Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return V2

Roxas opened his mouth to say something, but what he could he say? Nothing. And so he stretched out his arm, putting his hand lightly on Namine's shoulder. He looked from her to Ty, and then back again. It was easy to see that the dog felt for his owner as well; it had always been that way between Namine and Ty.

 

Namine sniffled after a moment, bringing herself away from Ty. She took her hands off of his back and brought her bandaged hand to her face, wiping at one stray tear that had left her eye. She had cried a lot recently due to the stress, and she didn't want to soil Ty's homecoming by doing the same now.

 

Roxas gazed gently at Namine, squeezing her shoulder tenderly. "I'm sure he knows you didn't want any of it to happen," he told her, referring to the incidents he had been away for. "It's not your fault."

 

Namine shook her head slightly, disagreeing with the second sentence. "He got hurt because he got in Jeff's way," she said softly, lifting her gaze to Roxas. "It was because of me..." Despite her efforts, Namine felt her eyes become moist with tears again. But she couldn't help it; it was a touchy subject.

 

"No, it was because of Jeff and his stupidity," Roxas said, his aggravation at the boy coming through in his voice slightly, but his concern for Namine covered that up for the most part. "Ty sensed the threat; he was just protecting you." Yeah, protecting you when I wasn't here... The boy blinked, forcing that thought away. Not right now.

 

Namine lowered her gaze to the ground, feeling Roxas' eyes still on her. "I wouldn't have needed protection if I had been smart and left the house," she said quietly. "Instead, he--" She swallowed, shutting her eyes as she lowered her head. Instead, Jeff pressed her up against the wall, took her knife, and hurt Ty before coming at her.

 

Roxas slowly took his hand away from Namine's shoulder. "As much as I hate to admit it," he started, staring down at his hands that were clasped together again, "Jeff's very persistent. And he knew I wasn't around. He would have come eventually." That was the truth, and he was sure it was obvious. What happened was fate.

 

Namine opened her eyes, gazing at Ty, who had laid down in front of her. "Yeah, I guess he would have," she agreed softly. She had never thought of it that way, but Roxas was right; Jeff hadn't given up since their very first encounter. She froze at her next thought, eyes widening. But that means he'll probably be back. Again.

 

Roxas nodded firmly once, but didn't say anything more. There was nothing else to say about it. He had caught Jeff off-guard when he walked in on what was happening, but Roxas's presence had never stopped Jeff before; he always tried again. The fact made Roxas stiff, and he grasped his hands tightly at the information.

 

Namine blinked in disbelief. No. No, Jeff couldn't keep coming back. Wouldn't he eventually learn that he was only creating more pain for himself? But...hadn't he gotten away unscathed last time? That was the impression that Namine had gotten from Roxas over the last few days. So he had probably learned one thing: If he acted in certain ways, he could hurt Namine without getting beaten to a pulp himself.

 

It was Christmas Eve, and as uncomfortable as Roxas was with everything, he didn't want to be like this today. So New York wasn't home to him anymore. Today that shouldn't have mattered. Nothing really should have. It was the day before Christmas... He was supposed to be happy.

 

Namine most of been dazed because of her thoughts, because at the moment she recognized she was looking at the carpet, she also noticed that Ty wasn't in her sight anymore. She looked to the sides and then over her shoulders just in time to see the big pooch coming in towards her. And he didn't act like he was going to stop, either. He impacted Namine and nudged her hard enough to push her to her stomach before he stood over top of the girl on the ground. Ty had done this very gently though, so Namine wasn't hurting at all when she found herself on her stomach and unable to get up.

 

Roxas looked up at the movement, his eyes falling on Ty and the way he was standing over Namine. He chuckled and rubbed the dog's back from where he sat. "Good boy," he said, winking at the pup. Even though his taunt had been kind of forced, his chuckle hadn't been, despite his inner thoughts.

 

Namine's eyes widened, hearing Roxas' chuckle and remark. "Hey!" she cried without thought, turning her head to look up at the boy on the couch. The cry wasn't a mean one, though; those two boys were just acting goofy, and she could be appreciative of that. After all, it had successfully pulled her away from her serious thoughts.

 

Namine's expression, however, made Roxas feel very amused. He shrugged his shoulders and grinned, bringing his hand back from Ty's fur. His blue eyes were on hers. "What?" he asked innocently.

 

Namine rolled her eyes before they narrowed, staying on Roxas' ocean blue orbs. "You're encouraging bad behavior," she said, her voice sounding serious. However, since this was a game she and Roxas played regularly, he knew that she was only playing her part.

 

Roxas's grin slowly turned into a smirk, the boy leaning forward slightly to get closer to Namine's form. "And you're being too serious," he said, recognizing that he was also trying to convince himself to lighten up.

 

Namine felt her lips turn up into a faint smirk, hearing Roxas' words clearly. "And you're being too goofy," she replied, keeping up the act. Of course, she didn't really think that, because she loved it when Roxas was a goofball.

 

Roxas arched an eyebrow, but the smirk remained. "Oh, and that's a problem now?" The boy playfully rolled his eyes, beginning to actually feel lighthearted. It was almost a craving, and he pushed for it. "Looks like I'm out of a job, then." The boy shrugged and leaned back into the couch, looking at Namine with bright, challenging eyes.

 

Namine held Roxas' gaze, seeing the challenge in his bright blue eyes. She made her eyes match his as she held his gaze, her smirk widening a little bit. "Yup, you're fired," she told him. She felt her heartache fading away, the girl focusing on her current discussion with Roxas. It was always refreshing when they had playful banters, and this time was no different.