*Chapter 83*
"Taffyta," Vanellope started in an annoyed tone; She, Ralph and
Taffyta were crammed onto the train that was taking them to EZ
Living's portion of the back of the arcade, "What are you doing…"
"Your ring is pretty," Taffyta smiled as she held Vanellope's left hand
close to her face and peered at it with an eager smile. Ralph scoffed
and shot her a playful smile.
"You were with me when I made it, Taff," Ralph chuckled as he
peered past Vanellope, who was sandwiched between him and
Taffyta on the small train bench; Vanellope shifted uncomfortably and
rolled her eyes.
"Would you like to have it instead of me?" Vanellope asked playfully,
Taffyta shot her a smirk.
"Does that make me Queen of Sugar Rush?" Taffyta laughed, Ralph
extended his hand and arm past Vanellope and took Taffyta's small
hand in his.
"Taffyta, will you marry me?" Ralph asked playfully, Taffyta put her
hand over her mouth and gaped expressively in a mocking way.
Vanellope quickly parted her friends hands and exhaled an annoyed
noise; Taffyta and Ralph laughed at her.
"I do!" Taffyta beamed, Vanellope eyed her playfully.
"Are you making fun of me?" Vanellope asked in a dull voice as she
slunk more into her chair, Ralph nudged her arm with a small smile.
"When am I ever not?" Taffyta scoffed as she peered down the long
train aisle, the train was crammed with people.
"It stinks that going to EZ Living for the night wasn't just our idea,"
Ralph grumbled as Vanellope pushed into his side a little more; he
welcomed her with ease.
"Well, that beach goes on for miles, it seems," Vanellope sighed, "I'm
sure Felix and them found a good spot."
"Yeah, I'm sure it'll be fine," Taffyta said as she tried to sound as
plain and casual as possible.
"I'm excited to taste a Sugar Rush s'more," Ralph chimed as he
glanced at the two girls, they gave him knowing looks, "We ARE
using Sugar Rush ingredients, aren't we?"
"There's no other ingredients we'd use for sweets," Vanellope
chuckled as she pat Ralph's large, upper arm, "You should know this
by now."
"I should've guessed, huh," Ralph said through a sigh.
Before the two could continue talking, the train came to a slow stop
and everyone on the train began to stand. Ralph heaved an annoyed
sigh as the two girls next to him stood. He slowly stood after a few
moments and immediately began to feel more claustrophobic than
prior. Him and his two girls shuffled slowly to the gaping door of the
train as everyone poured out of it. Once they were finally out, Ralph
heaved a loud, annoyed sigh and caught up with his two racers.
They looked at him curiously through amused eyes.
"Crowds aren't really your thing, huh," Taffyta laughed as she put her
hands on her hips.
"Never have been, never will be," Ralph chuffed as he rubbed the
back of his head and looked around eagerly.
EZ Living's station was very small compared to Game Central
Station; it only had room for two game outlets, and one of which was
occupied by EZ Living. The three friends slowly began to mosey
towards EZ Living's outlet as most of the people on the train
scattered around the station to catch up with friends and chat.
Vanellope softly slipped her hand into Ralph's as the two walked.
The three gently pushed into EZ Living, the warm summer breeze
rushed through them, though the night was hinted with a hushed
evening chill.
"We're going to have to bring our bikes here tomorrow, Vin," Taffyta
reminded as the three slowly began to mosey onto the board walk;
each one of them peered down the beach every now and then to see
if they could find their group of friends.
"Why tomorrow?" Vanellope asked as she eyed her sister, "I thought
the race was in two days, not tomorrow?"
"Tomorrow is registration, and setting up," Taffyta explained as she
shrugged, "Rancis told me you bring your bikes and gear and such a
day early."
"Oh, okay," Vanellope shrugged softly, "That's doable."
"Where is this race held anyways?" Ralph wondered softly.
"It weaves through EZ Living's jungles, over that way," Taffyta
motioned her whole arm in the opposite direction of the beach
towards EZ Living's glorious, lush jungles.
"Hopefully there will be a place where I can watch?" Ralph asked
curiously.
"Yeah, its very similar to Sugar Rush's race course," Taffyta smiled,
"Except, no candy. Just lots of trees, and lots of normal dirt."
"I'm getting so pumped," Vanellope beamed as she skipped in her
step a few times excitedly, she squeezed Ralph's hand, causing him
to chuckle a little.
"I can't wait to see your guys' bikes," Ralph smiled.
"Is Rancis racing with us as well?" Vanellope asked curiously, "I
hope it's okay that there are going to be three racers from Sugar
Rush racing."
"Yeah, he'll be racing with us," Taffyta smiled, "Only one person wins
the trophy. It's not a group effort or anything."
"If either one of you three wins, I'm prepared for fireworks," Ralph
lulled his head towards the sunset, "And not the good kind."
"It was your idea to become apart of this sugary load of smarties,"
Taffyta laughed, Ralph smiled.
"I don't regret it for a second," He said kindly to the two; Vanellope
blushed and looked down with a smile. Ralph suddenly furrowed his
eyebrows and gazed hard down the beach, "Is that…Jubileena and
Minty?"
"… I think so," Vanellope furrowed her eyebrows as well as everyone
gently moved from the boardwalk to the fluffy white sand of the
beach, "A-and there's Swizzle, and Rancis."
"I think that's everyone!" Taffyta exclaimed knowingly, she teasingly
pretended to still be clueless. Ralph and Vanellope gazed at her
through confused smiles.
"What is this!" Vanellope cried happily as the three approached the
large group of racers, which included Felix, Calhoun and Tammy.
Each of Vanellope's fourteen racers, minus Taffyta, was standing in a
loose, lively group. Each one of them beamed wide, happy smiles as
Ralph, Vanellope and Taffyta slowly approached. Loud cheers and
wails of glee bursted from the group as each person yelled 'surprise'.
Vanellope beamed a wide, happy smile as Tammy quickly came
skipping up to her. She glommed onto her future aunt with glee as
Vanellope laughed a happy laugh and wrapped her arms around
Tammy's neck.
"Oh my User, you guys!" Vanellope cried with excitement as her
large family approached her and Ralph with excitable faces, they
each had a wide, beaming smile plastered to their faces.
"Congratulations, you guys," Adorabeezle said with a loving smile,
Jubileena nodded furiously, causing her hot red hair to shake in the
two pig tails it was in.
"I was not expecting this," Ralph beamed as he gazed down at his
new set of family; he wrapped one of his arms around Vanellope's
waist after Tammy unglued herself from her.
"We can't NOT do something special for our new King," Candlehead
said with a girly smile, everyone nodded and chuckled in agreement.
"I think this is the first time we've celebrated over the fact that Sugar
Rush is getting a new King," Swizzle chuckled as he lulled his hands
into his pant pockets; each racer was dressed down and comfortably
for the evening.
"Welcome to the family, Ralph," Minty said earnestly as each racer
nodded and smiled up at Ralph eagerly. Ralph hugged Vanellope
closer to him as she too peered up at him with a look of calm
adoration.
"Thanks, you guys," Ralph breathed sincerely, "I don't know what to
say. I'm honored."
"We're also welcoming these three into the family, too, you know!"
Taffyta beamed as she lulled her arm quickly over Tammy's shoulder,
causing her to giggle and blush a little. Everyone smiled and turned
to look at Calhoun, Felix and Tammy, who lingered close to Ralph
and Vanellope.
"How much bigger can this family get?" Snowanna laughed as she
crossed her arms with a wide smile.
"Well, once these two start adding heirs to the throne, who knows
what could happen," Taffyta snapped playfully as she nudged her
sister, everyone cooed and laughed knowingly towards the two as
Ralph beamed a wide smile and looked down at Vanellope in a
bashful manner.
"Can't forget you and Rancis, Taff," Citrusella laughed as she put her
hands on her hips; everyone quickly averted their teasing and happy
attention to Rancis.
"U-uh," Rancis choked as his face suddenly flushed. Swizzle nudged
his arm as everyone continued to noisily tease and chatter in a
happy way.
"This night is about Ralph and Vanellope," Taffyta laughed as her
cheeks turned bright red, "You guys can tease us later."
"Fiiine," Citrusella laughed as she slumped her shoulders, Toryald
nudged her arm with a wide, teasing smile.
"I don't know about you guys, but I'm itching to try Sugar Rush's
famous s'mores," Felix chimed as he put his hands on his hips.
"We found a large enough fire pit, too," Rancis smiled as all of the
racers slowly began to mosey over to the pit, each one melted into
their own social groups and began chattering to their friends.
"'Bout time someone mentioned s'mores," Tammy laughed as
everyone weaved into the fire pit, "I'm glad dad was the first to say
something, otherwise I might've been."
"You haven't lived until you've tried a Sugar Rush s'more," Vanellope
beamed as she gazed at the large makeshift fire pit.
There were at least four or five large tree logs gently scattered
around the medium sized fire pit. Everyone casually began to sit and
lounge and chatter with one another, though each racer would
occasionally glue their attention to their new future King and Queen.
Vanellope and Ralph sat down next to each other and shared their
log with Taffyta, Rancis, Calhoun and Tammy. Felix sat on the log
opposite to his friends and chatted it up with Minty Zaki. Candlehead
eagerly loomed near the unlit fire pit and was patiently attempting to
get the fire going while Rancis and Swizzle left to find proper sticks
for roasting marshmallows. Before too long, everyone was gathered
around the warm glow of the fire, each person took no time to
fashion themselves a s'more to inhale.
"I think someone needs to get Ralph two sticks," Taffyta laughed as
she squeezed together the gooey sweetness of chocolate and
marshmallow between two graham crackers in her hands, "You're
flying through those s'mores, there, buddy."
"I don't know if becoming King of Sugar Rush is such a good idea
anymore," Ralph teased as he easily put a whole s'more into his
mouth and chewed, "I might start gaining weight."
"We all have lived in Sugar Rush our whole lives and have been
completely fine," Creumbelina laughed as she threw an un-toasted
marshmallow out to the fire, on the long stick she had; she adjusted
her golden hoodie a little and smiled at Ralph, "If we all are able to
keep are pants from unbuttoning when we sit down, I'm sure you'll
be just fine." The whole group chuckled with knowing smiles.
"Plus, Vanellope will keep you in check," Adorabeezle chimed as she
raised her s'more to the two with a teasing smile.
"You're not too fond of sweets, anyways," Vanellope laughed as she
nudged Ralph's chest with her elbow, he furrowed his eyebrows and
glanced at the s'more in his hand.
"I'm not so sure that statement is true, after tonight," Ralph laughed,
everyone beamed and chuckled.
Ralph smile a wide smile and leaned into Vanellope gently. He gazed
out to the warm glow of friends and family that surrounded him. He
exhaled a slow breath and long blinked a few times as he kept the
stick away from the fire. He gazed out past the fire and to the
beautiful, dark ocean far beyond their fire pit. The fire crackled in a
lulling way as gentle smoke rose to the sky. The chatter of each of
his friends hummed and filled the crisp, evening air with love. He
inhaled a deep breath of the sweet smells, toasted marshmallows,
crunchy graham crackers and the sweetest molten chocolate mixed
beautifully with the smell of the burning firewood in the pit. He very
gently wriggled his feet into the cool, soft sand underneath him with
a calm smile. He felt his heart swell with the fact that he was
surrounded by such a lively, loving group. Sugar Rush definitely
wouldn't have been the first game he'd pick to become a permanent
part of, but now that he had a taste of just how sweet it could be, he
knew there was no chance he'd turn away from this. Ralph felt his
ears prick towards the conversation Vanellope, Taffyta and Calhoun
were having to his right. He gently peered at the three, but tried not
to seem too obvious that he was eavesdropping.
"Morning sickness?" Vanellope worried as she gazed long at hard at
Calhoun, who was sandwiched between her and Taffyta. Calhoun
laughed and rolled her eyes as she rolled up the sleeves of her jet
black hoodie.
"Oh, it's not so bad," Calhoun chuckled as she smiled at Vanellope.
"Surely giving birth isn't that painful," Taffyta inquired with a smile;
she figured this information would be useful to her someday too.
"It's nothing terrible," Calhoun chuckled as she rubbed the back of
her head, "It is painful, but it doesn't take long."
"So it IS painful?" Vanellope worried as she hunched over, her and
her sister practically glued themselves to Calhoun, who was
surprisingly comfortable with the topic.
"Well, yeah," Calhoun barked as she furrowed her eyebrows, "What
do you expect? A whole brand new set of code emerges from the
very binary of your lower stomach. When's the last time you grew
something off of you in a minute flat?"
"Sheesh," Vanellope said as her facial expression sloped to that of
worry, "I-I'm not so certain about all of this."
"Oh, you'll be fine," Calhoun laughed as she nudged Vanellope's
arm, "When Tammy was born, the second she was in my arms was
the second I forgot all about the pain."
"I was led to believe it wasn't painful at all," Vanellope said curiously
and nervously, "I don't know where I heard that from."
"Yeah, it's painful," Calhoun said bluntly with a laugh, "Like I said,
what did you expect? At least we don't give birth like humans."
"How does it work for them?" Vanellope asked curiously, Taffyta
looked inquisitive as well. Calhoun scanned the large group they
were in before leaning closer to Vanellope.
"You know where Ralph puts his, y'know, during code swapping?"
Calhoun said quietly as she wrinkled her nose to Vanellope.
Vanellope nodded bashfully as her whole face turned beet red,
"Humans give birth through there."
"…THERE? That's not NEARLY big enough!" Vanellope shrieked in
shock, causing Rancis, Swizzle, Minty and Felix to quickly turn from
their own conversation and fix their attention on her sudden outburst
briefly. Calhoun nudged Vanellope's shoulder and shut her eyes tight
with a small laugh.
"Count your lucky sprinkles, Mrs. Wreck-It," Calhoun beamed.
Vanellope shot Taffyta a shocked look, and wasn't surprised to see
her sister holding the same facial expression.
"Oh I will, believe me," Vanellope chuckled as she blinked at Taffyta
a few times. Vanellope suddenly felt her whole face burn up as she
could hear Ralph stifling a few chuckles to himself. She quickly
averted her attention to him in a bashful way.
"You guys are hilarious," Ralph laughed as he softly wrapped an arm
around Vanellope's lower waist. She pouted a little and leaned into
his chest sheepishly.
"I don't know if I want kids anymore," Vanellope teased as she
slumped her head onto Ralph's upper chest; he squeezed her to him
and leaned his face into the top of her head.
"I know you don't mean that," Ralph said with a small chuckle and
bashful smile. He planted a few, loving kisses atop her head. She
rolled her eyes with a knowing smile before she gently tilted her
head up to gaze at Ralph. He smiled down at her and inhaled to
continue, "You know I'll be right there beside you, anyways. My
hands are perfect for squeezing."
"Poor Felix," Calhoun chuckled, "His hand nearly fell off when
Tammy was born. At least Ralph's hands are able to handle the
sheer force you'll probably set upon them."
"You're forgetting that she's part wrecker now," Ralph chuckled
nervously.
"If you so much as utter the word 'ow' when it comes to that special
moment, you won't hear the end of it," Felix suddenly chimed from a
few feet away, Calhoun lulled her head and nodded in annoyance.
"Dutifully noted," Ralph chuckled as he squeezed his love deeper
into his chest, Vanellope smiled a sheepish and knowing smile up at
him.
