Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

The waiter grabbed the menus, speaking as he did. "Alright, that'll be out soon," he promised before heading back down the isle, appearing to be in a hurry.

Namine folded her hands in her lap lightly, feeling bad for the waiter. The restaurant was pretty busy, and he seemed really overworked.

 

Roxas scratched the back of his head, making a face. "Man, I remember lunch hours. Those were the worst," he said, shaking his head. Even though they hadn't gotten much business at Burger King, the lunch times were always the busiest.

Kairi nodded. "I know what you mean." The times at McDonald's had always been hectic, and she hated feeling so stressed those days.

 

Sora chuckled. "I always tried to take my breaks at lunch time," he confessed. He had always been a people person, but working under that kind of pressure just stunk. And, unfortunately for his coworkers, he had been too immature to stay on duty when they really needed him. He had really changed since then, though.

Namine smiled, laughing. "And that left me and Kairi with all the work!" she exclaimed, scolding her friend. However, it really didn't matter now; they were out of jobs, and none of them were looking to get them back any time soon.

 

Kairi nodded in absolute agreement, giving Sora a look of disapproval. Namine was right--he really did leave them to deal with the customers themselves. But thankfully the people had been patient...most of the time. But she nudged him gently, knowing that Sora was aware they were just kidding.

Roxas chuckled at this three friends. He must have missed some things at the McDonald's nearby.

 

Sora looked over at Kairi when he felt her nudge him, a weak, guilty smile appearing on his lips. "Yeah....sorry about that," he said, bringing up a hand to rub the back of his head. He really was sorry...he had been selfish. And he hated remembering that; even now, he wished he hadn't brought up the topic of his breaks.

Namine shook her head softly. "It doesn't matter now," she stated simply. Sora seemed to have felt guilty over it, but really, there was no reason to dwell on the past. Things had changed since then, and not just the loss of their jobs.

 

Roxas nodded. "Namine's right," he said. "I think our lives are whole lot more interesting without the jobs, don'tcha think?" He smiled, referring to the times like the snowball fights and piggy-back races in the park.

Kairi nodded once with a genuine smile. "Definitely," she acknowledged. There was no doubt about it.

 

Sora let his hand fall back to his side, the teen forgetting his guilt in favor of the new topic. He chuckled, leaning back again. "Absolutely," he said. There were so many things crossing his mind at that moment; racing with Roxas in the park, the snowball fights, the masquerade ball...all of it warmed his heart.

Namine smiled, looking up at her friends. "You guys remember that one day in the park, when we had that snowball fight?" Of course they remembered; Namine just felt like phrasing it that way because she was glad she remembered it. It had been a while since she had been able to say that about much.

 

Roxas chuckled. "Oh yeah," he said, remembering. "That was when Kairi threw the snowball at Sora 'accidentally'." He made air quotes, smirking at Kairi, who he watched blush.

Kairi smiled in embarrassment. "It really did slip!" she cried. She had been aiming for somebody else, but Sora just happened to be in the way... Maybe.

 

Sora laughed, looking over at Kairi. "That's right!" he exclaimed, remembering the day perfectly now. "I had almost forgotten about that," he said with a grin.

"But then you hid by a tree and got back at her, Sora," Namine pointed out, giggling at the memory. She had been watching the scene from a distance, and Roxas had been right by her side. Her smile widened when she recalled that a few moments after that, just as she and Roxas were about to kiss, Kairi and Sora ambushed them.

 

Kairi giggled, looking at the boy she loved. "Yeah, you got your revenge," she declared jokingly. But then after that, well, that was even more funny than what happened between her and Sora. "Too bad Namine and Roxas were in the line of fire once we were even again, though." She watched as Roxas shook his head, obviously recalling that as well.

"That was so unfair," Roxas stated with a chuckle, being lighthearted about it. It had been a very eventful day, a lot of fun and happiness after the other stuff they had gone through. But then that snowball fight had gone crazy. Especially when Namine stuffed snow down Sora's shirt, like what had happened to him a year earlier. Roxas chuckled at the recollection.

 

Sora chuckled softly, looking up at the ceiling. "If I remember correctly, I won our little game that day," he said, looking across the table at Roxas now. "I tackled you twice and stuffed snow down your shirt."

Namine giggled. "Aren't you blocking out one memory, Sora?" she asked, referring to the fact that she had the opportunity to stuff snow down his shirt, which got him off Roxas in a hurry. That was a fun, fun day, and she always thought of that moment as one of her favorites.

Sora shook his head, smirking. "Not blocking it out; just deciding not to say it," he said with a grin. It was pretty funny, though, looking back at how Namine was able to surprise him. He would never underestimate her in a snowball fight again.

 

Roxas laughed softly at Sora, hearing Kairi as well. He glanced up from the table and looked at Sora. "What goes around, comes around, my friend," he said with a grin. The snow-stuffing was a good example, no doubt. Roxas was just happy the snow was gone; he definitely didn't want another shirt full of cold snow.

 

Sora chuckled. "I can't argue against that," he said, looking up at the ceiling. "You seem alright with Namine's actions that day...didn't you just agree that she shouldn't get in the middle of our game?" he asked with a subtle wink, looking across the table at his friend.

 

Roxas smiled slightly and shrugged. Ah, well. "I guess that time was an exception," he said jokingly. "That was revenge." He looked Sora in the eye, his smile turning slightly into a smirk.

Kairi smiled softly at the boys' conversation. They always had been pretty competitive with each other. She guessed this discussion showed a little more of that, in a way.

 

"Hmph," Sora hummed, leaning back into the booth. He suddenly thought of something and chucked. "Well, at least your backup doesn't 'accidentally' throw snowballs at you during a fight," he said, looking over at Kairi for a moment. He sent her a subtle wink, a grin spreading on his lips.

Namine laughed softly. Sora's never gonna let her live that down, is he? she mused, looking at the two teens across from her.

 

Kairi turned her head slightly to look at Sora, meeting his eyes. She felt herself blush as soon as she diverted her gaze, instantly seeing the same pair of eyes, but on the blond boy across the table. He was also giving her a look, but his was in a teasing smirk. Kairi giggled with guilt. She knew they were joking, of course. Sora's wink and the atmosphere around them had given her that suspicion.

 

Sora chucked softly and reacted to Kairi's shyness without thought. He brought up an arm and wrapped it around her shoulders, pulling her closer to him. And then he gave her a light kiss on the top of her head before he pulled back, an affectionate smile on his lips.

Namine smiled softly, watching the couple. She loved seeing little moments like this, even if their love for each other was already extremely obvious. It just made her feel happy to see them filled with joy.

 

The action surprised Kairi slightly, but once it was finished she looked up at Sora with a smile. Her cheeks were still a little flushed, not only from shyness but from Sora's show of affection. It made her feel loved, and there was no doubt that she was.

Roxas smiled at the interaction between the couple, which automatically caused him to put his hand on Namine's knee. It was something he had done without thought, but he supposed Sora's actions triggered that in a way. Seeing the playful but loving relationship between his two best friends made him want to express the love he felt for the girl beside him, something he would always do.

 

Sora gave Kairi one last smile before he looked up, seeing that Namine was just turning forward again after giving Roxas a small smile. He couldn't help but smile as well--he was so happy his friends were alright again.

Namine shyly tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, trying to hide the blush that was creeping up into her cheeks. It was both a blush out of happiness and shyness. It had been a little while since she was in this kind of situation with Roxas, and even if it did trigger some shyness, she loved it.

 

Kairi glanced back down at her glass of water when Sora looked away. She loved being able to sit here with him like this, within the company of her friends. It had been a while since they had all gone out to dinner together. To her, it felt like things were repairing themselves--they were all healing. It was good to feel that way, and she knew that reminiscing helped that as well.

Roxas rubbed Namine's knee gently as he looked around the restaurant. His eyes passed the place until his eyes found a window. He looked outside, seeing a few people about their age walk along the sidewalk. It was a group of friends, and near the middle of the teenagers was a couple, the boy carrying the girl on his back. He smiled, chuckling at a memory.