Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

"Thanks," Namine said softly, blushing underneath her already rosy cheeks. "I think it sounds better when I add in the lyrics, though," she added critically. She was always judging herself harshly when it came to music, but that was how she improved, even if she did come down too hard on herself sometimes.

 

"We all have our own opinions," Roxas recognized with a shrug. "But I think it sounds good without it. You'll have to sing it for me when you feel better." He smirked at Namine slightly, letting her know that he wasn't going to forget about it. Roxas may have been passionate about his music, but he was also passionate about Namine's.

 

Namine was just setting the guitar upright by the side of the bed as Roxas spoke, her eyes widening at what he was saying. She looked over him and saw that smirk, instantly realizing she had set herself up to sing the song and play it again. She groaned dramatically and flopped down on her back, staring up at the ceiling. "I really set myself up for that one, didn't I?" she moaned, not needing an answer to the rhetorical question.

 

Roxas chuckled, pushing himself up from the floor and crawling onto Namine's bed from the foot. He made his way toward her until he could clearly look down at her, though he was off to the side slightly from her body taking up most of the bed. "You should've seen it coming, Nam," he said, the smirk still in tact. "I'm very persistent about these things."

 

"Ugh, I should have," Namine agreed, a sigh leaving her lips. She turned her head and looked over at Roxas, seeing the smirk that he was still wearing. "I guess after setting myself up so easily, I deserve to be tortured into performing it again." Though she made a big deal out of it now, she knew it wouldn't be a huge deal once it was over and done with. She was always afraid of the idea of putting herself out there, but she always did fine, so it wasn't a big deal when it was said and done.

 

Roxas lifted his eyebrows in a mock-surprise way. "Oh, so performing for me is torture now?" he teased, though his voice well represented shock. His smirk was faint, but it was there. It was obvious he was playing around, giving Namine a hard time. But it was all in good fun.

 

Namine scooted over on the bed, turning on her side slightly so she could see Roxas better. She scoffed at the words, eyebrows furrowed. "Of course it is," she said, her tone serious though inside she felt playful. "How can I even begin to compare to you? You're so talented and amazing..." She realized that she had taken a turn in the conversation, speaking a bit more seriously now. Roxas really was better than she was, and deep down inside, she knew she couldn't come close to being as good as he was.

 

Roxas, who was leaning on his hands and knees on Namine's mattress, balanced on one hand as he lifted the other to shyly mess with his hair at the compliment. He hadn't been expecting it at the moment. "Um," he said like an idiot, trying to recover. "You know what they say, practice makes perfect!" Lame, Roxas, he scolded himself. Seriously.

 

Namine laughed softly, shifting her gaze to the ceiling. "Yeah, I guess that's true," she said with a slight nod. Even with all the practice in the world, though, I'd never be better than Roxas. She kept the thought to herself, though, seeing that Roxas was already flustered by the compliments she had given without thought.

 

Roxas finally recovered from being so shy and looked back down at Namine, his other hand coming down to the mattress again. "But still, it's not torture to play for me," he insisted, eyebrows furrowing. "I'm very appreciative." He said it matter-of-factly, feigning offense to her remark earlier.

 

Namine turned her head to look back over at Roxas, the girl having shifted so that she was currently lying on her back. "Oh, is that so?" she asked, her voice holding a bit of false sarcasm. If Roxas wanted to pick up where they left off, then she was fine with that. It was always fun fooling around with him and seeing his goofy side.

 

Roxas nodded once, looking down on Namine. "Yup," he simply replied. Even though he was goofing off, he was being honest. He did appreciate that Namine could open up and play for him. It showed that she trusted him enough to hear her work, or see it, when it came to drawing as well.

 

Namine sighed softly, keeping her sky blue eyes on Roxas. "Tell you what," she started. "I'll decide if it's torture or not when I play the song for you next time...'kay?" She knew that she couldn't get out of it no matter how hard she tried, so she accepted it without arguing.

 

Roxas playfully grinned in satisfaction. "'Kay," he agreed. Fair enough. It wasn't like he was going to forget about it, though. He would definitely remember to have her perform it for him again, so then he could prove that it wasn't torturous for Namine to play in front of him.

 

Namine held Roxas' gaze for a moment, her scoff turning into a small smile. "Oh Roxas," she groaned, bringing a hand to her hot face. He was playful, but he was also determined not to let her get out of this. He's determined, as always, she mused, remembering countless incidents in the past when Roxas showed that characteristic.

 

Roxas arched an eyebrow, but knew exactly what was going on. "What?" he asked, feigning ignorance. He missed being goofy like this, because all it had been for him lately was stress, war, and hurt. Either physically or mentally.

 

Namine scoffed, lowering her hand. "You know what, you Goof," she said, keeping her voice serious as she drilled him with a glare. He was very good at pretending to be ignorant, but Namine knew the difference between Roxas' act and his real personality.

 

Roxas rolled his eyes. "Yeah, yeah," he said, pushing himself back and pulling his legs out from underneath him. He sat just like he had earlier, with his legs hanging over the side of the bed. Roxas still had a smirk on his lips even when he sat down, his eyes not on Namine.

 

Namine sighed dramatically, only seeing Roxas' back. She brought her hands back behind her head and used them as a pillow as she gazed up at the ceiling, her face flushed. She hadn't been feeling good ever since she woke up, but her playful banter with Roxas had been keeping the sickness at bay for the most part.

 

It was weird how much Roxas was enjoying being a goofball. He had been the opposite for the past two months, only dealing with life-threatening conflict and getting too many questions and not enough answers. The brief realization made his smirk fade, the boy staring down at the floor. It didn't matter, though, because he had to hide it from Namine. She didn't need any other stress, especially when she was feeling sick.