Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Kairi shrugged off her coat, her back to Sora. She took it off and hung it up, making sure she wasn't in Sora's way. She took off her hat as she glanced at him, hanging it up where she put her coat up as well.

Roxas sat back in the chair he was occupying, staring at the wall. He didn't hear anything from Sora and Kairi, but he didn't really care. With that threat, though, he figured Sora would have been in here as fast as he could. But of course, he was with Kairi again, so it was understandable. Besides, Roxas didn't mind; he would rather not be "dead meat".

 

Sora took a few steps forward before carefully kneeling down, his hands finding their places on the crutches. He cautiously rose to his feet them, exhaling a soft breath when he was on his feet--well, foot, and the pressure was off his wounded ankle. He would have to ice it later, but he didn't care; he wouldn't take back anything that had happened in the past ten minutes.

Namine sat back in the couch, looking down at her hands in her lap. She didn't want to think about anything serious, but at the same time, being same room as Roxas but in a different chair was a little weird. They always sat close together, but she supposed that in their "rush" to get back into the living room, they both just took the first seats they saw.

 

When Kairi saw that Sora picked up the crutches, she leaned down and focused on getting off her boots. After a few seconds she had them both off and she placed them neatly against the wall. She then straightened and turned her head, her eyes finding Sora again.

Roxas glanced toward the doorway after a minute of silence, and he was about to unleash an "Anytime, you two!", but decided against it. He knew Sora; he would beat him up even if he did have crutches. Roxas smiled to himself, imagining his friend would be one to use them to his advantage. It made him want to laugh as he stared at the chair beneath him.

 

Sora turned his head to look at Kairi, looking over his shoulder a little bit since Kairi was a little closer to the door. "After you," he said softly, motioning towards the living room with his head. She could go in first, and then he would be right behind her.

Or maybe it wasn't just the "rush" to get to seats quickly; maybe Roxas just didn't want to sit near Namine. She didn't understand why, though; she hadn't done anything wrong. After all, Roxas had done all the apologizing earlier, and she hadn't said anything except for her question. And then Namine blinked, recalling that inquiry. Was Roxas upset over that?

 

Kairi nodded slightly, smiling a little. She clasped her hands behind her back and walked past Sora, heading for the living room.

Roxas leaned his head back in his chair, exhaling softly. His smile was gone, reality returning. So they had one funny moment. So what? He knew that things weren't completely all right. He'd made a mistake lashing out on Sora and Namine. Roxas wasn't stupid; he knew his apology couldn't make everything better.

 

Sora waited until Kairi was ahead of him a few steps before he followed her, moving at her pace as they headed towards the living room. He didn't know what they would do the rest of the day; he had pretty much just been lazing around since he got home. That, or working out. But of course, that wasn't something he would do with company; that would have been awkward.

Namine exhaled a soft breath, bringing up a hand and brushing her bangs out of her eyes. You're over analyzing everything, she told herself. Relax and be happy for Sora and Kairi. She shut her eyes for a moment, clasping her hands together in her lap. She would have to think over everything later; right now was supposed to be a happy time.

 

Kairi walked into the living room and looked at her two blonde friends, smiling to herself. Pretty sneaky of them, spying on her and Sora like that. Oh well, it was all in good fun. Kairi walked through the room and took the empty couch, wanting to be next to Sora. Of course.

Roxas caught movement out of the corner of his eye. He lifted his head from the chair and looked up in time to see Kairi and Sora entering. "About time," he chimed, smirking slightly. He caught Kairi roll her eyes at him, which was enough.

 

Sora stopped next to the couch, a friendly scowl on his lips. "You want me to come over there, Roxas?" he asked, arching a brow and shifting his grip on his crutches in case Roxas answered him with a "yes". If that were the case, Sora would find some way to get the blond into a headlock. If not, then he would gladly sit down next to Kairi on the couch.

Namine felt a soft smile appear on her lips, the girl shifting her gaze from Roxas to Sora when the brunet spoke. He looked happy, and she could only credit that to Kairi. She hadn't noticed that Sora was so depressed until she saw the radical change to his current mood, which was very joyful.

 

Roxas arched an eyebrow, looking Sora up and down, taking in his current state. "I'd like to see you try," he said with a smirk. "Tell me, Sora. How fast can you move on crutches?" Sora was a speed demon before, but now he hardly seemed the type. Regardless, Roxas wouldn't actually run away; Sora would probably catch him anyway.

Kairi pulled her feet up on the couch, bringing her knees to her chest and getting comfortable. She leaned her elbow against the arm of the couch, holding her head up with two fingers. She wondered if any of this had changed over the last four months...

 

Sora shrugged lightly, though he kept his grip on the crutches. "I think I could get away with dropping the crutches long enough to catch you," he said, a faint smirk tugging at his lips. Of course, he wouldn't actually do it; he couldn't risk his ankle getting re-injured, especially now that he was officially Kairi's protector again.

 

Roxas looked down at Sora's ankle then and then shook his head. "Nah. Save it for when the pursuit is actually a challenge," he said, smirk turning into a smile. Besides, he didn't want Sora hurting his ankle again...or to embarrass himself now that Kairi was here.

Kairi chuckled and shook her head. Boys would be boys, as always. She guessed that was one thing that hadn't changed over the last couple months. And she was glad.

 

"Alright," Sora said with a faint smirk. "Give me a week off these crutches and we'll have to have a race or something." He smiled and took a few steps over, sitting himself down next to Kairi and then leaning his crutches against the side of the couch before he turned back to Roxas.

 

"It won't be a race," Roxas said. "More like a chase. You know you'll hear more of those comments from me." His smile turned into a grin again, the boy feeling oddly goofy. Whatever, he was going to go with it.

 

Sora rolled his eyes, at the same time wrapping an arm around Kairi's shoulders. "Oh please!" he said, a small smirk on his lips as he looked to Roxas. "I can easily outrun you. Anytime, anywhere." It was a challenge now, but knowing Roxas, he wouldn't let the race happen until Sora was fully healed.

 

Roxas's grin vanished and he rolled his eyes. "If you can easily outrun me, what's the point?" he said, looking at Sora expectantly.

Kairi looked away from the boys, knowing with them this would turn into a "who is best" argument. They still hadn't changed...that much. Kairi's gaze turned to the girl sitting on the other couch, and she grew slightly concerned. Namine was awfully quiet.

 

"To remind you who you're dealing with," Sora said, a smirk widening on his lips. He was surprised he was having a conversation like this with Roxas, but hey, he wasn't opposed to it. It was about time something lighthearted took place.

Namine was looking down at her lap, subtly listening into the boys' playful banter. She was glad to hear them interacting that way, especially after the argument they had just a few days. It was a wonder to her how they could bounce back so quickly. Namine recognized that for Sora, it was probably Kairi's presence. But what was Roxas's catalyst?

 

Roxas arched an eyebrow. "Like I'm gonna willingly set myself up to be beat again? Yeah right," he said, crossing his arms and shaking his head. Of course, there was still humor in his voice, the boy enjoying this while it lasted. It was an escape from the...darker side of things.

Kairi's eyebrows furrowed a little bit. Namine seemed a little sad, or that's what she thought she recognized. She wondered what was wrong with her friend, but maybe she was just worrying too much.

 

"Chicken, Roxas?" Sora inquired, arching a brow at the blond boy sitting in his own chair. He noticed Namine sitting quietly on the couch by herself, but he left that alone, figuring that there was a reason behind it. He focused on Roxas instead, trying to keep this light moment going.

No, it surely doesn't have anything to do with me being present in the room, Namine decided, looking down at her folded hands. Roxas was probably just happy because he wanted to be happy. He was like that, sometimes. He could either be cheerful for no reason or gloomy for no reason; Namine had gotten used to his different moods, though she wasn't used to seeing him so goofy.

 

Roxas shook his head. "Nope. Smart," he said, lifting a hand and tapping a finger against his temple. He remembered Sora beating him in all the races they used to have at the park. He wasn't going to let Sora keep leading the score.

 

Sora chuckled, shaking his head and lightly shrugging, his hand coming off Kairi's shoulder briefly with the motion before it went back down. "Whatever you say, Roxas," he said, his smirk staying on his lips as he looked at his friend.

Namine didn't know why she couldn't be happy herself; she just felt...empty. It had been a long week, but she normally didn't let stress appear on the surface, especially when she was hanging out with friends. She hated coming across as the weakest person in the group, or the most fragile.