What Happened in the Morning...

The Life-Changing Question

*TIME RELAPSE - 8 MONTHS LATER
**didn't feel like writing**

....

It took a really, really, really long time in order to raise enough money to rent the banquet hall, but they managed to do it. Once that was settled, they ordered the catering, invitations, and decorations. Since Alice loved winter so much, she decided to go with a Winter Wonderland themed party. Now all the crucial components were taken care of -- wait! The dress! She completely forgot about the dress! And the party was only three weeks away! She put her hands on her face and flopped onto her bed. There was no way she could order a dress that quickly. It was just at this moment when someone knocked at the garage door. She got up and answered it, only to see a postman standing outside.

"Package for Miss Allison Ramirez?" he asked while holding a very large and suspicious package. She raised an eyebrow but accepted it anyway.

"Yes, this is her." The postman left the package in her hands and suddenly disappeared. "Huh. Weird." And with that, she entered the garage where a certain Lombax was standing.

"What is that?" Ratchet asked, pointing to the package in her hands. Alice just shrugged. Once she set it down, she ripped through the seal. She gasped when she opened the flaps. Inside the box was a light blue quinceanera dress with a beaded corset and silver tiara. Also included was a handwritten letter and a silver locket. Alice took out the letter and read it out loud:

Dear Allie,

Here's what I wanted to send you. This used to belong to me when I was 15. Now I want you to wear it for your big day. I'll see you at the party.

Love,
Mom

..... *TIME LASPE-THREE WEEKS LATER*

It was the evening of the party and everyone Ratchet and Clank knew in the universe was in the garage, waiting to the quinceanera to show up. The plan was to escort her to a limousine that will be waiting and will take both Alice and Ratchet to the banquet hall on Pokitaru. Everything else was a surprise. All the guests were murmuring quietly while waiting for Alice to appear. Among the guests was Mrs. Ramirez and she was anxiously waiting for her daughter to appear while speaking to Ratchet. Turned out the boy wanted to ask Alice a question and wanted her mother's permission. But that would be revealed later in the party. In the guest room, Alice was sitting at her vanity, staring at her reflection in the mirror. She was holding the silver locket in her hands while sitting there motionless. A knock on her door startled her and broke her trance.

"Alice? Can I come in?" a familiar voice said. She sighed while closing her hands with the locket in them.

"Yeah, Ratchet. You can come in," she said somewhat sadly. The golden Lombax walked in and became concerned at her sadness.

"Is something wrong?" he asked. Alice opened her closed hands to reveal the silver locket her mom sent her. Ratchet carefully picked it up and opened it. Inside was a beautiful picture of her whole family: Alice, her mom, and her dad. Ratchet couldn't help but notice that this was similar to the pocket watch containing a picture of his father and Alister. His thoughts were interrupted when he noticed a tear falling down her cheek as she stared harder into the mirror. He placed his hands onto her shoulders. "Whenever you need me, I'll always be there."

Alice turned her body around and hugged him. "Thanks Ratchet. I knew I could depend on you." He gave her a warm smile before raising up the locket.

"Do you want me to help you with this?" She nodded and he placed the necklace on her chest and locked it in the back. Once she stood up, Ratchet took in how beautiful she looked. Silver locket, blue dress, silver tiara... She looked like a princess. "Well princess," he said, bowing and offering his hand in a gentleman fashion. "May I escort you to the limo?"

Alice giggled. Normally he wasn't this polite but she liked it when he was. "Why of course, sir," she said while placing her arm onto his and together they appeared on the balcony overlooking the garage. Every guest stopped what they were doing to gape at the beauty. Gracefully, the couple made their way down the steps, meeting Mrs. Ramirez at the bottom. Before the pair entered the limo, Mrs. Ramirez whispered something in Ratchet's ear:

"Take great care of her."

.....

Once they arrived at the banquet hall, the party was crazy. Little kids running everywhere, adults talking, it was all insane but to Alice, it was her typical crazy family. There was a waltz where Alice danced with Ratchet, her mother watching with tears of joy in her eyes. Then there was the waltz where all her male cousins and uncles took turns dancing, rotating every couple of seconds. Ratchet couldn't help but laugh when her 16-year-old cousin reluctantly danced with her. Boys be boys, he thought.

Once the dance was over, the dance floor was open to whoever wanted to dance, and Ratchet took this opportunity to take Alice out to the beach just to talk to her. Taking her by the hand, he gently took her to the shore, where the ocean breeze was just perfect for the occasion. With each step, he became more nervous. Would she say yes? Would she reject him and run away like the fails he'd seen on the Internet.

"So why did you take me here?" she asked, feeling the breeze blow through her hair. Ratchet looked at her features: soft, wavy hair, beautiful brown eyes...it was too much for him to resist. He decided that now was the right moment. So preparing the inevitable, Ratchet took out a ring case and got down on one knee in front of her. Alice became shocked and covered her mouth with her hands. "What are you...oh my gosh."

"You may never know how important you are to me or how much I care for you, but you are and you will always be. Bear in mind that I couldn't afford to lose someone I've learned to care about so much. I want to spend the rest of my life with you, have a family with you. So I wanted to ask you...Will you marry me?"

Alice had tears in her eyes, noticing how the guests followed them to the shore, anxiously waiting for her answer. Of course she wasn't going to say no. She took his hands while nodding.

"Yes, of course I'll marry you." He stood up and slid the engagement ring onto her ring finger. He hugged his new fiancée while everyone was clapping for joy.

"And I'm throwing the wedding!" Mrs. Ramirez yelled from the crowd. Ratchet and Alice just smiled and shared a kiss, already imagining their perfect wedding. As he held her in his arms, he couldn't help but think: she finally knows how I truly felt about her. Now I'm going to be with her for the rest of my life.

........
Author's Note-

I'm terrible at sappy moments. Oh well. Anyway, I want your opinion: should I write a chapter about the wedding or should I just skip to one year later? Idk because I'm not the best at explaining things, like this chapter here. So stay tuned for the next part. Also, the whole mission thing is coming up soon with the mysterious Lombax but I needed some building up first so that's why I wrote sappy moments like this. Thanks to Luna_Firerose for voting for two of my chapters; I need all the support I can get to continue this story (I'm on a summer break so this is how I spend my time). Anyway, I'll see you in the next chapter!!