*Chapter 75*
"Well, that seemed to be the peak of the night. You guys topped the countdown," Calhoun chuckled as she lulled her hands onto her round hips. She gazed at Vanellope expectantly and smiled, "What are you guys going to do now?"
"Well, the countdown should be soon, right?" Vanellope asked softly as she leaned closer to Ralph, her eyes continued to remain glued to her new ring, but more so to her new fiancé.
"Probably," Felix beamed, "It'll be your first legitimate New Year's together. Hopefully this time, I don't nearly game over."
"Yeahhh," Rancis heaved a long sigh and looked down in an embarrassed way, "I knew that was going to come up in conversation at least once tonight."
"Hey guys," said the familiar Sonic as he slowly moseyed up to their group, he smiled at Ralph and Vanellope expectantly, "Congratulations, you two. Ralph, I do believe you're probably the first bad guy to ever propose to a beautiful girl, and have it go over smoothly. Good on yah."
"Thanks," Ralph chuffed with a small smile as he hugged Vanellope closer to his side, she gladly leaned in more, "I-I have to say, I was nervous she would say no."
"If Vanellope said no, I'd think there'd be a wire missing in her brain, or something," Taffyta laughed as she nudged Sonic; he beamed and shook his head with a small chuckle.
"Are you guys racing in this year's motocross tournament?" Sonic asked Taffyta and Vanellope, "It's in three days, held at EZ Living's race tracks."
"I'm game," Taffyta beamed as she smiled at Vanellope expectantly.
"We'll be there," Vanellope said excitedly.
"Rancis?" Sonic said in disbelief with a smile, "Long time no see. Where have you been hiding?"
"O-oh, uh," Rancis nervously rubbed the back of his head, "Just been sticking to my own game, I guess…"
"We missed you at the tournament last year, buddy," Sonic said as he put his hands on his hips, "You racing this year?"
"Um," Rancis stammered as he nervously glanced up at Ralph. He inhaled a short breath before smiling at Sonic, "I-I might, I'll have to uh, check out my bike and make sure it's in racing condition, before I can take it out on the tracks again."
"You used to race in the motocross tournament?" Calhoun asked gently, Rancis nodded with a smile.
"How come you never told us?" Vanellope wrinkled her nose as all eyes landed on Rancis. He swallowed hard and shrugged.
"I-I didn't think you guys would've cared, I guess," Rancis said nervously.
"Well, I hope to see you all there. I'll be racing this year as well as a few other gamers," Sonic said proudly as he gently began to step away, "Congrats, again, you guys. See you in a few days, hopefully."
Everyone cheerfully said their goodbyes to Sonic before their eyes subtly landed on Rancis in a curious way. Ralph eyed Rancis a little, he wondered if he was finally able to be trusted, but he felt he couldn't be totally certain yet. Ralph kept his hand and arm firmly around Vanellope's waist as Taffyta crossed her arms and gave Rancis an almost annoyed look.
"When were you going to tell us that you had a bike?" Taffyta laughed with a wide smile, "I thought Vanellope and I were the only ones that made our bikes for the tournament."
"No," Rancis said with a small smile as he looked down, "I-I raced the one year that you guys didn't. I represented Sugar Rush."
"Did you win?" Vanellope asked, her voice coated in shock. To her surprise, Rancis nodded and hung his head gently in a humble way. Taffyta shot Vanellope a stunned look before she gently grabbed Rancis's arm.
"Rancis, you won the tournament???" Taffyta barked with a wide smile, "Why didn't you tell any of us?"
"I-I don't know, I don't like too much attention like that. It's just a silly trophy," Rancis chuckled as he shrugged his shoulders. Taffyta scoffed and lulled her head to give Vanellope a playful, grief stricken facial expression. Ralph and Vanellope burst out laughing.
"Just a silly trophy," Vanellope repeated with a wide smile, "There's no such thing as 'just a silly trophy' in Taffyta's vocabulary."
"Well," Taffyta sighed as she smiled at Rancis, Felix and Calhoun, "I won this award tonight, maybe the motocross trophy will go to me this year."
"I think all the trophies you've won this year are starting to go to your head," Ralph laughed, everyone else joined in as well. Taffyta scoffed and rolled her eyes. She inhaled deeply to protest, but was cut off by a loud voice that came over Game Central Station's hall stating that the countdown for the New Year was in five minutes.
"I'm so ready for this year to be over," Vanellope said through a long sigh as she gazed up at Ralph. He nodded in agreement.
"You're telling me," Rancis chuckled as he looked down; Vanellope wrinkled her nose and jolted her eyes between him and Taffyta.
"Well, would you look at that," Vanellope began playfully; Taffyta slowly looked up at her through annoyed eyes as she could sense the teasing in her voice, "It looks like each of us has someone to kiss on New Year's. C'mon guys, let's go get some sparklers."
Taffyta felt her whole face get hot as Felix, Calhoun, Ralph and Vanellope laughed knowingly and slowly began to move past her and Rancis, who were frozen solid in embarrassment. Taffyta exhaled a shaky, annoyed sigh and nervously caught eyes with Rancis. He chuckled nervously and rubbed the back of his head as he stammered to try to get some sort of words out. Taffyta rolled her eyes and grabbed his arm to follow their group of friends across Game Central Station.
"I-I would, try to avoid killing your sister tonight," Rancis chuckled as he gazed down at Taffyta's hand, which was glued to his wrist, "Tonight is a special night for her."
"Yeah, well she will regret bumping into me tomorrow, then," Taffyta said quietly to Rancis as he quickly took a few steps to get next to Taffyta, instead of behind her. They trailed slowly behind Felix and Calhoun, who were behind Ralph and Vanellope.
"I think she's on to something, though," Rancis said sweetly, yet quietly, as he gently wormed his wrist from her grip and slipped his hand into hers. Taffyta raised her eyebrows and gazed down at their hands for a moment before finally braving her emotions; she smiled up at Rancis for a moment before shaking her head and looking onwards as they kept walking.
"Yeah, well, what does she know," Taffyta muttered softly through a beaming smile, her face hot red.
"Considering she's just been proposed to with one of the rarest branches in this whole arcade," Rancis lulled his head as he kept his loving grip on Taffyta's hand, "I'd say she knows quite a bit."
"Should I be taking notes, then?" Taffyta barked as she nudged Rancis's arm with hers, though she kept her hand in his. Rancis beamed and shook his head playfully.
"I'm only playing," Rancis breathed as he looked down. He gently slid his eyes up to Taffyta and caught eyes with her. He smiled a loving smile and was surprised to see her smile back. Her beautiful blue eyes shone under Game Central Station's light.
"Here, guys," Ralph said with a wide smile as he handed everyone their unlit sparklers. After the group had quickly moseyed back towards the front of Game Central Station, where a large countdown was being displayed, they each huddled in their group and peered at each other eagerly. The crowd around them was lively and chattering.
"I can't believe this is our first New Year's, all of us are finally together," Vanellope beamed as she gently leaned into Ralph's side, she practically made it her new home for the night.
"Okay guys, no game overs, no running off, no double stripe swords," Taffyta giggled as she elbowed Rancis's arm; he rolled his eyes and scoffed with an annoyed smile.
"No double stripe swords, I promise, I promise," He said in an annoyed tone before smiling happily at Taffyta.
Vanellope heaved a long, satisfied sigh and gently looked up at Ralph. He smiled and looked down at Vanellope, his eyes held an unspeakable amount of love and adoration for her. He very gently rubbed her bare back with his large hand, he tried not to let his grip wander past her lower waist. She giggled a small, shy laugh and leaned into him farther as she gently tucked her face into the side of his shoulder. He squeezed her to him and chuckled as he ducked his head down. He gently planted a few kisses on her forehead and the side of her head before Taffyta made a sudden movement. She bent down and scraped her sparkler against Game Central Station's tiles; it quickly began to spark and spout like a mini firework. Everyone's eyes widened as they took a step or two away from Taffyta's excited sparkler. Ralph caught eyes with each of his friends before they each quickly did the same thing. All of Game Central Station caught on, and before they knew it, the whole hall was alive with the excited sparklers; they were raised high in the air as everyone began to countdown from thirty.
Vanellope loudly counted down with everyone before she could feel Ralph's stare on her. She softened her voice and gently looked up at him through glowing, hazel eyes. With each second that counted down, the two grew closer to each other. She kept her eyes locked on his as the seconds slowly began to dwindle to the single digits. Vanellope felt her heart pound and skip beats to the seconds being loudly yelled by the crowd, but her and Ralph's world slowly dwindled, they were the eye of the storm. She inhaled a small, almost nervous breath as she could feel Ralph's hot breath softly whisper the last few seconds of the year on her mouth. Ralph gently pressed his warm lips to hers as the crowd around them began to go wild and cheer for the New Year. Vanellope sunk her lips into his eagerly, her free arm gently wrapped around Ralph's neck to keep him to her. The sound of the crowd around them was muffled by the sound of their code beats that practically shook the Earth to its molten core. Game Central Station was alive with fireworks and sparklers, cheering and romance.
Vanellope tilted her head gently as she could feel Ralph's free arm squeeze around her small waist. He gently tugged her into his tall, strong body, his arm didn't dare to let her go. He let his hand slip down, just above her rear as her hand tenderly gripped the hair on the back of his head. They deepened the kiss tenderly as they got lost in the dull roar of the crowd around them, as if their world was very slowly being put on a time out. Vanellope eagerly smiled on Ralph's mouth as she could feel tears of happiness sting her closed eyes. She gently slid her hand to the back of his neck as the two very gently and slowly emerged from being one; Ralph inhaled a shaky breath and tried his hardest to control his wandering hand. He pushed his forehead to hers and gazed down at her with adoring, renewed love. She beamed the same intensity back, as if she could hardly believe he was all hers.
"Happy New Year, future wife," Ralph said with a small, happy chuckle. Vanellope beamed and scrunched her shoulders, her whole face turned red.
"Happy New Year, future husband," She laughed as she nuzzled his nose. She inhaled a refreshing breath and very gently put a tiny bit of distance between their faces, "I love the way that sounds."
"You have no idea," Ralph mumbled in a love struck daze before something to his right caught his attention.
Ralph and Vanellope eagerly looked over just in time to see Rancis and Taffyta, almost awkwardly catch eyes. Ralph shot Vanellope a look as if to tell her not to move. Vanellope shot him the same exact, excited look before she darted her eyes to where Felix and Calhoun were. They, too, had just come out of their romantic moment and were eagerly gazing at Rancis and Taffyta. All four of them shot each other frozen, 'do not move' looks as they eagerly awaited what was potentially going to unfold. Taffyta and Rancis spoke to each other, but their conversation was drowned out by all the cheering. Vanellope tried her hardest not to jump up and down in a giddy fit of joy as all eyes were glued to Taffyta and Rancis, who were a few feet away, obviously oblivious to their four audience members.
"Happy New Year, Taffyta," Rancis said softly to her, "I-I'm really glad we got to spend it together, this time."
"Unlike last year," Taffyta barked playfully as she nudged Rancis's shoulder, "Ditched me for the princess."
"Haven't we already been through this?" Rancis complained with a wide smile, they stood close to each other.
"I don't think any of us got a New Year's kiss, last year, however," Taffyta chuckled as she looked down, her face hot red.
"Well," Rancis said softly as he tilted his head to look into her eyes, "I'm sure this New Years can change that."
Taffyta gently looked up at Rancis through a sheepish, almost surprised facial expression. She let her features slope to that of gentle knowing, she knew she'd have to brave these emotions sooner or later. She gazed seriously and gently into Rancis's dark blue eyes, her face quickly flushed as the two caught in a string of longing eye contact. She knew Rancis had been there for her all along; she knew pushing him away was the worst mistake of her life. She figured things were about to come full circle, the foretelling of a magical New Year was definitely unfolding before everyone. Taffyta inhaled a shaky, nervous breath as Rancis very carefully began to lean into her invisible comfort barrier; she was surprised to see him do so with confidence.
Rancis very slowly and cautiously leaned in for the kill; he long blinked a few times as the world around them slowly began to turn off, in their minds. Rancis swallowed hard and worried that if he made one single wrong move, even blinked in the wrong way, that he would be dead meat. He was certain she would've clawed his eyes out by now. He felt his hands begin to shake as he very tenderly reached his free hand up. He carefully slipped his hand into her free hand and let their fingers intertwine, just like how they used to in the past. Taffyta held her breath and finally let her walls come down. She closed her eyes and anxiously awaited Rancis's venture to meet hers. She carefully began to lean in as well, both of their hearts danced in an unsure, nostalgic way.
Before either of them could rip themselves away from their sticky situation, Rancis very carefully tilted his head and let their lips meet. He squeezed Taffyta's hand gently and was surprised to feel Taffyta return the gentle New Year's kiss. Taffyta inhaled Rancis's scent on his warm skin, she finally allowed her heart to flutter and dance for the first time in what felt like eons. She carefully pushed into him as she slipped her hand out of his and gently cupped his cheek. She felt her heart jolt as she could feel Rancis smile on her mouth, his free hand very gently met her waist. Just before Taffyta could allow herself to deepen the situation, she quickly, yet tenderly, broke the kiss and gazed into Rancis's eyes. He blinked a few times, softly, and gazed back at her in surprise before he gave her a playful look as if to tell her that wasn't so hard. Taffyta beamed a girly, sheepish smile that she wasn't even sure her mouth could ever form. Rancis breathed a small chuckle on her mouth as Taffyta scrunched her shoulders in a girly way and looked down and to the side; she completely forgot where she was before her eyes landed on Ralph's and Vanellope's feet. She widened her eyes and quickly looked up.
All four of their friends were frozen solid, their facial expressions riddled with wide, beaming joy. Vanellope had her shoulders scrunched as well as her hands gripped together and pushed to the center of her chest in a girly, wistful way. Calhoun had her hand on her hip and a facial expression that looked rather impressed. Felix had his arms playfully crossed, his eyes sparkled with joy and teasing. Ralph had one eyebrow cocked, though his smile was sweet and almost playful. Taffyta felt the code practically leave her face as Rancis heaved a long sigh and titled his head up towards Game Central Station's ceiling.
"Took you guys long enough," Ralph barked as the three he was standing with quickly began to laugh in agreement. Taffyta slumped her shoulders and looked away as her whole face turned beet red.
"You guys," Taffyta complained as she avoided eye contact from everyone. Vanellope squealed and jumped up and down a little.
"I knew it I knewww it," Vanellope beamed as she did a little dance; Ralph chuckled down at her, "A happy, happy New Year it is."
"Indeed," Felix beamed as he raised his sparkler just before it began to die down.
Vanellope heaved a satisfied sigh as she looked up at Ralph with a wide smile. Before she could get lost in his eyes, yet again, she peered down at her new ring eagerly and felt her heart flutter. She gazed down at the gorgeous crossed stripe ring in disbelief before she felt Taffyta nudge her arm.
"Can't take your eyes off of it for two seconds, eh?" Taffyta teased as her and Rancis eased closer to her, Ralph, Felix and Calhoun.
"I-it's just, so pretty," Vanellope beamed as she glanced up at Ralph, "I still can't believe it."
"It took a while to get it, too," Taffyta chuckled.
"How, exactly, DID you get it?" Vanellope asked Ralph curiously as she gently laid her hand on his chest. He blushed a little.
"I can show you, if you'd like," Ralph said, though he smiled teasingly, his voice was obviously laced with an innuendo. Vanellope's whole face turned beet red as she gazed up at Ralph in poised shock. Her group of friends immediately bursted out laughing as a wide, yet daring, smile spread across the newly engaged couple's faces. Vanellope quickly slipped Ralph's sleek, black tie out from under his tux and pulled on it a little.
"Let's ditch this popsicle stand," Vanellope muttered before she quickly began to drag Ralph away, towards his game outlet. Ralph's eyes widened as he choked a surprise laugh; he quickly hunched over and stumbled after Vanellope as she dragged him by his makeshift leash of a tie.
"S-see you tomorrow, guys!" Ralph called over his shoulder as the two eagerly disappeared into the crowd; Ralph stumbled and stammered a few noises of playful protest as Vanellope dragged him away.
"Oh, my land," Felix said through a chuckle as him, Calhoun, Taffyta and Rancis watched the two vanish across Game Central Station.
