Author's Notes: Geez, THIS was a long time in the coming...

Chapter 30: Wake up Call

Ralph groaned a little bit and shifted as a stretch coursed through him. He was waking up. He groaned again at that, sounding a little more annoyed. He hated waking up. He shifted a little more and noticed something next to him. One of his arms was draped over it. His groggy brain only had the power to register that it was soft. He wrapped his arm around it a little tighter to identify it. It yelped.

"Ralph!" Vanellope complained. Ralph jerked and sat up. Vanellope was pulled up along with him, since his arms were still around her. She slapped her hands on his arm in an attempt to get loose. She was at a funny angle and he was squeezing her ribs rather tight. Ralph let go suddenly, Vanellope flopped back down on the bed.

"Oof!" Vanellope said as she his the mattress. It was quiet while Ralph tried to wake up and Vanellope digested what had happened.

"I can sense that sleeping with you is going to be dangerous." Vanellope said dryly, muffled by the mattress. She pushed herself up and into a sitting position. She yawned and scratched her head a little before looking at Ralph. Ralph was sitting a little slumped over, all squinty-eyed and generally sleepy looking. Vanellope snickered.

"Mmm... sorry." Ralph said. It took Vanellope a moment to realize what he was talking about.

"Your brain really does work slow in the mornings, doesn't it?" Vanellope asked. Ralph made a noise that sounded like he agreed.

Ralph scrubbed at his face and then yawned loudly as his arms reached out into a large stretch. Vanellope smiled with satisfaction as she watched the muscles in his back flex and contract. She put her hands on his back to feel the bunched and tensed muscles. Ralph paused, one hand behind his head and the other up in the air.

"What are you doing?" Ralph asked mid yawn.

"You have a back too." Vanellope said, like that answered the question. The events of the party came came back to Ralph in a blur, then the answer made sense.

"It's too early for that." Ralph complained. He brought his arms down, finishing the stretch. He could feel Vanellope's hands move to follow the movement. Vanellope sighed.

"Yeah, I guess your right. It's probably almost time for the arcade to open anyhow." Vanellope agreed reluctantly.

"What?!" Ralph asked, suddenly very awake.

"Naaah, don't worry. I'm sure we've got time. There's an alarm that goes off as a warning." Vanellope said, trying to calm Ralph down. She climbed into Ralph's lap. Ralph took a couple of deep breaths to slow his heart down.

"Don't do that." Ralph scolded. Vanellope gagged dramatically and fell backwards. Ralph just looked at her as she played dead.

"Talk about some deadly morning breath." Vanellope commented. Ralph just rolled his eyes.

"Is that so?" Ralph asked. Vanellope nodded emphatically. Ralph eyed Vanellope appreciatively. She was still sitting on his lap, sort of, but her head and shoulders were on the bed. He felt like he could now admit he really liked the view. He picked her up behind the shoulders and trapped her against him in a tight embrace.

"Ack! Leggo!" Vanellope complained, trying to wiggle free. She wasn't trying very hard.

"No." Ralph said with a grin.

Ralph kissed her. She pressed her lips together with a giggle. Ralph, undeterred, kissed his way down to her neck. Vanellope gasped as her head went back to give him more room. Before things could go too far down that track a bell rang through the air. Ralph looked up at that.

"It's the alarm." Vanellope said as she caught her breath.

"How much time?" Ralph asked.

"Oh... about 15 minutes?" Vanellope answered. Ralph scrambled off the bed at that, dumping Vanellope off his lap.

"Geez! I gotta go!" Ralph hollered "I'm gonna be late!"

Vanellope rolled over and pushed herself into an upright position as Ralph bolted out the door.

"Your shirt!" Vanellope shouted. She held up two large scraps of plaid flannel.

"Err... well..." She examined what she was holding. "Maybe not."

+++[Fix-It Felix]+++

The Nicelanders were milling around in front of the building, looking anxiously at the clock on the arcade wall. Ralph was usually around by this time, going through the demo screen with Felix. It was 3 minutes until the Arcade officially opened. Mr. Litwak was already milling about and dusting screens and such.

Suddenly the sound of the cart coming down the tracks echoed through the empty air of Fix-It Felix. A sigh of relief went through the crowd as a few people rushed to greet Ralph.

"Oh my!" Mary gasped as Ralph stood up.

"What are... oh my land!" Felix commented. "Ralph, did you walk through Game Central looking like that?!" Felix asked. Ralph didn't seem to know what he was talking about.

"Your shirt?" Felix asked. Ralph looked down at himself and noticed the article of clothing he was lacking.

"Ummm..." Ralph had to think about it for a moment. "Oh right. I ripped it."

"Didn't I fix it before I left?" Felix asked.

"I... ripped it again." Ralph answered, rubbing the back of his neck sheepishly.

"Oh my." Mary said again, looking a bit hypnotized. Don pulled her away and back towards the building.

Felix sighed and rubbed his face with one hand.

Ralph wasn't so sure why Felix thought this was a problem. Admittedly he wasn't what he thought of as 'fully dressed', but it wasn't as if being shirtless was the most terrible thing in the world. It didn't even make him the most revealingly dressed person in the arcade either. Just look at Zangeif for cryin' out loud!

An old fashioned alarm clock rang, startling the group.

"The arcade is opening! Places everyone!" Gene hollered from inside the building.

"What about your shirt?" Felix asked Ralph suddenly.

"Everything resets when a games starts, it'll be fine." Ralph dismissed.

"Oh... right." Felix said. He knew that. He was just worried. "Umm... Ralph?"

"Yeah Felix?" Ralph asked as they headed to the other side of the building.

"No on saw you coming out of Sugar Rush like that did they?" Felix asked, not quite hiding the worry in his voice.

"Well, it was 10 minutes til opening. Game Central Station was pretty deserted." Ralph answered.

Felix let out a sigh of relief.

"But I did see Sonic." Ralph commented. "He paused and gave me a wave before going on his way." Felix slapped his forehead.

"Oh no..." Felix thought with a groan.

Author's Note: Phew. I'm sorry this took so long to get out guys. I just got so busy IRL while my computer was gone. I'm in a play in my community theatre and that takes up a lot of attention, even though I only have a little part. "You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown". Which is why I started that Charlie Brown fic that those of you who have my on author alerts noticed. But nevermind that.
So... I actually had another idea for a Wreck-It Ralph fanfic, and I was wondering if anyone would be interested in it. "Sugar Rush: Story Mode". Specifically a tie-in with this, because it would be about the NEW story mode after the upgrade. Featuring NPCs and the new racers I haven't done anything with... and stuff like that. I only have a few ideas for it but... tell me what you think?

Review Response:

I just... I've not a lot to say. Thank you guys for waiting for me to get it together. Also, OMG, two of my favorite WIR writers are now reading this story. Hi guys! OMG! If you guys haven't read MotorcycleChickenSmile's "Love Bug" or Mother Mnemosyne's "Even if it's Wrong" then go do so like... NOW! Those are most definitely my two favorite stories in the WIR fandom.