Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Roxas let his eyes rest on Namine at the small touch. "I guess..." he agreed softly, though he wasn't entirely sure. Ever since he left for his mission, he didn't know a lot of things. He was confused a lot these days. But one thing he didn't want to be confused about was Namine; he loved her, he knew that for sure. He just wanted things to work...

 

Namine heard the doubt in Roxas' voice, and she wanted to make that go away right away. She looked up at the ceiling, thinking. "How about a promise?" she asked softly, saying the words aloud as she formulated the rest of her thoughts. She and Roxas had made many promises to each other in the past, so maybe a new one would help them with getting through this trial.

 

Roxas kept his eyes on Namine, tilting his head to the side slightly. A promise? Those always seemed very strong in his circle of friends; Sora and Kairi made many promises, and always managed to keep them. He and Namine were the same, though they hadn't made as many. "...Okay," he said, wondering what she had in mind.

 

"Let's promise that we'll be patient with each other, even when things don't appear good on the surface," Namine said, blinking and lowering her gaze to her mug. "And that we'll always hear each other out." This promise wasn't just made because of Roxas' initial actions; Namine had done her fair share of avoiding Roxas and not hearing him out by not returning his calls or simply walking away, as was the case at the smoothie shop the other day.

 

Roxas found himself smiling slightly, and he nodded in agreement. "Alright," he said, bringing one hand from his mug and holding out his pinky. "Promise." As bad as he felt about everything he had done, he would do anything for redemption. This was his time to prove himself, and making a promise was just the start.

 

Namine looked over, having sensed Roxas' movement out of the corner of her eye. She smiled softly, bringing a hand away from her beverage and latching her pinky with Roxas'. "Promise," she said softly, lifting her eyes to meet Roxas' bright blue orbs.

 

Roxas's smile stayed against his lips, the boy feeling like he actually had a chance to show Namine how much he cared. He loved her, he really did. And he recognized that he needed to start showing it more. They'd gone two months without each other, and then just recently another week, both because of his decisions. When you loved someone, you always thought about them when choosing a path. Now, he was going to think of Namine every time; she deserved that from him.

 

Namine kept a soft smile on her lips, her sky blue eyes flickering down to their hands and then back up to Roxas' eyes. She hoped that things would be better between them from now on; she hadn't said it to Roxas, but she didn't think she could handle him lashing out at her again.

 

Roxas glanced down at his and Namine's fingers, then slowly detaching his from hers and bringing it back to his lap. He kept his eyes on her, though, glad she was giving him another chance. Sometimes, like now, he didn't think he deserved her.

 

Namine brought her hand back to her lap when Roxas let go of her pinky, though her hand didn't stay there for long. She lifted her mug and turned slightly, setting it on the end-table next to her. The beverage was cool now, so she didn't feel like drinking the rest of it.

 

The next day...

Roxas walked alongside Namine, his fingers linked with hers as they moved along the streets of the city. After making up with her, he swore to show more of his affection toward her, and he was doing just that. But there was one thing that Roxas and Namine had also agreed upon, and that was talking to Kairi, who was walking a few steps ahead of them now. After getting some sleep from his late night, Roxas came back to Namine's and they both called Kairi. He simply explained that he wasn't exactly mad at her for setting them up secretly, but that he would appreciate it if she only helped when she was asked. Kairi promised that she wouldn't interfere anymore, and that helped them settle their differences.

Kairi walked ahead of Roxas and Namine, her arm looped through Nathan's. She was glad that her friends had agreed to get together, this time with everyone knowing who was coming. She simply requested a small stroll around the city, the streets and sidewalks tended to and clean of snow for the time being. Plus, it gave the two blondes the opportunity to get to know Nathan better, something the redhead really wanted.

 

Namine felt Roxas' fingers intertwined with hers as they walked, the blond looking around the area where they were taking a stroll. Overall, it was a nice day. Well, nice for the season, anyway. It was still pretty cold out, which was why Namine wore a fashionable but warm black coat along with a light blue scarf and matching hat. However, what was really keeping her warm was that Roxas was holding her hand with a type of affection that she hadn't felt for a long time.

 

Roxas's hands were cold, even if one was in holding Namine's. He'd forgotten his gloves, again. But he was glad he had on his warm black coat. He hated wearing winter hats, so he didn't bother with one. Unfortunately, because he didn't have a hood on his coat either, that meant his ears would always get red and numb. It didn't matter to him, though; he didn't care. He was just happy things were close to normal again. The only thing that wasn't really normal was the guy walking with Kairi; he still wasn't very happy about it, which was why he kept his guard up around Nathan. He wasn't Sora, which made Roxas feel...different.

Kairi brushed her red hair away from her with a gloved hand, glad that it wasn't terribly windy today. That would have made their walk less enjoyable. She briefly glanced back at her friends over her shoulder, giving them a soft smile. She appreciated that they were willing to give Nathan a chance; he was very kind and caring to her. She knew her friends would approve of that.

 

Namine looked forward again, sensing a pair of eyes on her. When she saw that it was Kairi, she offered her friend a soft smile. Though she hadn't appreciated being set up at the smoothie shop a few days ago, she was willing to forgive her friend. After all, she had promised not to meddle again, and that made Namine feel better. Kairi may have had good intentions, but that day had proven to be pretty disastrous.

 

Roxas returned Kairi's smile with one of his own, but when she looked forward again, it disappeared. His grasp on Namine's hand tightened at the thought in his head: he couldn't picture Namine with anyone else. It broke his heart too much to even think about it. And to think that he had actually believed what he saw a week or two ago was insane to him now. He hated thinking about it, but it was forever going to be in their past. He had to live with it.

Kairi let her eyes fall on the taller boy next to her, the girl's height reaching just below his chin. Nathan was pretty good-looking in her eyes. He had short, dark brown hair that was long enough to run her hands through, much like she did with... Kairi blinked, forcing the thought away as she concentrated on Nathan. He had dark green eyes that always looked at her with kindess, and he was strong. She could feel his muscular build while she had her arm around him. Altogether, he was a good guy, and that was why she was so happy with him.

Nathan felt a pair of eyes on him, and he looked down slightly to see Kairi staring up at him. He offered her a gentle smile, which she returned graciously.

 

Namine felt Roxas' grasp on her hand tighten, and she immediately knew what he was feeling. Or, at least, she had an idea of it. She gently squeezed his hand, letting him know that she understood his dislike of Nathan. He was a sweet guy, but he wasn't Sora. Namine didn't think Kairi belonged with anybody else, but she wouldn't say so verbally. How Kairi chose to live her life was her decision, and the only thing Namine could do was hope that someday, Kairi found her way back to Sora.

 

Roxas glanced at Namine out of the corner of his eye at the pressure against his hand, and he smiled slightly. Things between them were getting better, and they would continue that way, but gradually. Nothing got better in one day, not in reality. But Roxas was definitely going to focus on being a better boyfriend--he was going to treat Namine with more kindness, be more gentle and affectionate, and protect her. That was very important to him. Preventing any harm from coming to her was definitely one of his main priorities.

 

Namine kept her gaze forward, glancing at the ground as she walked. A small gust of wind blew towards her, pushing her long blond hair behind her shoulders and onto her back. Fortunately for her and her friends, that was as strong as the wind was that day. The lack of wind made the cooler weather more bearable, and the blond couldn't help but think that it was nice to see everything covered in snow but not suffer from horrific weather while seeing it all.

 

Roxas scanned the area around them casually, enjoying the quiet walk, even though the hustle and bustle of the city was loud around them. It would be distracting if anyone were new to the city, but none of them were. Roxas had gotten used to it, so now it was just noise that he didn't really pay attention to anymore. But he was still cautious in the city; anything could happen.

 

Namine looked over at Roxas briefly, seeing his eyes running over everything around them. She followed his example and looked around as well, only to stop short at one of them. She did a double-take, seeing a certain somebody standing at a street corner waiting to cross to another sidewalk. Jeff. Her cheeks turned a little more pink at the sight of him, her grasp on Roxas' hand loosening in surprise. Hadn't he been sent away yet?

Jeff stood on the corner of a street, facing a crosswalk. He was heading someplace just to chill with his buddies, and to show off something he had found in his home. He was running a few minutes late, though, so he wanted to hurry and get to them.