*Chapter 85*
"Vanellopeee," Ralph cooed down to her dead asleep form. She hardly budged. Ralph nudged her arm a little with a small frown and leaned closer to her ear, as he loomed over the side of her bed, "Vanellope, you have to complete your registration for the motocross tournament tomorrow."
"Okay," Vanellope grumbled as she softly shoved her hand over Ralph's face and pushed him away just barely. She mumbled something incoherent and tucked herself farther into the bed. Ralph chuffed an annoyed sigh and stood up straight, his head lulled in Taffyta's direction and chuckled. She stood at the end of Vanellope's bed with her arms eagerly crossed.
"What is with everyone today," Taffyta barked as she shrugged her shoulders, "You and Rancis are so lazy and slow. We have to go complete our registration now before the place closes for the day. Don't tell me you guys stayed up longer than the sunrise."
"Taffyta, I'm sorry, I just don't feel very well," Vanellope croaked loudly as she threw her whole arm over, her upper arm covered both of her eyes and part of her face as she rolled onto her back, her large warm blankets followed suit.
"You don't feel well?" Ralph worried; he was dressed for the day, just like Taffyta. He reached his hand down and gently placed the back of his hand on her forehead as best as he could. Vanellope inhaled a slow, annoyed breath through her nose.
"Don't tell me you guys code swapped while you were sick, Ralph," Taffyta stated in an annoyed, dull tone.
"My stomach is just upset from this weird sleeping schedule, and all the s'mores I ate last night," Vanellope mumbled sleepily, "We didn't code swap while Ralph was sick."
"But you love our s'mores," Taffyta complained.
"Believe it or not, I don't have a high tolerance for too much sweets all at once like that," Vanellope groaned as she lulled her head back and forth, her arm followed the movement. Her cheeks were pale and her body looked limp and tired.
"That's hard to believe, actually," Taffyta scoffed with a small smile before she averted her gaze to Ralph. He peered down at his love curiously with a frown. Taffyta shrugged softly and gazed at Ralph inquisitively, "Well, why doesn't Ralph just take your bike and register your name for you?"
"Is that allowed?" Vanellope grumbled, Ralph gazed at Taffyta with a curious smile.
"I think so," Taffyta said gently, "The whole arcade saw Ralph propose to you the other night, so I'm sure they'll believe Ralph when he says he's registering his fiancée's bike."
"I don't mind doing that," Ralph smiled, "Will you be better enough to race tomorrow?"
"Oh yeah, I'll be fine," Vanellope grumbled as she rolled over and tucked the blankets to her nose. She closed her eyes and tried her hardest to get comfortable, "I-I can meet you guys at EZ Living in a little bit. Maybe I just need some fresh air, anyhow."
"Yeah, Rancis and I were thinking about asking if you guys would like to stroll the boardwalk with us after registration," Taffyta smiled at Ralph, he nodded with a smile.
"Sounds good to me," Ralph said before Taffyta began to worm her way towards the door. Ralph sighed before leaning down and placing a few, warm kisses on Vanellope's exposed forehead and the bridge of her nose. She opened her eyes and peered at him through loving, apologetic eyes, "Feel better. See you later, okay?"
"Thank you," Vanellope croaked as she fluttered her tired eyes closed. Taffyta and Ralph quietly made their way out of Vanellope's large bedroom.
After about a half an hour of Ralph, Rancis and Taffyta moving the three bikes from Sugar Rush to EZ Living, they slowly stepped into the sun and summer's warmth. A few gamers lingered near EZ Living's entrance, which was messily lined with sand and towering palm trees. Taffyta exhaled a harsh breath and quickly kicked the kick stand up on her bike so she could take her hoodie off. Rancis followed suit as Ralph peered around the massive boardwalk and beach. There were gamers everywhere, shopping, eating, lounging and socializing; there were small booths and festivities that lined the beach. Tall strands of loose balloons fluttered in EZ Living's cool beach breeze, though the sun beat down on everyone; there wasn't a cloud in sight.
"This climate gap is seriously confusing me," Taffyta grumbled as the three slowly began to follow the boardwalk in the direction of the motocross's race registration, near the tracks.
"I hear yah," Rancis sighed as he draped his hoodie over the seat of his dark brown, powerful bike.
"These things are a lot more intimidating than I expected," Ralph said to the two as he trailed next to them, he carefully kept his hands on the handles of Vanellope's mint green bike. Each bike was fashioned with a proper Sugar Rush logo, the designing was sleek and modern.
"What did you expect? Pedal bikes?" Taffyta laughed as the three very slowly strolled under some of EZ Living's beautiful, tropical trees.
"No," Ralph scoffed with an annoyed smile, "Just something a little less…dangerous. How fast will you guys be going anyways?"
"These bikes can reach over 150 miles per hour," Taffyta said casually as they slowly approached a large, white tent with open sides, the exotic, green scenery was breathtaking.
"A hundred and fifty…I-I'm not so sure I want to watch you guys tomorrow," Ralph chuckled playfully and nervously, "One wrong tur could send you rocketing into the game over abyss."
"Been there," Taffyta scoffed nervously as she shot Ralph an apologetic look. Ralph swallowed hard and peered down at Vanellope's bike, the very thing that could easily make her game over for good. He gripped the handle bars of the bike and apprehensively approached the massive white overhang with Rancis and Taffyta.
"Hey guys, checking in?" said Sonic as he began walking away from the check in tables; the inside of the massive overhang was lightly dense with gamers, racers and enthusiasts alike.
"Yep," Taffyta barked with a confident smile. Sonic shot Ralph a confused look.
"Ralph, you're racing too?" He asked curiously as the two groups crossed paths, Ralph lulled his head and chuckled.
"You really think I'd fit on one of these things?" Ralph said sarcastically as he peered over his shoulder, "No, I'm just registering Vanellope's bike."
"I see," Sonic said as he furrowed his eyebrows, though he kept a kind air about himself, "Taking on the beginning of your kingly duties, are we?"
"It's a start," Ralph chuckled with a smile as the two groups finally parted. Taffyta lulled her head in Ralph's direction and rolled her eyes.
"A very tiny start, compared to what you're in for," Taffyta mumbled, Ralph furrowed his eyebrows and shot her a confused, almost annoyed smile.
Ralph stood back and patiently waited as Rancis and Taffyta registered their bikes. After about ten minutes, Ralph was finally up. The working EZ Living local, behind the large registering booth, gave him an incredulous look. Ralph heaved a long sigh and looked down to Vanellope's beautiful, mint green bike. He opened his mouth to speak but instantly began to feel nervous, for Vanellope's sake. He suddenly had a bad feeling in his gut. He shook it off and cleared his throat before peering at the local apologetically.
"Wreck-It-Ralph, correct?" The local said with an amused smile, Ralph nodded and looked back down to the bike.
"Yeah, I-I'm here to register my fiancée's bike," Ralph said gently, he furrowed his eyebrows just barely at the odd jumble of words that just came out of his mouth. He felt his face get hot at the sound of calling Vanellope his fiancée.
"Oh, right," The local smiled as he began to write some things down on a brand new registration form, he then slid the paper and pen to Ralph and put his hands on his hips, "I saw your proposal the other night. Congrats, dude."
"Thanks," Ralph smiled as he began to clumsily write down Vanellope's information. Half way through filling out the form, his eyes bulged with the fact that he practically knew every single little detail about her. Serial numbers, code numbers, private information only she would know. He blinked a few times, down at the form, and suddenly felt a rush of confusion come over him. He finished the form and tried not to look too suspicious or confused.
"She must really like you if she's willing to trust you with every single last piece of information she holds to her name," The local laughed as Ralph handed over the form. Ralph inhaled a nervous breath and furrowed his eyebrows.
"Y-yeah, we're really close," Ralph breathed as he pondered curiously to himself, he still wasn't positive how he had acquired such knowledge without realizing it. He shrugged it off for the time being as the local came around and did a few checks on Vanellope's bike. After slapping a large number on the front and back of her bike, he gently began to take it away for the race tomorrow.
"Alright, she's all set for tomorrow," The local said back to Ralph with a smile, "The race starts at noon, racers should be here two hours prior."
"Got it," Ralph noted as he gently turned to find Taffyta and Rancis. Both of them were standing a dozen feet away, idly chatting with each other. Their bikes had been taken as well.
"All finished?" Taffyta smiled, Ralph nodded as he approached the two.
"You look confused," Rancis chuckled as he put his hands on his hips. Ralph inhaled deeply and rubbed the back of his head nervously as he peered behind him. He watched the local vanish with Vanellope's bike.
"I-I'm just wondering how I was able to fill out that entire form without even thinking about it," Ralph said through a confused chuckle as he peered back at Rancis and Taffyta. Taffyta looked confused, though Rancis smiled a knowing smile.
"Ohh, you mean how you knew all of Vanellope's code information without needing her to tell you or write it down?" Rancis questioned, Ralph nodded, "The only reason you know all of her information, like it was your own, is because you guys have probably code swapped a certain amount of times, now."
"Oh," Ralph choked as he furrowed his eyebrows, his face turned beet red.
"Yeah," Rancis laughed as he looked away sheepishly, "Y-You should probably take it easy. Usually once you can recite your partner's code information with ease is usually close to the time your guys' codes are strong enough to program a baby. Don't tell me you knew her core numbers with no problem…"
"I knew it like it was the alphabet," Ralph grumbled as he looked away in a disgruntled, yet bashful manner.
"Well," Taffyta barked with a wide smile as she nudged Ralph's arm, "Looks like you're gunna have to lay of the sweets, eh Ralph?"
"Wouldn't want heirs out of wedlock," Rancis beamed with a small shrug as he lulled his hands into his jean pockets.
"Probably not the best idea," Ralph scoffed with a playful smile. He felt his heart begin to race as the three began to slowly mosey away from the registration tables.
