A/N: I really should've had the first part of this chapter at the end of the last one. But these are the sorts of things you sacrifice when you type too fast to think about that sort of thing.

Chapter 10: The Lock

Vanellope and Calhoun made their way to Fix-It Felix Jr. on foot. This would give Vanellope a chance to think about what she was going to say to Ralph. She rehearsed it all mentally.

"I'm sorry Ralph. I didn't mean any of what said... but then again you probably knew that. It's just that you were acting so weird, and you know I KNOW when you're not saying something, how was I really going to know what it was? And why can't we talk about that sort of thing anyway? That's so unfair, I usually come to you with all my problems, I mean... I always want to talk to you."

Vanellope sighed at that last thought. Things didn't really have to be different now, did they?

When they got to Fix-It Felix Jr. they found Ralph and Felix milling around in the lobby of Nicelander Apartments. They were discussing something in hushed tones. Ralph was all annoyance, whatever it was. They stopped when they spotted the two of them.

"Hey there. How'd it go?" Felix asked, walking up to Calhoun and patting her leg in greeting.

"Oh, well enough I guess." Calhoun answered, being deliberately vague.

Ralph walked up to the pair a little more hesitantly. Vanellope had a weird sort of shell shocked look on her face. He could only wonder what all that was about, and he didn't really want to find out.

Vanellope fidgeted, her thoughts going around in circles as she looked at Ralph. She thought about what she intended to say to him. She did owe him an apology, but...

Vanellope suddenly lunged at Ralph and hugged him as tightly as she possibly could. Much to the confusion of all present. After it became apparent that she wasn't going to let go any time soon, Ralph hugged her back.

"I'm sorry about what I said and I'm sorry if I did something wrong, but I'm not going to change. So you'll just have to deal with it." Vanellope said with firm resolve, her voice muffled by Ralph's chest.

"... What?" Ralph asked. He looked to Calhoun for an answer. Calhoun rubbed at her chin, trying not to look too satisfied. She shrugged nonchalantly. Felix tapped at her leg and she bent down.

"Did we just hear a pretty girl admit that she wasn't going to stop jumping into bed with Ralph?" Felix asked. Calhoun just burst out laughing.

+++[And then...]+++

Life slowly proceeded to find a bit of balance after that, getting as back to normal as they could dare to be. A precarious balance, that only Ralph felt, seemed to spring up around Ralph and Vanellope.

Vanellope, for all she claimed she refused to change for this thing, could feel her own hesitation in touching Ralph more casually. Perhaps she was going off of Ralph's lead, since he almost never touched her at all anymore. Her own hesitation never actually stopped her, of course. But whenever she reached for Ralph's arm she got a little thrill. It reminded her vaguely of how she felt whenever she did something on purpose to annoy Ralph. It gave her the same giggly sensation, but it also made her just a little shivery after she'd done it.

Ralph, for the most part, had learned to stop reacting to these sorts of things. Every overly familiar touch didn't send him into hyperventilation like it had before. There was still an unavoidable awkwardness there, built from two relationship dynamics clashing, but that seemed to be wearing down.

Vanellope's part in all of this was to imagine that nothing had changed. She did, in fact, seem to act like the same persistent, overly affectionate, annoyance that she'd always been.

Ralph's was to ensure that nothing awkward or embarrassing happened to him because of it. The very first thing he did was get a lock for his door. Which was where some of the first awkwardness came in.

"The door didn't open." Vanellope pouted when the door opened.

"That's because I locked it." Ralph explained groggily. He'd fallen off the bed at the loud pounding and hollering that Vanellope had been doing on the outside.

"Locked it?" Vanellope asked. "When did you get a lock?"

"Recently." Ralph replied. Vanellope blinked and cocked her head at the lock. After a minute she narrowed her eyes at it, then cut her eyes to Ralph.

"Mmmhmm." She said.

Ralph attempted to get normal conversation going. Suggesting random things to do to pass the time. Vanellope would just hum in uncertainty, still eying him with suspicion. Eventually Ralph couldn't stand it any more and uttered the word he knew he'd regret saying.

"What?" Ralph asked in resignation.

"You're trying to keep me out of your house." Vanellope accused.

"What? No." Ralph argued. "I'm trying to keep you out of my bedroom, there's a difference."

"Your house is only one room." Vanellope pointed out.

"Yes. And when I'm asleep, it's a bedroom." Ralph reasoned. Vanellope had to think about that one. Ralph tried to take that pause to change the subject.

"C'mon, you came here so we could go do something fun, didn't you?" Ralph asked.

"Yeah..." Vanellope said hesitantly.

"So, let's go." Ralph started ushering her to the door.

"But if I can't come in I can't wake you up in new and even more annoying ways." Vanellope argued with a half-hearted pout.

"Trust me, the way you were knocking was plenty annoying." Ralph assured.

"Well that's no fun, the reaction is the best part!" Vanellope complained.

"Where do you wanna go?" Ralph asked.

"Bounce Out!" Vanellope answered, her mind finally drawn from the subject.

Vanellope was bound and determined to never get used to knocking.

A/N: Bounce Out is a game that I just made up on the fly. In my head it's like Break Out (one player pong where you destroy all of the bricks). And... I imagine there being lots of trampolines. It seems like the kind of place Vanellope would think is very fun, but would really bug Ralph for no good reason.
And yes, Vanellope develops a grudge against the lock.

Review Response:

malstar - Pocky! I love pocky. But how about "Perdita Pocky". That sounds fancier for some reason.

jeh-nee - There will be chatting with Taffyta. Soon-ish.

BoredParanoia - I told myself I was going to put out a chapter a day no matter what. They're short, and in my head they're sort of lacking, but I'm feeling sort of in the quantity over quality mood at the moment. So yeah, fast updates. If I did it slower the chapters would be more thought out and about three times as long. But I kind of like this method of just banging them out in a couple of hours. It gives me time to think of other things during the day.

atopthewatertower - I don't even know if I need any more names or not. I haven't even started designing any of the character names I've gotten so I've already forgotten them. I like Cynna Monroe though! Does she have swirly curly hair that looks like a cinnamon bun? If she doesn't I will be highly disappointed.