Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Namine looked down, not having to look away because of any pain. The gauze touching her cut did make it hurt, but Roxas was doing it so gently that it wasn't all that bad. Especially not compared to the disinfectant; that was just awful.

 

Roxas continued to move his hand around Namine's, holding it gently with his other hand as he wrapped it with the gauze. His eyebrows were furrowed slightly as he concentrated, his eyes focused.

 

While Roxas was concentrating on that, Namine couldn't help but let her thoughts wander. Right before Jeff had come, she had thought she had given up on caring. She told herself she couldn't handle the pressure, and things would just be awful from now on. But did she still believe all that? She shut her eyes, a soft breath leaving her lips. She didn't know what to think anymore.

 

Roxas positioned the gauze between Namine's thumb and forefinger, wrapping it there a few more times before moving to cover the rest of her palm. He was almost done, not having to take much time since he had done this before, with either his injuries or Sora's from events in the past.

 

What changed? Namine knew the answer: things had gotten worse. Yes, worse. Jeff had come in and cut her yet again and then used her as a "shield." And though she hadn't been in any danger from Roxas' side, that didn't stop Jeff from hurting her. Eventually, he even knocked her unconscious. She doubt he had meant to do that, though. After all, why would he purposely put her under and then...then what, actually? Namine didn't even know. How long had she been out? What happened to Jeff? There were a lot of questions, but she wasn't about to ask questions about any of those things.

 

Roxas wrapped Namine's hand one more time and secured it, setting the gauze down with the hand that wasn't holding onto hers. "All done," he informed her, turning his head back to look at her. He loosened his hold on her hand so she could examine it if she wanted.

 

Namine opened her eyes and looked down at her hand. The questions in her head were better left unsaid, at least for now. So she wouldn't bring them up. "Thanks," she said softly, looking at her hand in Roxas'. There was no need for her to look at it; she knew that he had done a good job wrapping it.

 

"Yup," Roxas replied with a nod. He lowered Namine's hand to her lap and released it, turning to grab onto the supplies he used to tend to her wound. He then pushed himself from the bed and took the supplies back to the bathroom.

 

Namine looked down at her hand, turning it slightly just out of curiosity to see what it looked like. It was wrapped very neatly, probably because Roxas had done this many times in the past. She exhaled a breath, lowering her head. She didn't want to think about that. She didn't want to think about anything, actually. She just wanted peace of mind for once.

 

Once Roxas put the supplies away, he returned to Namine's room, but leaned his shoulder against the doorframe to the bathroom. "Does it feel alright?" he said, speaking of the bandaging. If he needed to do it again, he would.

 

Namine looked up, turning her body to face the doorway more. "Yeah, it's perfect. Thanks," she said, realizing that she had already given him her gratitude. But he had caught her while she was thinking, and whenever that happened, she sounded a bit off in a conversation afterward.

 

Roxas tilted his head to the side. "No problem," he replied, watching Namine with concerned eyes. He had left earlier on a really bad note, and when he came back, things had been worse. But now, he couldn't really say how things turned around so fast.

 

Namine saw Roxas looking at her with concerned eyes and she lowered her gaze slightly as she lifted her left hand, tucking back a strand of hair. She didn't want to have a serious discussion right away; they had enough action earlier. Hopefully they could agree that for now, they just wanted things to be calm.

 

Roxas tucked his hands in the pockets of his jeans. "You need anything, Nam? Anything that'll make things a little easier?" he offered softly, blue eyes on her. She looked a little...uncomfortable, so offering to do something seemed rational to make her feel better.

 

Namine looked up at Roxas, the request making her think of something. "Maybe..." Her eyes wandered over to her guitar in the corner of the room, the girl instantly recalling how music had calmed both her and Roxas down before. But then she lowered her gaze to the ground, figuring that it was a stupid idea.

 

Roxas arched an eyebrow, but otherwise kept his position. "What is it?" he asked, encouraging her to continue. Whatever it was she needed, he'd do it. She deserved that much from him.

 

Namine glanced over at the guitar briefly, shaking her head slightly. "It's a dumb idea..." she said quietly, looking over at Roxas for a second before she looked at the ground. She had thought he could play a bit of guitar, but what kind of an idea was that? And it was completely out of nowhere, too.

 

Roxas's eyes flicked in the direction Namine had looked, his eyes falling on one corner of her room. He saw the guitar and looked back at her with questioning eyes. Did it have something to do with the instrument? "Namine, just tell me," he encouraged softly, smiling a little.

 

Namine smiled weakly at Roxas' patient tone, the girl finally giving in as she looked up at him. "...Do you wanna play guitar? Or piano?" She didn't feel like she had to give a reason; clearly they both really enjoyed music, and it always seemed to bring both of them peace. She was hoping that would be the case right now as well.

 

Roxas's smile grew as he gazed at the girl. "Sure. Which would you rather have me play?" he asked. It didn't matter to him. Whichever instrument she preferred to listen to, he would find a song to play.