Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Namine turned onto her back as an image flashed before her eyes, a man wearing dark sunglasses. She didn't even have to think his name to know who he was. She gasped and bolted upright in the bed, eyes widened as the pictures of her dream faded away.

 

Roxas whirled around at the sound, eyes wide and hands coming out of his pockets. His eyes landed on Namine and he saw that she appeared very frightened. That was when it hit him--a bad dream. What else could it be?

 

Namine instantly brought her hands to her face, having not seen that Roxas was in the room with her. She exhaled a breath and allowed her tense shoulders to sag, the girl immediately realizing that it had only been a nightmare. There was no need for her to be afraid, and she knew that.

 

Roxas just stood there, not sure what to do. "Are...are you okay?" he managed to ask, staring at Namine with alarmed eyes. For some reason, he couldn't make himself move over to comfort her. It hurt him a little inside, but he covered it up.

 

Namine lowered her hands at the voice, surprised. She opened her eyes and blinked once to compose herself, the fear melting away as she made a quick recovery. "Oh...Roxas...I didn't know you were in here," she stuttered. The nightmare was an unpleasant way to wake up, and now having Roxas see her wake up like that was making things harder.

 

"I've learned to become quieter recently," Roxas simply replied, referring to his two-month absence. He brushed his hand over his hair, a habit he noticed had gotten worse since he returned. That wasn't really a good sign.

 

Namine looked up briefly, faintly nodding at Roxas' words. Yeah, he really had been quiet; she hadn't noticed he was there until he had spoken. She lifted a hand and tucked back of strand without thought, looking down at the bed. She was fine, sort of. She had gotten used to getting bad dreams over the past two months, and they didn't affect her long term anymore.

 

Roxas let his hand fall and he tucked both of them in his pockets. "Bad dream?" he asked, eyes on Namine. Her fear was gone now, though he could've sworn that before he left, she would be terrified for much longer than a few minutes.

 

Namine nodded, looking up for a second to meet Roxas' gaze. "Yeah," she said, though she had already confirmed it with her silent gesture. She didn't know why she said it both ways; she was tired and had a fever and just wanted to fall back asleep, but she knew that despite the fact she wasn't terrified of her nightmare, she wouldn't fall back asleep any time soon.

 

"Ah," Roxas said, nodding his head and looking away. His eyes lingered on one of Namine's drawings as he let a silence come between them. He wasn't sure what to say to that. He wasn't going to ask what it was about, mostly because it was probably none of his business. And she probably didn't want a reminder.

 

Namine looked towards the ground when Roxas shifted his attention to her drawings, the girl feeling grateful in a way. "I'll be right back," she said, frowning faintly as she swung her legs over the edge of the bed. There was something that she always did when she woke up from a nightmare, and she was going to do that now as well, since it soothed her.

 

Roxas's eyes darted to Namine as she moved, and he nodded naturally. He was curious, but then again, he hadn't been here in a long time. None of what really happened here was his business anymore.

 

Namine exited her room, leaving Roxas to look at her pictures. She wasn't sure if he would follow her or not, but it didn't matter to her as she headed down the hallway. She came into the living room and saw the piano in there and naturally went over to it, sitting herself down on the bench in front of it. She had written a few songs for piano over the last few months, and she loved playing them whenever she felt down.

 

Roxas trailed Namine with his eyes, but did nothing other than that. Once she left the room, his gaze fell on the floor. Things were different between them, and he didn't think it was just because of him.

 

Namine looked down and set her fingers on the keys, lightly playing the first few notes of a song she had composed. It sometimes brought tears to her eyes when she played it, because it made her reflect on everything. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she wanted to think about anything tonight; she would definitely lose her composure if that happened. But while she pondered this, she kept playing.

 

The sound of the notes reached Roxas in Namine's room, the boy closing his eyes at the familiar sound. How long had it been since he'd heard that? Either when he played or Namine did? Roxas just listened for a moment, taking in the sound as he stood where he was.

 

Namine exhaled a heavy breath and shut her eyes, lowering her head as her fingers naturally ran over the correct keys. It turned a little more complex from the first few notes she played, but it remained fairly simple. Somehow, it was perfect the way it was, even if it wasn't complex it had a way of impacting her heart.

 

Roxas lifted and turned his head toward the door, where the sound flowed through. His feet moved without him telling them to, carrying him through the hall and to the living room. The music was louder here, and he knew that was where it was coming from. Roxas's blue eyes landed on the girl playing the piano and he leaned his shoulder against the wall, hands in his pockets as he watched and listened.

 

Namine felt a tear slide down her cheek, but she ignored it, continuing to play with her eyes shut. She would have broken down completely at the song that reminded her of all her past struggles, but she knew now wasn't the time to lose composure. She was stronger than that, more independent. With her luck, Roxas would see her distress. But she didn't want to depend on him, for some reason. She supposed that because she had been forced to become so independent over the past months, the habit was dying hard, even with Roxas home again.

 

Roxas's eyes softened at the sight of Namine's sorrow, that one tear almost making him move toward her. However, he kept his distance. She wasn't aware that he was there, so he let it stay that way. There was more to this than just playing a song, and he was going to let Namine have that moment.