Finale

"Three feet, two inches!" Felix chuckled as he measured Gene on the wall chart "Just like always, Mr. Mayor!"

Gene smiled proudly as he adjusted his tie, "Thank you young man! I wouldn't have it any other wa-NYAGH!"

"Let's make sure we keep it this way, hmmm Genie?" Mary smirked, pulling Gene's cheeks "I prefer my Big Gene BIG in cheek fluffy and huggy chub only!"

"Why of course!" the Mayor chuckled coyly "I mean, what's so GREAT about being unnecessarily tall anyway? You always hit your head on things, you get stuck in places!"

"You get stuck in places all the time!" Mary chortled, pinching the man on his sides "If you want to change THAT, you're going to have to say no to the pie, MISTER MAYOR!"

The Mayor gave Mary a little pout but he turned, placing his hands on the woman's side and kissing her cheek "How can I say no when you spoil me so much?"

"It's easy!" the woman teased, moving away a bit. "N. O. There you go!"

"Don't walk away!" the man said, drawing her closer, his lips nipping her on the neck softly, the familiar feeling of his mustache on her skin making the woman titter "You have no idea how much I missed doing this…"

OOoooOOooooOOOH!" cooed a voice from the doorway. Both Nicelanders turned to see Vanellope all a giggles as Ralph stood over her, the Wrecker trying his best to keep from laughing "Like pixels in the system! These are the DAYS OF OUR NICELANDER! Smooch, smooch!"

Gene blushed grumpily at the two but his mood mellowed once he saw that Mary and Felix were giggling as well. He couldn't force himself to be angry at the moment, even if he wanted to.

"Har, har young lady…" Gene grumped, crossing his arms "Don't you think you're a bit YOUNG to watch adults kiss like this?"

"Are ya kiddin'? I've seen Felix n' Calhoun smooch enough as it is! Stuff like this doesn't bother me anymore!" the girl smiled "An' besides! I KNOW this is what you're gonna be doin' for your weeeeeeeddin'!"

Gene blushed brighter at the girl's words but he once more attempted to remain posh, even though it now felt like a flock of butterflies were flittering about in his stomach. Clearing his throat, Gene placed a finger on the girl's forehead, making her go cross-eyed.

"RIGHT. Speaking of WHICH, we still need to go through our plans, young lady." the mayor said with a devilish grin "After all, as ONE of the flower girls for the event, I am expecting you to be on your best behavior AND wear the APPROPRIATE dress for the occasion!"

APPROPRIATE dress?

Vanellope paled; she knew EXACTLY what dress Gene was talking about!

"W-wait, a second! I thought we said I didn't have to wear THAT thing!" the girl trembled, backing away towards the door.

"You don't!" Gene chuckled as he walked over to the coffee table and pulled a picture out from his planner, showing forth an even more ghastly dress than the one Vanellope had originally been programed with "See? I thought THIS would suit you just PERFECTLY, don't you think so PRESIDENT?"

Gene drew Vanellope closer, a creepy grin on his face.

"Shall we go to Ms. Nel and try it out? I'm sure she would LOOOOOOVE to see the final results!"

"Oh, would ya look at the time!" Vanellope blurted, hopping to her feet and turning towards the door "I think I hafta get back ta Sugar Rush! A-as president, I hafta check on…tha…really dangerous…THINGS."

And without saying another word, Vanellope bolted off, Gene snickering as he held the picture in his hand.

"Hey, I saw Nel's outfit she's been makin' for the kids…." Ralph said "An' Nelly's looks NOTHIN' like that!"

"I know, Ralph. I know!" the man chuckled, crumpling up the picture and tossing it in the trash "I just figured it was the only way we could get some alone time!"

Ralph glared down at Gene but a sly grin broke through "Okay, okay. I will admit that was a fast one, Big Gene."

"Why thank you!" Gene nodded but his eyes then turned towards that of his fiancée, Mary standing aside him and rolling her eyes "Oh come on, Mary! I know you found it funny as well!"

"Really dear! Doing that to a child!" the woman said, pulling the man's chubby cheeks "You're no better than an overgrown kid!"

"Overgrown?" the mayor chortled "SURLY you jest!"

Mary pulled away but not before giving Gene's nose a playful pinch "I think we might have to take Gene back to see Mouse, Ralph! His ego is still HUGE!"

"And where are YOU going?"

"To find Vanellope…" the Nicelander in pink said as she strolled down the hall "I don't want the child to think we're making her don such a horrible dress! She might actually back out of being the flower-girl!"

"Perhaps you should check the flower beds!" Gene called out "You know she ALWAYS hides there!"

Mary stuck out her tongue as she left the apartment, Gene waving playfully at her "Ta-ta! Don't take too long, okay?"

It was such a wonderful thing to have everything back to normal.

The chubby mayor looked around his home, remembering that it was only days ago when he feared he would be trapped inside, or worse, bring it down around him. Now things were much more calm.

And he couldn't have it any other way.

"Ah, perfection." The mayor sighed, running a hand through his hair.

He turned, something catching his eyes.

The marks.

The measurements that he had made on the wall he had made for himself earlier.

They were still there.

How ironic that such small things could lead to such an enormous disaster.

"So what happened with Hailey an' Quasar?" asked Ralph, Felix giving him a curious look.

"Why'd ya wanna know?"

The big man scratched the side of his face, trying and failing to hide his worry "Er. Well…I mean, the two backed outta here once Gene was reset an'…Not that I wanted anythin' bad ta happen ta 'em or somethin'."

"About that…" Felix sighed, twiddling his fingers "From what I heard, they broke it off."

Ralph's eyes widened, his skin prickling over "Are ya serious?!"

"Ralph, please…" the man in blue said, feeling guilty "I tried talkin' ta Hailey 'bout it, tellin' her that she an' Quasar were still welcomed but she said…said somethin' bout needin' some space so she's with a friend of hers now."

Felix felt terrible knowing that in the midst of what good had happened there was still a road-bump in the journey. His own will to help everyone felt wrinkled in the process but as he had been told before, he couldn't dwell on it, not like he had before.

He had to change the subject, get things positive again.

"So ya ready?" Felix smiled at Ralph nervously "We only got a few days ta go before THA DAY, eh?"

"Hmp, I now I am." the Wrecker snorted in laughter "What about you an' that speech, hmm? Ya got that ta go through!"

The repairman blushed deeply "S-Say Gene! M-maybe we should-!"

Felix stopped, looking over at the mayor who was now lining up with the measurements on the wall once more, his hand atop his head.

Three feet, two inches tall.

As always, as programmed.

"Hey." Ralph said "Ya okay there?"

"I'm good as I could ever be, Ralph." the Nicelander responded, straightening his cardigan.

Wrecker and repairman exchanged looks, a little worried that Gene was starting to relapse. Ralph cleared his throat and leaned on the wall, giving Gene a relaxed look.

"Ya know at tha end of the day? Those marks don't mean anythin'." the Wrecker said "I think ya lil chunkers are good as ya are!"

Gene smiled as he looked up at Ralph "Thank you, young man. But it doesn't erase the fact that there will be times when I am reminded that I AM a pipsqueak."

Felix gave a little worried look as he walked over to the Nicelander "Aw, Gene. Don't say th-!"

"But, after all of this? After EVERYTHING we went through?"

The Mayor walked over to the sink, taking a cloth and soaking it in water. He returned to the wall, giving the marks one final look.

"I have BIGGER, and most importantly, HAPPIER things to think about, gentlemen. I can't stay worried about the small stuff forever!"

And with that, Gene wiped the markings off the wall.