their bedroom's corridor, she suddenly gasped a sharp inhale as Lash rushed her like a hover of a dark ghost.
"Berri, where's Turbo," Lash whispered, he nearly smushed Berri tight into the little nook of the spiral staircase's platform, Lash cautiously wrapped his arms about Berri's upper back, in a loose show of potentially keeping her trapped with him in this moment of mild desperation, though he leaned his upper body back and stuck his head out into the corridor, which lead out into the kitchen; the gape of the garage's door, across the stretch, was visible, though Lash's minty eyes dart about in search for his big brother, "I have to be quick, is he around?"
"He's in the garage, what's going on?" Berri staggered as her irises equally began to glint little embers of a minty glow, though she flinched as Lash held her cocooned in the stairwell's private nook, they were mere inches from each other's faces, though Lash pressed his hot, trembling breath down onto her cheeks and the bridge of her nose.
"It's urgent, but it's vital you erase me from everything I'm about to tell you," Lash just barely whispered, he nearly mouthed the words down to her, their urgent eyes stabbed tight to each other's, though Berri finally gripped Lash's upper arms in a clench of rising terror, the sheer fact that she had never seen Lash so scared or serious about anything, ever. Berri shook her head, as if to urgently make clear that she already didn't understand what Lash was saying, "I just received a text message from someone incredibly powerful, someone incredibly dangerous."
"Who?" Berri hissed silently as Lash leaned his upper body back out into the corridor; no signs of Turbo.
"Vye Ketton," Lash whispered in a swing of further dread, to which Berri wildly furrowed her eyebrows.
"G-Game Over's..." Berri started, their tones never reached decibels of vocal tones whatsoever.
"The greatest most scariest gamer on the internet," Lash's whispers shuddered in the rush of fear he soaked their nook in, "Game Over's top dog."
"Why... H-How?" Berri staggered, the soak of confusion continued to drown her now pounding heart.
"I'm trying to get to the bottom of this deleter mess, she's discovered that Litwak's Arcade is housing Users," Lash hissed quietly, he pulled out his phone and gently tabbed to the conversation on screen, in which Berri squinted in the dim light of his phone and read a message from Vye.
Bye-Vye : PAX. Hand over Users or kiss Sugar Rush goodbye.
Berri felt her pupils tighten, the terrifying splay of such a small amount of words, though with such a terrifyingly huge spark of meaning. Berri shook her head and felt the gears in her brain suddenly begin to whir at the speed of light, she staggered on a shaky few exhales of the start of a few sentences, though as Lash was due to hovering and potentially answering her questions, he took her silence as an opportunity to further his own little agenda of staying entirely out of this mess, for whatever reason beyond Berri. His muted, minty eyes scanned Berri's side, and in a caring grapple, he quickly slipped Berri's phone out of her pocket and suddenly began to work magic he had never alluded to. In the strange sweep of hot confusion that was now adamantly delaying all firing synapses of her brain, she only realized, after the fact, that Lash had successfully unlocked her phone and Houdini'd his way into Berri's private, locked device. She firmly furrowed her brows and glossed her eyes up at him, though he handed her her phone back and shook it a little, so she'd take hold of it; she was nearly mortified to see that he had somehow transferred his and Vye's conversation straight to her own device, to make it look as though Berri was the one that received the message.
"Tell Zed, tell Turbo, tell everyone, just whatever you do," Lash's trembling, scared voice whispered in rushed, silent tenderness, he lovingly gripped her upper arms and looked her dead in the eye, a beyond serious, scared shitless air he had never ever had about himself, he shakily issued her a crumbling conclusion, "Do not... Mention... My name."
"Lash, h-how... How the hell did you just DO all of that?" Berri sharply whispered as she gestured to her phone, though Lash firmly grit his teeth and looked about the bend of the corridor, for the millionth time.
"Nevermind how I did it," Lash whispered in the same spike of trembling confusion he had glossed upon Berri's soul, and with one final mouthed conclusion, he quickly fell back into the motions of escaping to his dark, beckoning bedroom, "Warn everyone, abandon ship."
