"So, do you have any plans today?"
Roy looked up from his bed to meet Chrom's frowning face. He sighed. "No, not today."
"Really? It's Christmas Eve. Has anyone else invited you out?"
"No."
Tearing his gaze away, Roy fixed his eyes on the ceiling and sighed again. No one else had invited him anywhere today, least of all Zelda. He wasn't quite sure what he was hoping for there, but it left him down nonetheless. He heard Chrom's clothes rustle as he moved, and when Roy looked again, Chrom was sitting beside him, his arms crossed.
"Is something wrong?" Chrom asked.
"No, I'm fine."
"Did something go wrong with Zelda?"
Roy turned the other way. "I mean..."
"So something is wrong with Zelda." When Roy moved over to give him a look, Chrom's frown deepened. "Don't try to deny it. Even I know what a broken heart looks like."
Humming, Roy looked up at Chrom and asked, "What should I do?"
At that, Chrom smiled. "My advice? Find something else to take your mind off her."
"I tried that. It didn't work."
"Then maybe you need someone to help you." Chrom reached down to grab Roy's shoulder and shake him awake. "Come on. Lucina and I were about to head down to the DK Arcade. You should come with us."
Now it was Roy's turn to frown. "Are you sure you want me to come along? It sounds like I'd be intruding."
"Nonsense! I'm sure Lucina would be more than happy to help out a friend."
Lucina was, as it turned out, not all that happy when she found out Roy was coming along. She never said it out loud, but Roy could tell from the way her lip pulled out into a pout so small he might have missed it if she hadn't done it every time Chrom pulled him up to play a game.
Roy would have apologized, but she would have likely just brushed it off and told him to enjoy himself, ever the selfless friend. A little like Zelda.
No, Roy thought, shaking his head. I came here to forget about her. I'm not going to spoil the day for that.
"Come on, Roy, give it a toss," Chrom said, snapping him back to reality. He tapped the ball in Roy's hands, then pointed to the basket on the other side of the machine. "The ball's not going to throw itself, you know."
"Right," Roy said. He pulled the ball down to throw it back up. As he did, he threw a glance Lucina's way. For a moment, he caught her frowning again, but as soon as she saw him looking, she pretended to fix her attention on the rubber duck machine next to them.
He felt bad, interrupting what she was sure she had wanted to be a family bonding session. He loved spending time with his father back home, and he could imagine he'd be more than a little annoyed if someone else had inserted themselves into their private probably didn't help that Chrom didn't seem to notice, not that Roy was sure he would be asked to leave if he did.
Roy tossed the ball. It sailed through the air, bounced against the back of the machine, and tumbled through the hoop. A sharp ring a flashing light, and Chrom clapped him on the back for a job well done.
"Nice one," Chrom said, shaking Roy from the side. "What'd I tell you? This game is easy."
"I guess so. Compared to war, tossing a ball is easy," Roy said, and he gave Chrom a sheepish grin.
"Don't we know it." Chrom reached down, grabbed another ball from the bottom, and tossed it into the basket. "Maybe I would do well in one of those sport games the Wii Fit Trainers host on Saturdays. What do you think?"
Roy hummed. "I don't know. Playing here and playing there look like completely different things."
Beside him, Lucina huffed and tossed her own ball. "You can't know that. He might be better than you expect."
Roy glanced over, and Lucina returned his gaze with a frown that Roy couldn't help but feel was just a tad disproving. He shrank back, only for Chrom to thrust another ball into his hands.
"Don't shrink away now." Chrom grinned at him, completely unaware of the daggers his daughter was staring into Roy's back. "We still have a few throws left, don't we?"
"Yeah, I know," Roy said, and he tried to keep his attention back on the game. A difficult task, considering how he could feel a hole being burned into the back of his skull as he tried to ready himself for his next toss.
He pulled back, shuffled to the side, and tossed. Like before, the ball bounced off the back, bounced off the rim, and into the basket, and the machine rang again.
As Chrom took another from the rack, Roy said, "I sure hope we won't get kicked out for this."
"What would we get kicked out for?" Chrom laughed. "It's not like they're losing anything if we win too much."
"They might lose their prizes."
Pausing with his hand extended, Chrom's head snapped to Roy, eyes wide as the machine rang them up another point. "Wait, they have prizes?"
"Yes. They do." Roy frowned. "What did you think the tickets were for?"
Chrom glanced down at the paper tickets strung around his neck. "I don't know," he replied. "I thought you were supposed to wear them."
"There's a prize counter on the floor below, father," Lucina sighed, and she turned away to pick up the ball. "You exchange your tickets down there for small prizes, like stuffed animals."
A grin broke out on Chrom's face. "Now this, I've got to see," he exclaimed, and before either Roy or Lucina could stop him, he spun around and sprinted away.
Roy looked at Lucina. Lucina looked back at him. Her lips curled down, but she refrained from saying anything, instead turning away to take another throw.
Sighing, Roy decided to breach the manakete in the room and said, "If you want me to leave you two alone, all you have to do is ask."
"No, it's fine," Lucina said, watching as the ball went through the net and as the machine lit up in a mess of bright lights and sounds. "Father asked you to come. I won't ask you to leave for my sake."
"I know. But I'm sure you planned on having your father to yourself today."
Lucina shrugged, looking to the side as Roy picked up a ball. "I did, but if he wanted you here, who am I to say otherwise?"
"Then why do you seem so cross with me?"
"I do?" Lucina sounded so confused, Roy paused mid-toss to give her a frown.
"Every time Chrom speaks to me, you're always giving me that look." Roy pointed up at her face, but that only caused Lucina's frown to deepen.
"I am doing no such thing," was her reply. Roy let out a breath through his nose.
"Look. If it'll make you happy, I'll leave once we finish this game."
"No, you really don't have to."
"I feel like I should," Roy snapped. Lucina flinched, and immediately, Roy felt bad. "Forgive me. I'm not in the best of moods today."
"I can tell."
Roy threw the ball. This time, it hit the back of the board several inches away from where he'd intended, and it missed the basket entirely. Then, he turned to Lucina, frowning. "You can?"
"Your face has been rather dour ever since we got here."
Roy blinked. Had he really been that obvious? He'd tried to take his mind off things, he really had. Had that not been enough?
Lucina sat down against the machine next to him. She let out a long sigh, combing her fingers through her hair, before she turned to look at Roy.
"I'll admit," she said, "I didn't want you here. I still don't. Christmas Eve is supposed to be a time for family, or so everyone keeps telling me. I haven't had much time to speak to my father, not since I was employed here, so I was really excited to spend Christmas here with him and catch up on all the things I've missed. He means so much to me, you know. He was the whole reason I came back to the past in the first place."
Roy glanced over at Lucina. He moved next to her, and when she didn't complain, he slid down the machine until he was sitting next to her. "I'm sorry," he mumbled.
Lucina waved a hand behind her. "Don't be. It's not your fault. I'm not childish enough to demand all the attention from my father. Even if the mall shuts down tomorrow, I'll still be able to go home and spend the next Christmas with him." Then, she paused, and regarded him with a frown. "You, however, won't have that chance."
Roy looked at his boots. "I guess not."
"And, no matter how miserable I might feel about it, you must be lonelier than I am. You don't have anyone from your world to speak to, don't you?" When Roy shook his head, Lucina huffed and continued, "I know how awful it can be to spend Christmas by yourself, and how much envy can burn the soul. I'm not selfish enough to deny you that."
"Oh. Thank you."
"And," Lucina said, holding up a finger, "she was important to you, wasn't she? Princess Zelda?"
Roy swallowed. "I don't know what you could possibly mean."
"I'm not blind, Roy. I've been with the rest of the Fire Emblem Fighters this whole time. You were not exactly subtle in your admirations for her."
"Oh. That's right." Even the normally stoic Lucina spared a chuckle for his expense, and Roy ducked his head as his face burned bright red.
As soon as the laugh faded from her lips, Lucina said, softly, "She turned you down, didn't she?"
"She did," Roy said with a sigh. "She already has someone. I'd be a terrible friend if I got in the way of that."
Lucina made a noise of agreement, which irked Roy just a bit, but she wasn't wrong, so he let it go.
Then, she said, "You're not the only one who feels that way."
"Pardon?"
"About your friendship." When Roy gave her a confused look, Lucina nodded back toward the mall. "If you worry about ruining your friendship with her, that must mean you treasure it, don't you? Zelda feels much the same away. About you as friends, that is."
"That's... true..."
"She's very fond of you, as you are fond of her. Friendship like that is not something you find lying on the side of the road. Avoiding her like this is not doing that friendship any justice."
"I'm not–" Lucina gave him a look, and Roy's shoulders slumped. "Okay. I am avoiding her. But it won't be forever. Just as long as it takes for me to recover."
"It better not be. Friendship as yours is hard to find and easy to lose." Lucina turned to give him a good, long look. "Are you willing to lose that friendship?"
Roy opened his mouth to reply. Then he paused. He didn't want to lose what he and Zelda had. Maybe it would never be what he wanted. But what they had... he really did like what they had. He liked being with her. He liked speaking to her. He hated how it made him feel, but if he could spend more time with her, just as friends, he would.
When would he return to her? He had never considered it before, but as he took time to think about it, he realized that, if he'd never decided, would he ever go back to her? Or would he have simply let their friendship fizzle out and die?
"No." The word came out softer than he'd intended. Lucina raised a brow, so he said, stronger this time, "No, I am not."
"Then you better make good on your word. Go find her the moment you believe you are ready to confront her again. Don't you dare put it off, because if you do, you may lose a once in a lifetime friend you may never find again."
It's not Tuesday, I know, I know. Writing's not that easy, especially since I've just moved into college. Lots of adjustments had to be made into my schedule, and combined with the three other projects I've been working on, I haven't been able to do much for this story.
The climax is within sight, though. At this rate, I'll probably be able to finish before the end of the year (or at least before Christmas. That's the real goal; finish before Christmas to get another Christmas story going lmao).
Feel free to comment. It helps me remember I have an account I use for fanficking and that I have stories on here I've got to work on. I'll try to get another chapter out the Tuesday after the next one. Until then, remember to take care of yourselves out there, and stay safe!
