Eventually Felix made it through the tunnel leading into Hero's Duty, and while he had never particularly enjoyed the much more intense and fast-paced ride into the game, this time is was just downright disorienting. As he stepped off of the bullet train and into the harsh terrain, he tried to stop his head from spinning, and keep himself from stumbling right into the open area. He clasped his hands on either side of his head for a moment and shut his eyes, just giving himself a moment to regain his composure.

Soon the world was righted itself again and he looked up with a sigh. He did not want to do this. But he had promised her that he'd let her know if he felt worse… He could only hope that if Tamora did notice any strange behavior. That she wouldn't notice how bad it was right away. That is, if she hadn't started experiencing similar symptoms as well…

He entered the area just in time to see everyone getting off for the day. They seemed cheerful enough. None of them were complaining about any of the things the Nicelanders were, and he couldn't help but feel relieved at that. Scanning over the crowd, he quickly spotted Tamora a little ways away and grinned. "Tammy!" He waved, trying to look as lively as possible.

Perhaps it was the day of the week, or just a poor selection of players, but by the time the day ended and the final perimeter check had been completed, the blonde was more than ready to park it somewhere and relax. Either that or chew someone's head off.

Tamora knew right away that things weren't going to end well after each level. It was a known and relieving fact that they were able to regenerate once the game ended, but that didn't make dying any easier to experience. Especially when it involved being torn apart in the churning gears of a Cy-Bug's mouth.

This fate was met by several of her men that day. Not only that, but she herself had been unlucky enough to be repeatedly crushed beneath rubble and other debris. But she didn't want to think about that. It only made her upset.

It was clear that the day's frustrations had kept her metaphorical spikes bristled, which explained how when she heard her name being called (her FIRST name, no less), she turned around with a distinct scowl on her face, ready to scream at the bold, brave soldier for not addressing her with her proper title.

But it wasn't a soldier. It was Felix. That automatically changed everything.

Unthawing from her icy state of being, Tamora walked over to the small hero. She hadn't had the chance to change out of her armor yet, or secure her weapon elsewhere, but that didn't stop her from approaching him and making conversation.

"I didn't mean to give you the slip this morning, Fix-It. Duty called. Literally," she told him, resting her large gun in the dip of her curvy hip.

Felix raised his hand after she'd finished speaking and shook his head, "Ah ah ah, think nothing of it. You've got a job to do." He said, moving his hands to rest behind his back and grin up at her. He couldn't keep the happy-look off of his face at seeing her alright; and though it wasn't a good thing that they had gotten a 'virus', it was a good thing to see that it wasn't spreading. At least, not as far as he could tell.

Tamora knew that Felix would understand her abrupt departure earlier; she honestly didn't think he was capable of not understanding anything, just because of how sweet and empathetic he was. Sure enough, the weight of constant loses diminished not even two minutes after she'd begun speaking with him, which proved that her husband was the perfect remedy for a bad day.

"But, if you want to, Ralph's at Sugar Rush right now - we could visit him. If you don't have something else planned." The friendly fixer offered, trying to swallow his nervousness as he pointed towards the tunnel. He didn't know how Ralph was holding up, but he'd imagine that the brightly coloured and cheery-everything of Sugar Rush wasn't doing too much for his sense of wellness. That, and he still wanted backup if he was going to tell Tamora of their condition.

"We'll head over as soon as I get into some civvies," she said, motioning for him to follow as she began walking in the direction of the barracks. Which he did, eagerly.

Most of the men resided in a shared dorming facility, but since she was who she was, and also since her anatomy was quite different from the hulking males she commanded, the blonde was given her own private accommodations. Upon arriving at her door, she entered in a code and then stood straight as a light scanned her retina, cataloging her identity. Afterward, she spoke out: "Sergeant Tamora Jean Calhoun." There was a moment of pause before a computerized voice approved of her entry. "Access granted."

The two of them rarely spent much time in Hero's Duty, due to the more dangerous nature of the game, but Felix had been to her personal quarters before, and he didn't think he'd ever get over how incredibly high-tech it was. Before coming here, he wouldn't have even thought of something like a voice-activated lock, let alone a personal identification system that works by scanning your eye. It was amazing.

When the computerized voice rang out, and the mechanized doors slid open with a pressurized hiss, he hurried into the small room on the other side, and looked back at the door for a moment as it slid shut again. Turning forward again at the sound of her voice.

"Feel free to park it somewhere. I won't be very long." She laid a gloved hand on top of his hat and rubbed his head through it, causing him to laugh and look up at her with a smirk as she made her way to her closet to change.

Moving to the small bed nearby, the handyman hopped up onto it and sat down, clasping his hands together in his lap and lightly kicking the side of the bed as he waited or her to change. The room was no bigger than an average bedroom. Tamora had never been one to decorate, so the overall "mood" of her personal quarters was understandably bland.

He watched her as she made her way over to her closet, and tried to ignore the ringing in his ears. At one instance, his vision went blurry and he had to blink rapidly and hold his head to right it again. Though after he did, he was caught off-guard by the sight of his wife removing her armour. A more modest woman would have gone into the bathroom or politely asked that their guest wait outside, but Tammy wasn't familiar with anything of the sort. As far as she was concerned, she and Felix were married. There was nothing to hide or be ashamed of.

"Oh my-" His face lit up in a blush, and he instantly reached up with a hand to pull the brim of his cap down over his eyes. Though at doing so, he couldn't help but giggle a little to himself. He supposed it wouldn't have mattered, what with them being married. But he still couldn't get over some of his reservations when it came to personal privacy, and it's not like he'd been invited to watch or anything. Even though he was quite sure Tamora wouldn't have cared in the least. Despite her tough exterior, she was still a lady. "Let me know when you're done, honeybunch." He stammered.

Felix's exclamation had Tamora turning to look at him over her shoulder. She noticed how red he was and also how he'd shielded his eyes away from her. He was definitely unlike any other man she'd ever met. Most males wouldn't have hesitated to sneak a peek at her goods (her own men had strained to look away on one occasion when she'd been forced to remove her armor on the field in order to dislodge a jagged piece of a Cy-Bug that had wedged itself beneath her rib).

Still, she knew that the fixer was far too respectful to ever behave that way; it wasn't in his code. That didn't stop her from changing, though. Or snickering a little to herself.

After shedding the protective layers off of her and securing her gun in its proper holding case, she worked on retrieving some clothes. Her wardrobe didn't consist of many options (or colors, for that matter) so a white tank top and camouflage pants it was. Both articles of clothing were quickly pulled on before she walked over to the little man sitting on her bed.

"All clear," she teased, reaching out to return the brim of his cap back to its regular position.

Felix just sat back and looked at her with a grin. She would look pretty in anything, as far as he was concerned; and if it was comfortable for her, all the better. He couldn't imagine it would be all too comfortable to run around in bulky armour all day long. He certainly wouldn't have been able to do it.

Her hand took a detour from his hat and gently rubbed his smooth cheek. Though, upon touching him she couldn't help but notice that he didn't exactly feel cool to the touch like he normally did. He actually felt pretty…warm. Her brows knit together, and Felix's grin faltered at the sight. Tamora supposed it could have been because of all the blushing he just did, but somehow that didn't seem entirely accurate. And now that she really looked at him, she could see that his naturally rosy cheeks had lost some of their color… She planned to comment on it, but before she could get any words out the sound of her communicator going off stole her attention.

Phewf. Saved by the bell.

She headed to where she'd deposited the device and accepted the incoming transmission. Kohut's face appeared, reporting that everything had been cleared for the evening. The soldier additionally informed her that some of the men were stationed by the tower to stand guard overnight, in case any other suspicious noises were heard coming from the inside again. "Keep me posted if anything happens," she told him, to which he nodded. "Affirmative. Enjoy your evening, Sergeant Calhoun."

When the conversation between the two came to a close shortly after, he offered her another grin, though this one was slightly more nervous than the last couple had been.

"Ready to go?" He offered.

Once the call was terminated, Tamora turned back to Felix just as he asked if she was ready to go. "Hang on," she told him, heading off to fetch something that sat in a nice case against the wall. Upon closer inspection the object was revealed to be none other than her cruiser.

While it would have been fine to simply walk through Game Central Station and take a ride into Sugar Rush, this was always a quicker and less confined way.

"Alright. Let's roll out," she stated, shouldering the cruiser as if it were a casual hiking backpack or something. Knowing that Felix would follow, she led the way out of her quarters and back towards the departing platform. The soldiers that had been previously walking about were no longer around, since they'd all gone off to do whatever it was they'd chosen for the night.

Instead of riding the bullet train out, she decided to refer to her preferred method of transportation. It took a light toss to have the cruiser unfolding before them and transforming into its full potential. Tamora mounted first - as usual - and then turned to her small spouse with a smile; she knew that he was well aware of the drill when it came to riding the cruiser, since he'd done it plenty of times before.

"Hop aboard, Fix-It. Next stop Sappy-Saccharine-Sweetness."

Author's Note:

Things are gonna start heating up real soon. Like, it's gonna get intense - so hold onto your seatbelts, because the next couple of chapters are gonna be a bumpy ride!