"My, you're popular today," Duncan remarked, once again securing Turbo's leg shackles.

"I guess I am," Turbo said. He was about to add A Very Good Joke to the end of that, but seeing as he wasn't in much of a mood to be starstruck with a blunt object, he decided against it.

"Done," the donut remarked, and Turbo turned himself around as they left. Felix sidestepped the doorway to let them pass through.

"I really don't see what you see in that guy," Wynchel said with a shake of his head. Felix laughed nervously, floating into the room with an anxious hand pulling at his work glove. He had a look on his face that looked suspiciously like guilt.

This is gonna be good, Turbo thought, nibbling at the inside of his cheek.

"Do come in, Mistah Fix-it," Turbo said, shuffling onto his bunk, which felt very much like a pedestal at that moment. He sat placidly, his knees to his chest, eyeing his prey.

"Hi, there," Felix said, a hint of nervousness in his voice. Turbo lowered his eyelids. He'd have to say he was enjoying watching the handyman squirm.

"Ya look a little nervous, honeydip," Turbo said. Hey, whaddya know, I did work one of my old pet names in there. Heh.

"Well, I did make my way down here with something weighing a might heavy on my mind," he said. "Something I'd like it if we could…discuss?" He grinned sheepishly, his eyes all but disappearing under the push of his cheeks.

Hmm, so he's gonna come clean, is he? Turbo mused.

"Discuss?" Turbo questioned.

"I really don't even know where to begin," Felix said, wringing his hands together. "I'll admit I didn't think this through much." He sucked in a breath, sighing it out. His shoulders sagged. "But I believe there's something you have the right to know."

Turbo raised his eyebrows.

"Go on."

Felix leaned against the wall. "It isn't so much that I did anything wrong, really, I just…should have been more honest about something."

"All right."

"And…I think it's only fair to tell you…oh, I'll just come right out and say it, there's no use in stalling, I suppose," Felix said with a sigh. "I'm…seeing somebody."

Of course, Turbo had already known this, so this came as no surprise to him. Still, hearing Felix say it with his own voice was none too pleasant. He had to seriously try to keep a straight face, though he figured his seething glare was giving him away, anyhow.

"Who?"

"H-her name's Tamora," Felix stammered. "And mind you, I met her before I discovered you were, ah…among the living." Felix wrung his hands together.

"So her name's Tamora, huh?" Turbo said. His voice was so low that Felix strained to hear him.

"Yes," Felix said. When Turbo didn't reply, Felix went on, "And I wouldn't exactly call her my girlfriend." Nervous laughter. "We've only been on a few dates now, we…don't hardly…get the time to…"

Turbo laced his fingers together and perched them atop his knees.

"Turbo?" Felix said carefully.

"No, I'm listening," Turbo said. "Keep going. Tell me all about this Tamora." As the venom dripped from his voice, the tension in the room became more and more palpable. Felix's breath hitched.

"It's not that I—oh, how to explain this," Felix said, grating his hands together quicker than ever. "Now I really didn't know that you—I couldn't possibly have known that you—I met Tamora the day Ralph disappeared into Sugar Rush." There. He'd finally spat it out. "We, ah…we came here to look for him. Together. Well, not here, here." Laughter. "Sugar Rush, here. And, well…we just…kind of…hit it off?"

Felix grimaced.

Turbo said nothing.

"You're being awful quiet," Felix squeaked.

Some kind of strange and unidentifiable emotion welled deep within Turbo, manifesting itself as acid coming up his esophagus. He cleared his throat.

"I don't even know what to say," Turbo said. There was no anger in his voice, which surprised even himself. "I guess I can't blame you for, uh…whaddevah you're doing with her. Can't really date me, can you?" He shook his leg shackles and clicked his handcuffs for emphasis.

Felix trotted over to him. "No, no no no," he said, shaking his head. "It's not like that. It's just that I met Tamora before…all this." He waved his hands around, indicating Turbo's dungeon cell. "I had no idea I'd ever see you again." He placed a reassuring hand on Turbo's knee, his sad icy-blue eyes boring into Turbo's. "You have to understand that."

"So what are you saying?" Turbo muttered.

"I…" Felix removed his hand from Turbo's knee, kneading knuckles into palm. "I still…" he faltered.

Turbo looked at him expectantly. More of that gray-tasting stuff was coming up his throat. He hem-hemmed as quietly as he could.

"I still have my affections for you," Felix said. "Actually, it's…well…quite a bit of my affections." It was dim in the cell, but Turbo thought he could make out Felix's cheeks reddening. It didn't take much to get the handyman blushing, but in this kind of situation, Turbo thought it a good sign. It meant Felix was being earnest.

Then again, Felix was always earnest.

"You do?"

Shit. Real smooth, Turbs.

"Of course," Felix murmured. His face softened into a sickeningly sweet smile, a smile that hurt Turbo to even look at, but of course he couldn't make himself look away. He didn't know what to say. He didn't know what to do. He was on a different planet, in a faraway galaxy looking down at his own body.

He thought he might vomit.

"I don't know what to thay, I'm tho thpeechless," he said.

As the words left his mouth, Turbo was mortified. His King Candy lisp had somehow returned. In the back of his mind, he thought it might be because his nerves were beyond frazzled at that moment. He couldn't concentrate enough on his speech to keep the well-used lisp from returning. Perhaps. He didn't dwell on it much. He was too busy staring at the man in front of him.

Turbo laughed under his breath.

Felix allowed himself to sit on Turbo's bunk. He sat down carefully, still wary of the sturdiness of the thing. He turned himself toward the racer.

"Well," Felix said slowly, "how do you think you're feeling about me?"

Felix's voice was so warm and buttery and reassuring. How he worked his devil magic, Turbo didn't know, but suddenly he wanted to tell Felix everything in the world.

"Of courth I thtill have feelingth for you," Turbo blurted, "I mean, hehoo, we never did exactly...break up."

Turbo's face was growing hot. If he started honey glowing like Felix, he would lie himself down and die of embarrassment. He bit his tongue. Hard. Maybe that would make the stupid fucking thing straighten up and talk correctly.

"We didn't even have a chance to," Felix said softly.

"I know," Turbo said. "I know I know I know."

Their teeth clicked together. Turbo felt a hand, two hands, slither behind his back, grasping his own, pawing at his fingers, trying and failing to interlock them. The kiss was filled with need, with the answer to a question Turbo could never figure out how to ask. Turbo was fine with the lipwork but he never did figure out what to do with his tongue. Luckily Felix was taking the lead of this one. He felt Felix's tongue slither carefully into his mouth, caressing the top of his mouth, his teeth, his whatever was in there, he didn't even know. He sat there stupidly, unable to move his hands or his arms or his legs, and the only thing he could really do was tilt his head a little, just a little, and hang on the tongue of the man that made him so nervous (...happy?) that he lisped.

Felix broke the kiss with an abrupt jerk of his head, but before Turbo could even protest, he felt his shoulders being crushed by the squeeze of Felix's arms around him. Felix buried his head into Turbo's neck.

"I don't know what to do," Felix mumbled into the collar of Turbo's racing suit. "I…I don't want to hurt her."

"It'th okay," was all Turbo could manage to reply. Which was a useless thing to say to someone, but he couldn't think of anything better.

Felix raised his head to look Turbo in the eye. Their faces were inches apart. Turbo could feel the warm puffs of Felix's breath on his mouth.

"No," Felix said, "it isn't. I don't know how to do this without hurting her."

"Do what without hurting her?"

"Tell her. Tell her I'm…tell her that we…"

Turbo swallowed and swallowed and swallowed. He chewed at his tongue.

"Tell her I just…can't. Can't be with her anymore."

Something in Turbo's brain hollered victory. He'd won. He'd won Mistah Fix-it, and there was nothing that lady could do about it. But at the same time, there was a tiny part of him—tiny part of him—that was thinking, no! That's selfish! Felix should be free to roam and date whoever he wants, you're stuck in this cell, what fuckin fun are you? Don't do this to him! Don't trap him in here with you!

Turbo could say nothing. He just looked at Felix with what he hoped were apologetic eyes. Words would simply not come to him.

But he knew he had to say something. Felix was looking at him expectantly. So he took a shaky breath and attempted to speak.

"Felix, this," he began, noticing his speech impediment had gone, "is gonna sound really lame coming from me. But…if ya really like this lady, then I guess…" he trailed off, scowling. He didn't want to finish what he felt like he should say. He had his feelings for Felix, and of course he wanted him all to himself. Yet he was just tender enough to admit he'd like to see him happy rather than miserable. The rotted, maggot-infested thing he called a heart was good enough to admit that to him. But he couldn't put it in words. It was too disgusting.

Felix put Turbo's face in his hands. He was smiling that sweet smile again. "I'm glad I came here today, you know that? It feels like a brick's been lifted right off my chest. Now I know for certain…who I want."

"Really?" Turbo said stupidly. His voice was slightly skewed due to Felix smooshing his cheeks with his gloved hands.

A feather-light kiss brushed against his lips.

"I think so," Felix laughed.

"But I'm in prison, I'm so damn boring," Turbo said. He was in a daze. "Don'tcha wanna go and have fun with that lady? Instead of sitting here doing nothing? With me?"

Turbo's voice had found the words he needed to say. The kind words. He'd almost forgotten how to say nice things, but Felix's presence had him trying to dig up those phrases again.

"It'll be okay," Felix said. "It'll be okay."

Turbo felt himself being jostled into another hug. Felix always was a hugger. He could feel Felix's hair against his cheek.

"I guess we could always play 20 Questions or somethin," Turbo said. He felt, rather than heard, the handyman laugh quietly.

"We'll figure something out," Felix said. "Don't you fret."

Turbo's belly was warm, like he'd just had a good shot of vodka. Felix was in his arms…sort of. More like draped over him, but it was still pretty good. It dragged up a lot of good memories. It made him feel hopeful for his future, actually. Now he had something to look forward to when he was released.

Not something…someone. His and Felix's relationship had ended abruptly and at a weird time, so there was no telling where it'd go from where they were at now…where were they at now? It was still a confusing thing, but there was one thing Turbo knew for sure—the lump clinging to him put more life in him than anything had in a long, long time.

And if he played his cards just right, maybe that lump would stick around.

Author's Note: So, the last chapter was actually supposed to be the beginning of this chapter, in a way, and the previous chapter reads as more of a filler chapter because I decided to split them up. I think.

But I had this chapter written, and I'd so disappointed myself with the last chapter and how it turned out that I scrapped chapter 8 altogether. All of it. And I decided to do a complete rewrite, hoping to make up for what I'd done last chapter. And I'll have to say that I'm pretty pleased with this chapter! Everybody seems in character, worked some sugar in there...I think it sounds p. good. And hopefully yall will think the same...and I will be honest, I've not yet started work on the next chapter, because I'm still torn between one of three different scenarios. I don't want to make the wrong decision so I'm weighing each option carefully.

And between you and me...I wanted the Turbo Twins to make their appearance? But it would have nothing to do with the main storyline, so I guess that should come at the end somewhere.

Anyway, I hope this chapter was better.(: