And Just A Touch of Death

Part VII

6:14 pm

After two hours spent at the arcade, in which Robin absolutely annihilated Winter at laser tag, (but she beat him at ski ball every time, so it evens out), they decided to walk over to the food court and get ice cream.

Again, Robin insisted on paying for both, his and Winter's ice cream, despite her protests.

"If you're step-mom is giving you shit for spending money, don't-"

"Don't worry about it, Winter." Robin said, shoving the five dollar bill into the bored looking cashier's hand. "It's just money."

Winter raised her eyebrows. "Money you need."

Robin playfully nudged Winter with his elbow. "It's not like you can take it with you, you know."

She blinked. Winter wanted to ask, Do you plan on dying soon?

Instead, she bit back that remark and rolled her eyes, dipping her spoon into her ice cream. "Thank you." She muttered.

Robin cracked a small smile. "Are you always this stubborn about someone paying for you?"

Winter shrugged. "Only with men."

Genuine surprise painted onto Robin's face. He gaped at Winter, waiting for an explanation, but she simply continued to eat her ice cream.

"Come on. What do you mean by that?" Robin asked.

Winter moved to sit down at a nearby table. They sat next to the fountain in the center of the food court.

"My mom taught me that you never let the guy pay. Because if you do, then you owe them something in return." Winter explained. She gazed over at the many shiny pennies sitting in the fountain. She wondered if any of those wishes ever came true.

Robin shook his head furiously. "No, no. That's bullshit. If he's an actually good guy, he won't expect anything in return."

Winter doesn't look at him. She merely shrugged her shoulders. "Well, my father isn't exactly a good guy, so I guess that's where my mom gets that mentality from."

There was silence between the two. Aimless chatter and the sound of running water echoed in the crowded food court. The music from the carousel, a juvenile, upbeat tune, played over again.

"My dad isn't really a good guy either." Robin said quietly. Winter gazed over at him, and he was just staring down into his almost empty ice cream cup. "But, I'm determined not to be like him."

Winter smiled. She reached over and gently laid her hand over Robin's wrist. His gaze met her own.

"You're a good guy, Robin." Winter said.

The feeling- the closeness of his death- had lessened. Winter couldn't predict the future (even though she wish she could; it would make this a whole lot easier), but maybe whatever was suppose to kill Robin never happened, or was postponed from happening, or, or-

Robin kept his gaze down. "Thank you, Winter."

She gently squeezed his wrist and went back to eating her ice cream.