Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Namine opened her eyes partway when she heard Roxas stay on a chord, her gaze landing on his still hands. Was it just me, or did that song go by way too quickly? she mused, not sure if she was upset or not. It was a beautiful piece, and despite how short it felt to her, she thought it was perfect the length it was.

 

Roxas let his hand fall from the keys and onto his lap once the music faded and all that was left was silence. He turned his head to look at Namine, smiling slightly. "So...what'd you think?" he asked hesitantly, taking in her expression.

 

Namine opened her eyes fully at the question, turning her gaze to Roxas without thought. She smiled sweetly at his expression, seeing the look in his eye that told her he hoped she loved it. And she had. "It was...beautiful," she said softly, a gentle smile on her lips.

 

Roxas's smile grew with relief, his head turning to gaze at the keys. "Good," he said. He was quite glad she liked it; it was hers after all. Roxas turned his head toward Namine to look at her again, his bright eyes connecting with her sky-blue.

 

Namine's small smile stayed on her lips as she gazed at Roxas, a few thoughts running through her head. One of them was that she couldn't believe she was smiling. After everything she had gone through that day, she had actually smiled naturally. Maybe there was some hope for her after all.

 

"You know..." Roxas said then, fumbling with his hair as he glanced at the piano. "I wrote that song a while ago, a few weeks before I left." He was surprised he still remembered it, but then again, he had thought the same with his ability to still play the guitar. And, this was Namine's song, so it probably would never leave him completely.

 

Namine tilted her head to the side slightly, keeping her gaze on Roxas as he spoke. "Really?" That was a bit surprising to her, because she figured that he would have performed it for her before she left. But the times before they left were a bit...chaotic. She could see why he wouldn't have had time to play it for her when she thought about it.

 

Roxas nodded, rubbing his neck. "I, uh, wrote it for you," he finally confessed, his eyes finding her before falling to the piano again. He had always written songs about Namine or about how he felt, but never had actually made a song for somebody. It was a first.

 

It took a moment for Roxas' words to fully sink in, but when they did, Namine felt herself begin to blush. "That's really sweet," she said softly, looking down at the piano keys. She couldn't believe he wrote a song for one, one that was so beautiful. It meant more to her than words could say.

 

Roxas's hand came to rest in his lap and he smiled. "I was hoping you would like it," he admitted, turning his gaze to the piano again. It was a relief, but then again, Namine always liked the songs he played. So that helped.

 

"I loved it," Namine assured him softly, a small smile on her lips as she tried to control her shyness. "Maybe one day, you can teach me how to play it." Obviously she couldn't play it now because of her hand, but she would be eager to learn once her hand healed.

 

Roxas's eyes found Namine once more and he smiled warmly. "You got it," he promised. It wasn't difficult, so he was sure she would get the hang of it as soon as she could play again.

 

Namine looked up at Roxas when she felt his gaze on her, her small smile widening a bit at the look in his eye. But then shyness invaded her heart again and she lowered her head, blushing as her hair partially hid her face.

 

When Roxas noticed Namine's shyness, he felt his own appear. He chuckled timidly before scratching the back of his head again. "Um..." he started, staring at his lap. "You want me to play something else?" He wouldn't mind, considering music helped him escape his problems. A little while ago they had a big problem, and it got even worse when he showed up.

 

Namine looked up at Roxas when he spoke the question, her shyness still present. "Yeah. I-I mean, if you want to," she stumbled, her cheeks growing pinker. She didn't want to force him into doing anything he didn't want to do, and if he didn't know much else for piano at the moment, then requesting him to play more on that instrument would be awkward.

 

Roxas shrugged. "I don't mind," he said. He could come up with something else on the piano, or he could play Namine's guitar. He remembered her requesting that instrument as an option earlier.

 

Namine nodded faintly, shifting her gaze to the piano. "Um, if you don't want to play piano again, there's always the guitar in my room," she said, trying to recover from her ever-present shyness. Gah, why do I act like this?! she thought, frustrated underneath her awkwardness.

 

"'Kay," Roxas said with a nod. "I'll go get it." He pushed himself up from the bench and started toward the doorway that led into the hallway. He turned the corner and started down the hall before approaching Namine's room, walking inside and heading for the guitar in the corner of the room.

 

Namine watched Roxas go, feeling a bit less flustered now that there was a plan for him to play guitar. As she rose up off the bench, she couldn't help but look over towards the area she had been held up against the wall at. Her eyes caught onto something small on the ground and she walked over towards it, her eyes softening when she saw what it was. A charm off her bracelet. She knelt down and held it in her hand, just looking at it in silence. Instead of standing up with it, she sat down against the wall and held it in her hand, her eyes becoming moist. It was a charm of a dog.

 

Roxas picked the guitar up from its stand and turned around, heading out of the room. He turned into the hall and looked up from the guitar, seeing a figure against the wall. He tilted his head to the side at the sight of Namine, but kept walking nonetheless.