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ask-icancraft-it · 1 year ago

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Amends

(( Hey folks! Happy 11th Fandom Anniversary! This is a fic that I’ve been carving away at for a long time, it was a difficult one to get just right. It’s very slight hurt/comfort, but mostly just two very different people coming together for a genuine conversation. Enjoy! )) -------------------

Laying on his back on the soft, dewey grass, Ralph let out a contented sigh. Quietly, he soaked in the serene atmosphere of his home, reflecting on just how much had changed in the short time since he went ‘Turbo.’

The Nicelanders were being nice, and he had people he could actually call friends. Among those few was Felix, his in-game sworn enemy, and someone Ralph had previously looked towards with envy…Something had clicked down in that sugary jail cell that fateful day, and the thirty year rift between them suddenly didn’t seem so wide.

“You doing okay there, Ralph?”

The wrecker looked up into the worried eyes of the handyman himself. Boy, his ears must have been burning.

“Oh hey,” Ralph smiled, sitting up. “Yeah, I’m good. This is just my ‘Thinkin’ Spot.’”

Felix smiled back, relieved. And as a brief silence passed between them, the wrecker could tell there was something buried behind those blue eyes, clouding them. He’d seen glimpses of this far-off look all week; between quarter drops, at the end of the work day, even in the mornings as everyone took their positions. If there was anyone who looked like they needed some time in the ‘Thinkin’ Spot,’ it was Fix-It Felix Jr.

“May I join you?” The smaller man asked gently.

“Knock yourself out,” Ralph patted the spot on the lawn next to him. “I was about to say…you seem like you could use it.”

Felix let out a nervous chuckle as he folded his legs to sit. “Is it that obvious?” he said.

“Maybe I’m just observant,” Ralph scratched the back of his head awkwardly. “I’ve done my fair share of ‘people watching’ over the years…But c’mon, you guys already kissed, just ask her out already!”

The 8-bits face grew red, a bashful smile playing on his lips.

“There’s a lot more to it than that Ralph,” Felix sighed.

“Look, here—” Ralph dug his fingers into the chest pocket of his overalls, revealing a large gold medal tied with a blue ribbon. “I’ve been trudging through the woods every night looking for this so I can return it. You can come with me when I do and ask her then.”

The handyman seemed touched.

“That’s a very kind thing for you to do, I’m sure she’ll really appreciate that.”

“Being your wingman?”

“No!” Felix tittered. “Returning the medal!”

When the laughter died down between them, that doleful look came right back where it was on the handyman’s face.

“Ralph, there’s something else…” he bit his lip, head starting to shake slowly as he chose his next words.

“I’m sorry,” Felix said with such sincerity that it threw the wrecker for a loop. “I am so sorry for what you’ve been through these past thirty years.”

Ralph’s chest tightened, a small lump forming in his throat. He didn’t even know he needed to hear those words. A small hand grazed his upper arm.

“And I’m sorry for the part I played in all of it,” Felix continued.

Ralph suppressed some tears as he chuckled.

“C’mon,” he waved it off. “Most people were scared, or just outright hated my guts. But you… you were actually nice to me.”

In fact, he’d taken advantage of that niceness to get into the 30th Anniversary party.

The handyman’s face twisted in a way that was hard to read. “Maybe I was nice,” he sighed. “But I sure wasn’t kind.”

“Okay, you’re losing me here,” Ralph kept his lighthearted manner. For all he knew, those two words meant the same thing.

Felix flashed a bashful smile.

“What I mean is…I’m a people pleaser, Ralph. And that’s something I’ve been more or less told over the years by various friends that I did not listen to…‘till recently.”

Ralph blinked, curious as to where all this was going.

“I want to be liked, and I don't like conflict…I’d do whatever I could to avoid it, even if that meant saying or doing things that maybe I didn’t really agree with.”

Felix briefly looked around, as if he thought someone else might be listening. Ralph remained quiet, eager to hear whatever came next; there was a lot more to the bright-eyed handyman than he thought.

“And among the people I sought to please the most were the Nicelanders… It's part of the job, right? I was scared that night, when you showed up at the penthouse door. But I wasn’t scared of you,” Felix admitted with a gulp.

The wrecker’s brows raised, his mind flooding with the implications of what that meant. “Ralph, I had a whole room of people expecting me to get rid of you, and I…I couldn't. I did the nice thing, and invited you in… But then I just let Gene talk to you the way that he did,” Felix sighed, pulling off his baseball cap and kneading it in his hands. “If I was a kinder person, I wouldn’t have let any of that mess happen. You deserved to be there, just like everyone else.”

Ralph nodded gently, starting to get the gist of what the handyman was trying to say.

“I appreciate the apology, Felix. Just know that what happened at the anniversary party…I don’t hold any of that against you,” the wrecker leaned back on his hands, looking up at the stars. He found his coworker’s honesty inspiring.

“For a really long time, I wanted the life that you have,” he said. “Pies, medals, adoring fans; the whole shebang. I had convinced myself that’s what I needed to be happy.”

Ralph chuckled at himself, shaking his head slightly.

“Turns out I just needed friends. Like Vanellope,” the wrecker pushed his elbow against the handyman sitting beside him playfully. “And like you,” he added with a smile. Felix laughed softly, putting his cap back on.

“Besides, if I were the Good Guy, I’d have Gene hanging around me all day. No thanks.”

“He is a handful,” the handyman sighed. “He’s warming up to you though.”

“Oh yeah, real cozy,” Ralph’s voice dripped with sarcasm. A brief silence passed between the two. Felix took in a breath and held it a moment as he knotted his fingers together.

“When you went ‘Turbo,’ my life was turned completely on its head,” he spoke fondly. “And you showed me what being good really looks like.”

“I did?” The wrecker was genuinely surprised. The handyman nodded.

“Ralph, dragging me out into the arcade woke me up to just how complacent I’ve been…I don’t want to be the person I was on the night of our anniversary. If you’ve got a problem that needs fixing, or need someone to talk to…I’m here.”

“Thanks, Felix. That means a lot,” Ralph cleared his throat to try to keep those strong emotions at bay. “And, y’know…the same goes for you too. This has been really nice, talking to you like this.”

“It has,” the handyman agreed. “I hope I didn’t disrupt your evening too much, this is your spot after all.”

“N-no, no, please, come and go as you like,” Ralph stumbled over his words. “To be honest, I think I like it better when it’s shared.”

Felix had moved to get up, but slowly settled back down with the wrecker’s reassurance.

“If you don’t mind me asking…” the handyman twiddled his thumbs. “What were you thinking about before I came along?”

“Oh, a lot of things,” Ralph puttered, laying back on the lawn. “The kid, you, the Nicelanders. Just how much has changed, and how nice it’s been…”

A gentle smile crossed Felix’s face. “Good,” he said as he joined his friend in laying down, looking up into the night sky.

“And,” Ralph sighed, once more pulling the Medal of Heroes from his chest pocket. “Trying to figure out what to say when I give this back…That lady you like, scares me. And I don’t think she likes me very much…”

“Ooh, she was not happy,” Felix giggled. “But… I think you’ll find that she respects your efforts to fix the mess you made, and the heroism you showed. You saved Vanellope, and all of ‘Sugar Rush.’ I don’t believe Tamora was going to blow the exit with the two of you inside; that would have killed me…so we would have been toast along with the rest of the arcade if you hadn’t—”

The handyman paused, reeling slightly from the thoughts of what could have been.

“You’re our hero, Ralph,” Felix said sincerely. “I hope she lets you keep it.”

The larger man was humbled by those words, taking a moment to brush his thumb over the word ‘Hero’ engraved on the medals surface.

“Ah, even if she doesn’t…” he said, reaching just under his shirt collar to reveal his handmade cookie medal from Vanellope. “This is all I’ll ever need.”

“That is a good one,” the handyman concurred. “How is she, by the way?”

“She’s doing great, the gamers love her,” Ralph grinned. “Y’know, you can join me in watching the Roster Races sometime—Ooh! You could ask Sarge to come too, it’ll make for a good first date.”

“Raaaalph,” Felix droned with a lighthearted groan. “Alright, I’ll go with you and ask her.”

“Oh thank the Mods,” the wrecker let out a sigh of relief. “I think she’s less likely to punch me if you’re there.”

“So that’s why you’re so adamant,” the handyman rolled his eyes.

“Part of it,” Ralph admitted. “But I also think you two would be good together.”

“Thanks, brother. I hope so…” Felix smiled, feeling lighter. “I think the four of us made for a pretty good team.”

“Yeah,” the large man agreed, his heart full as he looked up to the stars. “I think so too.”

#wreck it ralph #fix it felix #sergeant calhoun #vanellope von schweetz #core four #happy fandom anniversary #crafty writes

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