But It Did

This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to love ever again.

She was meant to live forever a mourn-turned-hardcore leader with no emotion. That was never supposed to change.

But it did.

This wasn't supposed to happen.

Right now, she felt like she was making the biggest and best mistake of her life. She was a leader of men; men who fought murderous bug-eyed beasts in the name of protecting what was theirs when really there was nothing they could call theirs but pride and the satisfaction of a good day's kill. She was a figure gazed upon by soldiers fighting beneath her. She didn't make mistakes, for she couldn't afford to. So why was she making this one, knowingly and willingly?

Was it his smile? Was it his big, stupidly-cheerful blue eyes and his round button nose? Could it have been his rosy cheeks and short stature that was at first glance humorous and weak, but now almost... cute? Was it possible that her heart, her rock-hardened, steel-reinforced, intensely-guarded heart was softening, and furthermore, at the hands of a man shorter than her who said things like "Golly" and "Gee-whiz" and "Goodness gracious"?

Upon meeting him, she hadn't thought it possible. After shooting at him under the false idea of his being an intruder, then pinning him to the ground with her gun, snarling at him like a Rottweiler would a kitten, she was certain the mamsy-pamsy flower-picking fixing boy would only be a temporary nuisance in her otherwise-busy day in the arcade. This idea was disproven as the little man that had wriggled his way past her built-up walls and into her heart soon became a more prominent role in not only her day, but her life.

She could really only blame that selfish game-spoiling cretin (as she'd first thought him), Ralph, for adding such complication to her once-simple — admittedly, meaningless — existence. If he hadn't burst in on her territory and fooled her with his false identity scam, she would never have happened upon her chance meeting with little-mister Fix-It over here. But as fate would have it, the man with fingers bigger than her head had disrupted her routine job and in the process given her so much more than anything she could have provided herself: a bigger purpose. A reason to do what she did. That reason was Felix.

As the two had embarked on their at-first-tedious journey toward wherever Ralph had run off to, she'd learned only a few things: the little man was hopelessly bedazzled by her, rather standard, if you asked her, appearance; he talked entirely too much; and he was actually... not-so-bad company. He was a fresh personality amidst the clone-like soldiers she worked with every blessed day, and that proved better than she'd anticipated. His smile was warm, while nervous, and his voice was tremulous, but sweet. He tended to get this adorable pink in his cheeks whenever she spoke to or looked directly at him, at first being annoying but then endearing. He'd complimented nearly every part of her body (nearly...) from her eyes, which he'd said sparkled like the stars he could see out the windows of the arcade, to her fingers, which he'd commented on being very smooth for a fighter as she'd clamped them over his speeding mouth. It actually felt good, to be honest. No one dared compliment her looks, lest they have a death wish, and when they rarely did, it was cold and fearful and insincere, and usually rehashed with an apology and shrinking away from her like she was a beast waiting to attack any prey within her reach. But that had been what she'd worked for, right? That's what she wanted. Well, until he showed up.

Then they'd reached the Nesquick-sand, a most-dangerous beverage-sweetener deathtrap. The little guy was shaking in his boots, flailing his arms around and whatnot. It should have been amusing to watch him writhe. That's how she was programmed: heartless and cold. But instead, she felt a sharp twist of worry knotting in her stomach. He was sinking fast, and the sand could take his life at any given moment should it have continued. It was an unnatural sentiment, worry, but it was relentless, too. She had to act on it and stop him just to get that feeling out of her system, but it was only followed up with a worse one when her immediate reaction (that had, to be fair, been in concern for his welfare) was to punch the living lights out of him. Poor guy never stood a chance. Guilt wrenched at her heart upon this action, and she immediately wished to take it back. She'd hurt him. She could see it on his face!

But just like that, he tapped his puffy face with his little hammer and made her feel like an idiot for feeling like an idiot. With one touch, he was instantly "fixed", and she was glad. She'd secretly hoped he wouldn't hold it against her for harming him, for beyond the hard outer shell she displayed, she really felt guilty. But in his naturally-good self, he'd acted as if the event hadn't even occurred.

But then, the laffy-taffy vines took over. They laughed at her violence and began lowering themselves to them, creating a perfect escape plan. Felix ordered her to hit him again (as if she was one to accept orders!) to coax them closer, and she immediately declined. If one little hit had made her feel so awful inside, there was no chance she would hit him repeatedly; not until she sorted these new emotions out. But he wouldn't take no for an answer, and as duty called, his life (and her own) was in danger, so she gussied up her emotionally-immune face and tried to slap him lightly. This neither inciting any guilt nor laughter from their rescuers, she had to hit harder until they could reach the taffy and free themselves. She was glad when it was over with, as she held Felix's hand while being raised up to safety.

Then when he'd called her his "Dynamite gal." That had been more than she could handle. Old memories of Brad calling her his "Dynamite gal" rose to the surface and tore her up inside, leaving her empty and, once again, cold. It was harsh and quick and unforgiving, as was she when she told him to go away, to leave her to her job. She'd hated to say it — hated the look on his face when she brought down the hammer, but she knew she had to do it. Things were getting too personal, too quickly. It was new and out of her comfort zone and she was not good when out of her comfort zone. The dejected little guy was confused pertaining to what exactly he'd done that was so wrong, but she couldn't bring herself to say it out loud. He'd never look at her the same way again. Instead of seeing a strong leader, fierce and unmoving, he would see a weak, heartbroken... woman!

But since when had she cared what others saw her as?

Afterward, she could recall the loneliness that nested inside her, squeezing at her heart like a claw, leaving her empty as she sought out the Cy-bug and found its many eggs waiting to hatch and wreak havoc on the whole arcade. She caught herself missing his company, imagining his voice rambling on about her being the "Dynamite gal" she'd almost been forever for Brad, but could be again for Felix. She found herself staring up at the sky and wishing she'd been kinder to him; wishing she'd let him stay and held his hand and not made him regret spending even a minute with her, like she felt most did. He was the only one that had treated her like a woman, not a figurehead. He was the only person who made her feel like she mattered to someone. He was the only man who cared.

Then when they'd been reunited, fighting off Cy-bugs and watching Ralph run up to try to save Sugar Rush with some "mentos" plan. He'd still looked at her the same; still trusted her and admired her though she'd cast him away, shut him out. He inspired her to fight like never before in both a driving force and a protective nature, not allowing a beast past her for she was guarding someone as important as herself (if not more, which she wouldn't go into just yet). They'd fought to what was almost the bitter end, and in those last seconds she had to wonder if she would have taken it all back; if she would have wished to never have met Felix, or Ralph, or even the little candy girl, and to have remained a work-a-holic with no challenges and no limits. Even as Ralph's plan worked — the Cy-bugs flew to the "beacon" that was really Diet Cola and were promptly eliminated from the premises — she questioned the dangerous thought of her opening up just a tiny bit, thanks to the three people that changed her world.

But as Felix had taken a leap of faith, had dared to stretch to her full height and plant a celebratory kiss on her cheek, things suddenly and rapidly became clear. The warmth he incited inside her finally broke away from just her head and her hands and feet, but to her whole body, shaking her to the core; all the way to her heart. The emotional walls fell down for just a moment, leaving her speechless, half-terrified and half-elated. She grabbed him by his shirt and jerked him to face-level, unsure of just how he would pay for the internal breakdown she just witnessed, when an idea crazy and yet completely perfect arose and fluttered about in her mind: he would pay with a kiss.

So, yes, she kissed Fix-It Felix right on the lips, shocking everyone including herself, and let him go almost as quickly as she'd taken him up, leaving them both entranced. That was when she'd hit the point of no return. She was letting love in again; a dangerous deed, indeed.

This wasn't supposed to happen. She wasn't supposed to love ever again. She was meant to live forever a mourn-turned-hardcore leader with no emotion. That was never supposed to change.

But it did.

So? What did you think?

Bear in mind that I saw this movie two days ago, and this is my first Felix/Calhoun fanfic I feel confident in. Any advice would be helpful! I tried my darndest to keep the Sergeant in-character, but she often slips away and I have to go back and find her again. Let me know where I've messed up, if I've got any facts wrong, etc.

Thanks for reading! Don't neglect the little review button down there. He's always so lonely and needs someone to talk to.

* *-TheSongbird341-* *

DISCLAIMER: I don't own these characters, creative rights, nothin'. Just wrote in my head and put it on paper ;)