Ok yeah I know I said this fic was canceled, but I'd like to try again with it. I honestly deleted it on impulse because I got frustrated and really didn't think anyone would notice if I did. That was selfish of me though, so I'm re-uploading it. I'm really sorry about that guys

I am going to kinda be rebooting it tho, some things are going to change because my writing has improved since this was initially published, and I wanna make this the best it can be because as silly as it is, this au is very near to my heart

Just A Few Details:

In this version Ralph is 19, Felix is 18, and Vanny is 7-8 months

(chapter one may seem familiar if you've read Chilly Days!)


"Wow, it got cold fast," Ralph mumbled to himself as he trudged down the dimly lit street on his daily walk home.

Today was rough. School was really starting to get to him. His grades were dropping, his teachers criticized him constantly, and the other students all thought he was a thug.

If anyone bothered to get to know him, they'd see that he didn't have a mean bone in his body.

It wasn't his fault he looked like this. It wasn't his fault he was on his own. It wasn't his fault he could only afford to live on the shady side of town with what he made on his dead end minimum wage job. And it wasn't his fault nobody else would hire him because he looked like he could kill someone any minute. But it wasn't like he had any qualifications anyway.

He was still just a kid. He shouldn't have to worry about rent and bills and how he was going to support himself day-to-day.

Sometimes he got jealous of his peers. When he overheard their conversations and petty complaints about how unfair their parents were for not buying them something, or how their biggest problem was convincing them to let them stay out past curfew, it made his temper flare. Ralph's biggest worry was whether he'd be able to pay his rent on time each month, and whether he'd be able to pay that, the rest of his bills, and eat.

There was only one person Ralph had who understood him. Ty, better known by his nickname "Turbo," for his love of video games, especially racing games, was Ralph's childhood friend and confidant. They met at the local arcade as kids and met there religiously every week. Even when things went downhill with Ralph's home life, every Wednesday he'd make his way to the arcade, even as his spending money dwindled. When his father became more and more distant and aggressive, Ralph still made his weekly pilgrimage.

But after being kicked out and having to support himself, Ralph found he couldn't afford it anymore. He had to give up what had been one of the highlights of his weeks throughout his childhood. His favorite method of escapism wasn't an option anymore. He had to face his cruel reality, forced into adulthood way too soon. Alone.

It wasn't fair.

When Ralph stopped going to the arcade Ty did too. They just started hanging out at Ralph's apartment every Wednesday instead, playing on his old console. They had a kind of symbiotic relationship. They'd met at the arcade when Ralph's home life was rough, and at Ralph's place when Turbo needed an escape.

Today was Friday though, so Ralph was alone. As he was six days a week. All by himself in his cold, dark apartment.

He pulled his hood up a little further over his head. He was taking his shortcut, so nobody would see him and think he was going to mug them. He didn't think he could tolerate their stares and anxious murmurs tonight.

As he maneuvered through the narrow alley, he heard a muffled sound he'd never heard before.

Probably just a rat, he thought with a shudder, quickening his pace.

But it wasn't a rat, as whatever it was made another sound, one that was distinctly human.

It whimpered.

This stopped Ralph in his tracks.

Could that really be a- a person?!

He whirled around in the direction of the sound, but soon pinpointed it to a cardboard box nestled among the heaps of trash piled up against the wall.

No, it couldn't be, no person was small enough to-

Then a terrible thought hit him. The only way a person could be that small would be if it was a...

No, he stopped himself, a knot forming in his stomach at the question taking shape in his mind like a dark cloud.

He quickly fumbled around in his backpack until he found the little book light Felix had lent him to study with last month, when he didn't pay his bill on time and the electricity was shut off.

Shining the light onto the trash pile, he found the box, the flaps flimsily covering the top. He tentatively pulled them back, and was startled when a pair of eyes, human eyes, met his own. They were a bright hazel, and belonged to the smallest person Ralph had ever seen. He stumbled back.

His terrible thought was right. He could barely process what he was seeing. Someone had left a baby here of all places! The knot in his stomach unraveled into dread.

He frantically turned around, as if whoever left it would materialize and take it back.

This can't be real.

The baby whined at the bright light shining in it's eyes, tearing Ralph from his thoughts.

He turned back around, looking at it for a minute before picking the child up as gently as he could and holding it at arm's length.

Not an it, he scolded himself after looking the child over, a her.

Ralph had no experience with kids, but with the pink bow in the baby's feathery black hair, the pink footy pajamas and the pink blanket in the box he figured it was safe to assume that this kid was a girl.

They stared at each other for a minute, impossibly wide hazel eyes meeting dark brown, before she whined again. Her mouth started to quiver and her eyes welled up as she began to shiver.

Ralph was no expert, but he saw fear every day, usually directed at him, and if he scared adults, it only made sense that he'd frighten this poor little kid. He hesitated for a moment before putting her back in the box, but to his confusion she only seemed to become more scared.

The tiny girl looked around the dark alley fearfully and whimpered, then held out her tiny hands as if she were trying to reach him.

What? Was she not scared of him? Did she...actually want him to hold her? He hesitantly picked her back up, holding her close this time.

And it turned out that was exactly what she wanted. She stopped shaking the second Ralph placed his hand on her back to support her, immediately calming down as she nuzzled into his chest.

This was weird. Babies usually hated him, just like everyone else, and he wasn't too fond of them either.

He gave a dry little laugh. That was what he chose to think of as weird in this whole mess.

Though he wasn't a "kid person" by any means, he'd be lying if he said this kid didn't melt his heart the tiniest bit.

The poor kid cuddled him like she'd finally found real comfort for the first time in her life, like she thought she was the most important person in the world. She didn't care that he was just some scruffy teenager who everyone judged. All she cared about was that he'd shown her love.

Now Ralph was at a loss. What was he supposed to do now? Take her home? He didn't know the first thing about taking care of a baby! Ralph didn't even know this kid's name!

He peered into the box, trying to find a hint to the baby's name, her home, anything that could identify her.

This jostled the little girl who'd been dozing in his arms. She glared groggily at the teen, and he stifled a chuckle as he apologized. Why he was apologizing to someone who couldn't possibly understand him he didn't know, but it was far from the strangest thing that'd happened that night.

He took the blanket out of the box and wrapped the tiny girl up in it to protect her from the chill.

And that was when he noticed it.

On the corner of the pink article were three letters.

V.V.S.

Initials! Ralph realized excitedly. While he didn't know what they stood for, at least he had an idea. At least now he knew she had a name.

V.

That should be easy, Ralph thought, how many names starting with V could there possibly be?

He couldn't help but feel a twinge of anxiety at the thought of bringing this kid home with him.

"You picked the wrong kid...uh, kid," he told her, "I have no idea what to do with you."

But the baby, V, he decided to call her for now, didn't seem like she could've cared any less, looking at him for a moment before appearing to roll her eyes, snuggling back into his warm shirt.

e knew just who to call. Another childhood friend, in fact Turbo's cousin, Felix. He was good with kids and had run a babysitting service through middle school. They'd grown apart in recent years, but he was the only person Ralph could think of to help him in this situation. He took his phone out and dialed the number he'd memorized by heart years ago. He heard the dial tone as the phone on the other end started ringing.

Hearing his old friend pick up the phone, Ralph took a deep breath.

"Hey Felix, I think I need some help."


After describing the situation to a very shocked Felix, they agreed to meet at Ralph's apartment. Felix would bring all the things the baby would need. Then tomorrow they'd figure out where to go from there.

Ralph's stomach fluttered. Even though he considered himself much more responsible than most people his age (he did support himself after all), he didn't know if he could do this. Ralph didn't know how to take care of a baby, at all. What if he screwed up and hurt her or broke her or messed her up or something?

He was pulled from his worrying thoughts as he felt the baby start to tremble again. It had gotten colder. He had to get both of them home quick. He zipped his jacket almost all the way up to his chin to protect the tiny girl from the biting chill.

How could someone leave a baby in weather like this, or at all for that matter? What would've happened to the kid if he hadn't found her when he did? Ralph shook his head, deciding not to focus on those questions, but rather on the task at hand. There would be plenty of time to worry about that later.

By the time they got home the baby was fast asleep, and he didn't know what to do with her, or where to put her without waking her up. So he just sat down with her on the couch and waited for his old friend to arrive.

He didn't have to wait long though, as just five minutes later Ralph heard a polite knock on the door. Felix was punctual as always. He smirked.

The younger teen looked nervous, and Ralph couldn't blame him. He wasn't used to coming around this part of town. He also looked about ready to collapse under the weight of all the stuff he was carrying. Ralph quickly moved to take some of it from him, stunned that someone so small could need so much stuff.

"Oof, thank you brother," Felix said, panting from his arduous climb up the stairs.

"Wow," Ralph said, speechless.

He was beyond overwhelmed. How could she need all this?!

"Now, where's that baby?" Felix said, recovering almost instantly.

"Oh, she's right here," Ralph said, unzipping his jacket, thankful for the distraction.

"Awwwh, what a cutie! Can I hold her?" Felix completely melted at the sight of the baby, as expected.

"Uh, sure." Ralph carefully handed her to Felix, trying not to wake her.

But despite his best efforts the baby stirred, rubbing her eyes and scowling slightly at whoever dared to wake her.

V abruptly realised that she was in a new, rather brightly lit place, and she blinked blearily for a moment as her eyes adjusted.

But once they did she wasn't pleased to find that she was in the arms of someone new.

Felix smiled and cooed to the baby, but she wasn't paying attention to him.

She looked around worriedly, and as soon as her eyes met Ralph's, her little hands reached out, making little grabby motions at him.

"Aw, she wants you, Ralph," Felix said good-naturedly, handing her back.

Once she was in his arms again the little girl burrowed into his shoulder, gripping his shirt and glancing warily at Felix out of the corner of her eye. It was almost like she was afraid of him.

That didn't seem right. Kids usually loved Felix. It was Ralph they were scared of. This kid had it all wrong.

She probably isn't afraid of him, Ralph corrected, Maybe she's just shy.

He really couldn't blame her though. Being left all alone in a dark seedy alley would probably give anyone reason to be nervous around strangers.

But she had never been wary of him. In fact she'd attached herself to Ralph right away.

Ralph had no idea what he'd gotten himself into.

Soon Felix began teaching him how to care for the baby.

There was so much to learn in so little time it made his head spin. How was he supposed to do this on his own?

Right after Felix showed him how to make a bottle, the baby started to get fussy.

"What's wrong kid?" Ralph asked as if she would answer him.

"I think someone's hungry." Felix answered. He led his friend to the couch and handed him the bottle he'd just made, showing him how to feed the little girl.

She made quick work of the bottle, surprising both the teens.

"Jeez, you really were hungry." Ralph remarked, poking her tummy and making the little girl giggle. It was the first time he'd heard her laugh, and he couldn't help but smile himself. He could get used to hearing that.

Just a couple minutes later though, the baby's good mood seemed to vanish, and she started to squirm a bit in discomfort.

"What's wrong now?" Ralph asked her.

"She needs to be burped," Felix answered matter-of-factly, taking the girl from Ralph and setting her on his shoulder. She whined a little as the stranger held her, but calmed down as he gently rubbed her back.

"Do you have a rag or something?" he asked, and Ralph looked at him questioningly for a moment.

"Y'know, in case she spits up." Ralph didn't know what that meant, but he went to get one anyway.

He soon found out though, as Felix started patting the baby's back, trying to get her to let out a burp.

After a short time, she did indeed give one, but a little extra came up as well.

"That," Felix said, removing the now dirty cloth from his shoulder, "is why I needed the rag."

"Ew."

Comfortable and happy once again, the tiny girl giggled and cooed as Ralph played with her. Soon enough though, it became obvious that something else was wrong, but she didn't notice. It was hard for the teenagers not to notice though. Even someone as dense as Ralph when it came to babies knew what was wrong instantly.

"Is that-" Ralph started to ask.

"Yep." Felix replied, already knowing what his friend was about to say.

Ralph cringed.

"I got it." Felix took the baby from his friend and started walking to the bathroom, the diaper bag he'd brought in hand.

"Hey missy, I think you need a change."

She whined in protest, reaching for Ralph again, as if he could save her from this fate she thought worse than death.

Ralph however, only rubbed his temples. He was becoming overwhelmed again. He'd only been a parent for all of an hour, and so much had happened. He had no idea babies needed so much attention. What if he couldn't do it without Felix's help?

A few minutes into his mini breakdown though, the two returned, the baby being in a much better mood. She looked at Ralph with a smile, but it soon turned to a concerned little pout as she realized something was wrong with him.

Felix set her on the floor and she crawled over to the couch, pulling a little on Ralph's pant leg. When he didn't respond, she decided he must not have felt it, so she pulled herself up to a standing position, using the coffee table as balance. This caught Ralph's attention.

"Woah, you can stand?! Felix is she supposed to do that?!" he suddenly yelped, startling the toddler and making her lose her balance. She landed with a little thump.

"Whoops. Sorry kid," he said sheepishly as she sent him a glare from the floor.

"Will this make up for it?" he asked as he picked her up again, booping her nose.

She cooed contentedly, the scowl instantly turning into that smile he was growing to love. Yep, that made up for it.

Ralph laughed.

The baby didn't know what she'd done to raise the teen's spirits but she was happy she had, so she laughed too.

Ralph realized that while he was good at playing with the kid, he had a lot to learn when it came to just about everything else.


"Huh," Felix looked at his watch after a while, "I didn't realize how late it was getting."

As if on cue, the baby, who they'd decided to call V for the time being, yawned and rubbed her eyes.

"Yeah, it's about bedtime for you little one," he cooed, brushing her hair out of her face and getting a sleepy smile in return.

"Here Ralph, let me show you how to set up her bed." Felix said as they went to the bedroom.

It was tougher than it looked. It took them a ridiculous amount of time to figure out how to put the stupid thing together, and Felix knew how to do it.

Once they were done, both teens sighed.

"Okay kid, time for bed," Ralph said, or more like yawned, laying V down and draping the little pink blanket over her.

But the little girl had other plans.

Sitting up and looking around in that frantic way she had done when Ralph had first discovered her, she whined and did the grabby hand thing again. Ralph groaned.

"C'mon kid, you saw how hard it was to put this dumb thing together, the least you can do is sleep in it!"

Nope. More grabby hands, except now with the quivery mouth and watery eyes. Not again. He could feel his resolve starting to crumble immediately. Jeez, just a couple hours and this kid had him wrapped around her little finger.

"Kid, no, you're tired and it's time for bed. I'm gonna come to bed too in a little bit." This was harder than he thought, and he resisted the urge to pick her up when she whimpered.

He turned around and left the room before he could change his mind, leaving the door open a crack, but stopped in his tracks instantly when V began to cry. Frazzled by the loud noise coming from something so little (he still couldn't get over how teeny she was), he immediately backtracked on his plan and picked her up, holding her close just as he had back in the alley.

But that didn't work this time.

Felix rushed in, asking what happened.

"I-I just put her down, a-and she d-didn't wanna go to bed, and grabby hands, a-an I said no, and I left, and she got upset." He babbled helplessly.

Felix sighed, moving to take her from Ralph, which the other was grateful for, but when he did so, V started wailing louder. Nope, she wanted Ralph.

Felix quickly handed her back and the older teen pinched the bridge of his nose frustratedly, having no idea what to do.

But then he thought of something.

Again, Ralph didn't know much about babies, in fact he'd never felt dumber than he had tonight, but he thought he remembered that you were supposed to rock them to sleep. There was a whole song about it, right?

So that's what he did. He started to rock back and forth, back and forth, humming the melody to an old lullaby his mother used to sing to him when he was little, and eventually her cries died down. She looked up at him, tears still pooling in her eyes. After a few minutes she started getting sleepy again, rubbing her tired eyes to wipe away the last of her tears.

Ralph smiled, he was finally doing something right! V snuggled into his chest and her eyes fluttered for a moment before drifting closed, her breathing evening out into calm, steady breaths. He did it, she was asleep!

But now what?

He looked at Felix, whose glance at the crib told him that she should sleep in her own bed. Good call, he'd be terrified of rolling over on her and wouldn't get any sleep if she slept in his bed. Tiptoeing over to it as quietly as possible, he laid her down again as gently as he could, and draped her blanket over her again. She only stirred slightly, and he let out a breath he didn't know he'd been holding.

Felix left the room, and Ralph glanced back. He figured he should follow, but found himself just staring at the sleeping girl.

She was so small. How old was she? She must have been abandoned. But how could someone do that? The thought made him angry, but he didn't get to ruminate on it much longer thankfully, as Felix returned to the doorway to see what was keeping his friend.

He smiled when he saw the sweet scene.

"I think I'm gonna head home." Felix whispered.

"Are you sure? You can crash here if ya want."

"Nah, the folks'll worry. But you can call me if you need any help, ok?"

"Ok, I will."

Felix turned to leave.

"Oh, and Felix?"

The younger teen turned back around to face his old friend.

"Thanks." Ralph sheepishly smiled.

"No problem brother." The younger teen tipped his hat, gathering his things before heading out.

Felix's leaving made Ralph a bit nervous, if he was honest.

What if the baby needed something? What if he didn't know what to do? The knot in his stomach was starting to come back.

No.

He couldn't keep worrying about the what-ifs. They wouldn't do him any good, and he wouldn't get any sleep. He could always call Felix if he needed to. It'd be ok. It was just one night. Just a few hours.

There'd be plenty of worrying to do tomorrow anyway.

This whole situation was overwhelming and made for easily the weirdest night of Ralph's life. But also the most eventful one he'd had in a long time.

As he stared at his ceiling, Ralph thought maybe it wasn't so bad. A night that started with him feeling lonely and sad ended with him having two other people in his usually empty home. And as he listened to the soft breaths of the tiny girl next to him, he thought maybe things wouldn't be so bad after all.


There it is, Chapter One!

I know, I know it's a little angsty, but this is just the first chapter. I gotta establish how Ralph gets Van after all. It's all fluff from here, folks. Pretty much lol

What do you think of this au? Please let me know, I'd love to get some feedback!^^