I was so excited about the last chapter that I decided to go ahead and get started on this one, even though it's the final chapter! Sadness! But it'll be awesome anyway; Ralph and Vanellope make an appearance!

Please tell me what you think! How does this one compare to other "Felix proposal" stories? I've written at least half a dozen proposals in my time (check 'em out!) and I really poured my heart out in this one. So let me know how I did!

"Lady, I'm your knight in shining armor and I love you. You have made me what I am and I am yours." – Kenny Rogers, Lady

Chapter 3: Ask Me Again
The ring gleamed like the One Ring from The Lord of the Rings with the candlelight catching its golden luster as well as the sparkle of the two small diamonds embedded in the band. They were standard diamond-shaped and lying horizontal with their tips almost touching. It was the kind of ring she could wear under her gloves!

It was gorgeous!

Tamora wrapped one hand around the box and held Felix's hand with the other. He watched her face and let her take her time.

This was more than a ring he was offering, they knew, so much more. It was the heart of the finest man she'd ever known. It was a second chance at the home she always dreamed of, the simple life she longed for. It was peace and safety and love, everything he embodied for her. It was himself he was offering—him, the one thing she wanted more than anything else in the whole world, and now it was all right here in her hands.

She looked Felix in the eyes, so full of hope and love and understanding, knowing full well what he was asking of her. She smiled.

"I should," she agreed, "and I will." His eyes flew wide.

"You will?" he said like he couldn't believe it. She chuckled a bit.

"I will," her voice cracked. She watched as he lifted her left hand, slipped on the ring, and lovingly brought it to his lips as tears of gratitude and happiness leaked out from his closed eyes. It seemed to trigger her own tears and suddenly, she couldn't take it anymore. Her heart was full to the brim and had burst like a water balloon. She gently grabbed his face and kissed him gratefully and passionately, the kind of kiss that said "I love you so much." They touched foreheads with their eyes closed and wept together, neither quite able to believe how much they loved each other. Tamora opened hers after a bit.

"Look at us," she laughed and gently thumbed out his tears, "Crying like a couple of teenagers at the Titanic premiere!"

"I know," he smiled, "It feels wonderful." He glanced to the side and blushed. "You know, that couch feels pretty wonderful too, if you'd care to join me." Tamora smiled, pleasantly surprised at his boldness, and in no time they were seated on the sofa, lost in each other's embrace, (well, she was sitting and he was standing), their faces seeming to have a Honeyglow contest—a glowdown, if you will.

Since their first kiss, Felix had touched Tamora's face so many times that by now, she figured he had it memorized. His hands traveled along her jaw and through her hair like a familiar path in a forest, but each touch felt like the first time. He handled her so carefully, cradling her like some priceless treasure—his treasure. He never wanted to let her go and now, until game time, at least, he didn't have to. They had all night and he swore to focus every minute of it on his beautiful Tamora (as far as his coding would permit).

For her part, Tamora was too happy to even think straight. All she could think of was Felix—the way his hands felt when he touched her, the gentle strength of his arms as he held her (back story aside, she was certain no man had ever held her this way), and the tender softness of his lips as he kissed her. Every single thing he did seemed to say "I absolutely adore you and I refuse to live one more day without you by my side." For someone who'd never been in love before, he proved to be an incredible kisser, too. Criminy, she thought, was there anything this guy couldn't do? (Besides drink)

"Ask me again," she murmured for maybe the tenth time in as many minutes. Felix smiled, held her face, and looked in her eyes.

"Will you marry me, Tammy Jean?" he asked, stroking her cheek with his thumb.

"Yes, I will," she smiled, stuffed a hand behind his head, and pulled him into another kiss.

"Tammy," he sighed her name, "There's something else I want to ask you."

"Hmm?"

"Uhh…" She was kissing his neck now and it was hard for him to form a sentence. "What, uh…How do you like the house?" She pulled back with a smile.

"I love it," she said truthfully, "It reminds me of you—small and cozy and welcoming. It's perfect."

"Well, I'm far from perfect," he grinned, "but I'm glad you feel that way—about the house, I mean…because I built it for you."

Tamora stared at him for a minute. It wasn't enough that he'd fallen in love with her, saved her, let her into his heart and proposed to her? He'd actually made a literal home for her as well?

"You built this place for me?" she said softly, "For us?" He nodded with a slight blush and held her hand, running his thumb over the ring.

"I wanted to give you a real home," he said, "You deserve to have a safe place to come to after work, a place where you can relax and not worry about anything. A place where you can be happy."

"A place where I can be alone with you," she smiled with a hand on his face.

"Just you and me," he agreed lovingly, "I mean, we can entertain sometimes, but at the end of the day, this is our home, no one else's, just you, me, and Gretchen." She chuckled and dropped her head on his shoulder as she started to cry again. Felix held her silently.

"Ask me again," she said, not moving.

"Tamora Calhoun," he asked softly in her ear, "Will you live in my house and be my wife?"

"Yes," she croaked and hugged him tightly, "Thank you." Felix buried his face in her hair, breathing her scent until her tears subsided. After a while they sat facing forward, Tamora with her head on his shoulder and Felix with an arm across her shoulders, sitting on a stack of cushions, holding up her left hand, watching the ring glow in the firelight.

"So how do you want to do this?" he broached the subject.

"Well, Wreck-It and the princess get first news, naturally," she smiled, "And Harriet would never forgive me if I didn't tell her ASAP."

"I like her," he chuckled, "She seems like a sweet lady."

"She's the one who put me in this dress," she smiled slyly.

"I'll have to thank her," he said appreciatively, "You really do look beautiful. I—I mean, you're always beautiful, but…" She kissed him on the cheek and said, "Thank you. I like your outfit, too."

"Thanks," he said, "So, uh…how should we tell them?"

"Just tell them, I guess," she shrugged, "Maybe an hour before work?"

"Sounds good to me," he agreed, "I'd like a little more 'us' time, anyway." She smiled and wrapped her arms around his waist.

"It is more romantic this way," she mused, "Tomorrow the cat will be out of the bag, everybody will fawn over us, and we'll start planning the wedding of the century. But tonight it's just us, a secret that only we know."

"Don't you worry, Tammy Jean," he smiled with their foreheads touching, "Once we're married, it'll be just us again. We'll come home and be together as long as we want." He ran his thumb over her smiling lips. "For now, I'm just gonna kiss you 'till the sun comes up."

And he did. He kissed every inch of her face, even a bit of her neck, until his lips went numb. Over and over he asked her to marry him; over and over again she said yes. She'd belong to him and only him, tonight and every night to come. Later they curled up together under a throw blanket and woke up a few hours later to find themselves lying on the sofa.

Tamora woke first because Gretchen had come in through a kitty door and leapt on her again, mewing gently.

"Beat it, Gretchen," she mumbled and returned her head where it was. Her eyes popped open when she saw the back of Felix's head and she blushed deeply. She carefully turned his face up and stared at it. Suddenly she wanted nothing more than this moment right here, right now, the moment of waking up to see the face of her beloved. Watching him like that—so peaceful, so happy, and so darn handsome—made her realize she'd die for this man. The thought took her breath away as it clicked into place in her heart. Had it been a Sunday or a holiday, she would've just settled back in and stared at him until she fell asleep again. Oh, well. They'd have more nights like this soon enough.

"Felix," she whispered and kissed him tenderly. He unconsciously kissed her back and breathed deep.

"Tammy, will you marry me?" he mumbled as he blinked awake.

"Yes," she chuckled, "but first I think we should go find Ralph and Vanellope."

"What time is it?" he asked in surprise.

"9 a.m."

"Oh, my land!" he exclaimed and sat up, "I'm sorry! I didn't mean to keep you out so late!" They both knew that wasn't true, but he still said it. "I—I still have that bag you left at my apartment if you want to change."

She nodded and once they were both changed and ready, they headed straight over to Ralph's house. Vanellope came running right out with Ralph behind her.

"It's about time!" she scolded with excitement, "We've been waiting all night! Did she say yes or what?" Tamora knelt down.

"What do you think?" she smirked as Felix held up her left hand. Vanellope gasped loudly and grabbed her hand to get a good look at the ring.

"Sweet mother of monkey milk! You're getting married!" she shrieked and bounced between the three adults. "I can't believe it! I can't believe it!" She jumped on Calhoun and kissed her twice on the cheek, then gave Felix a noogie. "You lucky dog!"

"Thanks!" he laughed.

"Congratulations, Felix," Ralph smiled and shook his hand.

"Thanks, brother," Felix smiled back, "As long as we're here, I want to ask you something." Ralph looked at him and waited. "I was wondering if…that is, I'm hoping you'll be my Best Man." Ralph looked like the sun had come up on his face.

"Really?" he half-smiled, "Thanks! I—I'd love to!"

"Maid of Honor?" Vanellope was saying to Calhoun, "Yeah! That sounds cool! But why do you want me as your Maid of Honor instead of just your Flower Girl?"

"Because frankly, kid, I like you," she smiled wryly, "You're tough, smart, cute, and stubborn as a constipated mule in a dried up mudhole."

"I'm…what?" she said weirdly.

"Because you're adorable."

"Yes! I'm adorable!" She jumped for joy and glitched onto Ralph's shoulder. "Hear that, Stinkbrain? I'm gonna be the Maid of Honor!"

"All right!" he said, "You're looking at the Best Man! Top shelf!"

"Top shelf!"

"Now get your keisters inside!" Ralph thumbed back at his house, "It's breakfast time and we're gonna celebrate properly…with a cereal party!"

Vanellope stood up in her chair and held aloft her bowl of cereal.

"Lady and gentlemen," she announced properly, "I'd like to propose a toast…specifically, Cinnamon Toast Crunch."

"Better make it quick, kid," said Ralph, "We've only got 40 minutes."

"Gotcha. Well, anyway," she continued, "I've been trying to figure out who's luckier—Felix for getting such a cool chick or Calhoun for getting such a nice guy. Then I figured, what the hey; you're both awesome, so we'll split the difference and say you're equally lucky.

"So here's to the luckiest people I know: Fix-It Felix, Jr. and Sgt. Calhoun," she finished, "You make love seem a little less mushy."

"Hear, hear," Ralph agreed as they all clicked their bowls together, "Congratulations, you two. You deserve each other."

"Thanks, you guys," Felix chuckled sheepishly, scratching the back of his head while Tamora tried to hide her own smile, blushing bright red.

With ten minutes to game time, Ralph and Vanellope split ways with Felix and Calhoun at the entrance to Hero's Duty on their way to Sugar Rush. Vanellope turned back for a second to see the tall sarge kneeling at Felix's level and passionately kissing him with her fingers in his hair.

"Bluch," the child said in disgust, "I take it back: They make it look even mushier." Ralph chuckled.

"That's love, kid," he shook his head, "Come on." He hoisted her onto his shoulder. "So how do you think I'll look in a tux?" She giggled at the thought.

Meanwhile, Tamora was only just releasing Felix from a kiss hot enough to melt wax, which was how he felt every time she grabbed him—if he was a candle, she was the flame.

"I gotta tell you, ma'am," he sighed with googly eyes, "That kiss of yours is sweeter than anything I've ever tasted in my life."

"That's a high compliment coming from a gourmet cook," she smiled wryly, "I think yours is sweet too, like chocolate—real chocolate, like Willy Wonka." He chuckled and turned red, which made her do the same. It seemed to happen automatically now: One would blush and the other would follow. They figured it was a couples thing.

"So after we debrief the troops," Felix invited, "Do you want to come over and go over plans? I'll cook you dinner again!"

"Oh, you don't have to do that," she said, "The way I figure it, I'll just be coming home."

"Exactly," he said softly, covering the hand she had on his face, "Home." The word cast a spell of its own, revealing a glimpse of their future, the life they looked forward to building together.

"ATTENTION," came the announcement, "THE ARCADE OPENS IN FIVE MINUTES. PLEASE REPORT TO YOUR GAMES."

"Felix, come on!" Ralph called as he hurried inside their game.

"Coming!" Felix waved and turned back to his fiancé, "I guess I'll see you tonight." He kissed her again. "I love you, Tammy Jean," he whispered before pulling back.

"I love you, too," she smiled. He started to hurry back. "Hey, Fix-It!" He skidded to a halt and watched her stand up. "Ask me one more time!" Felix grinned.

"Will you marry me, Sgt. Calhoun?" he called for all to hear. She smiled brightly.

"Yes sir, I will!" she responded in kind. With that, the fiancés turned on their heels with a smile and entered their games.

Two minutes before the arcade opened, Harriet Kohut received a message on her computer in old-fashioned green graphics.

TO: H. KOHUT
FROM: T.J. CALHOUN
SUBJECT: LAST NIGHT

OPERATION IS A GO. REPORT AT 2200 FOR DEBRIEFING.

The old lady quietly giggled to herself.

"I knew it," she said gleefully, "I just knew it!" She sat back, smiling at the screen and the depth that lay beneath the simple message.

Tamora Jean was getting married.

"Now if I can just get my son to the altar…"

THE END

Author's Review:
I know, I know, cheesy ending to a cheesy, inordinately sugary story! I can't help it, though! I just love this couple so much!

Anyone who's read my Rise of the Guardians story "November Witch" will hopefully recognize the "constipated mule" phrase I used here. It just seemed to fit Calhoun's language pattern perfectly!

So, yeah: Another story's over, but fear not! I've got another one brewing in the old noodle! I'm just not sure how long it'll take to get up because I got myself a second job! Hooray for the working poor! ("Long live the poor!" says Tamaki)

Please tell me what you think and wish me luck at my new second job!

Peace Out!

-samuraistar =^_^=