Fast Food Madness: The Epic Return

Sora shrugged slightly, his right shoulder lifting more than his left as he worked around the pain. "Sure, it couldn't hurt," he said. Okay, so maybe it could hurt, but still, he needed to try something to get the throbbing to die down.

"I'll go get one," Namine said, making the offer without thought or hesitation. She hadn't been able to contribute much earlier, so she wanted to help now in any way she could. She turned and headed for the kitchen, not waiting for a response.

 

Roxas was about to object, and insist that he get the ice pack himself, but Namine was already on her way. So instead, he closed his mouth and watched her leave before turning his attention to his two friends. He wondered what they were going to do now that Sora was awake...

 

Sora turned to Roxas, seeing that he was thinking about something. "If you guys want, we could all watch a movie or something," Sora said. After being apart from all his friends the past few days, he really did want to be with them again. He'd wait to see if Roxas was interested in taking him up on that offer before he said one more thing.

Namine opened the freezer and felt the cool air impact her, which was refreshing because of the warm weather. Ah, there it is, she thought, her eyes just then landing on an icepack. She reached out a hand and grabbed it, and then using her free hand, she shut the door behind her. Once that was done, she headed back towards the living room.

 

Roxas looked to Sora and nodded with a small smile. "Sure. Why not?" he said, shrugging. Watching a movie was harmless, and he was willing to relax if everybody else was, especially after what events unfolded today.

Kairi smiled slightly at the boys. She didn't mind watching a movie; it was calming (unless it was scary), and it meant they could all just hang out together without much activity. This was especially good for Sora, since he had it the roughest out of all of them.

 

Sora returned Roxas' smile, glad this his friend had taken him up on that. It would be something calm they could do together without worrying about anything. "...I just need about ten minutes with Kairi, first," Sora said, giving his friend a sheepish grin. Their conversation from earlier had never been finished, and he was uneasy about leaving it that way for long.

Namine re-entered the room and saw all her friends in the same positions they had been in just a few moments ago. She had heard Sora say something about Kairi, but that was all she had picked up on.

 

Kairi bit her lip again, her eyes darting from Sora to Roxas. The conversation had never really left her mind, but had just been pushed back when her worry for Sora jumped forward.

Roxas's smile grew a little at Sora's face and he shook his head. "Not a problem. Namine and I will just go back outside for a few minutes," he said, noticing the blonde girl enter the room. "Right, Nam?"

 

Namine came up beside Roxas at that moment, and she nodded her head. "Sure," she said with a small smile. She had no problem leaving her closest friends alone if that's what they needed. First though, she wanted to give Sora his icepack. "Here," she said, holding the item out in her hand.

Sora nodded once and reached out a hand, gently taking it out of Namine's hand. "Thanks," he said, both in referral to the icepack and to their offer to go back outside. He hoped he wouldn't take that long with Kairi. In general, he knew what he had to say, but still, it was a conversation he wouldn't enjoy too much.

 

Roxas's smile faded a little and he looked to Kairi, seeing a different look on her face. He wasn't sure what to make of it, really. But he supposed that it might've had something to do with what Sora was referring to. He offered his friends a quick smile before moving past them, his eyes looking to Namine as he started out of the room to give his friends some space.

Kairi watched Roxas go, the girl turning her head some. She honestly wasn't sure where this conversation with Sora was going to go, but she was going to take it in strides and get through it, just like he was going to.

 

Namine gave her friends a small smile before she too headed out of the room, following right behind Roxas. She had noticed a bit of stress between Sora and Kairi, and she hoped things were alright. But it wasn't her concern; if they wanted to share things with her and Roxas, then they would.

Once his other two friends left, Sora decided it would be easier to sit down on the couch and talk. It would probably make Kairi feel more at ease if he wasn't standing up anymore. He silently took a few steps over and carefully sat himself down before he looked over at Kairi again.

 

Kairi heard the door close and she knew her friends were back outside. When she looked to Sora, she noticed he was sitting back down in the couch, and that relieved some of the stress that was hung over her head. Maybe, once this small problem between them was solved and Sora was healed again, that stress would be gone for good.

 

Sora moved the icepack in his right hand, getting a more comfortable grip on it, before he lifted it and held it behind his left shoulder. "Come sit," he requested gently. He didn't know why, but he always felt more comfortable in a conversation if they were sitting closer together. Especially if it was a serious conversation like this one was.

 

Kairi nodded slightly and approached the sofa, lowering herself to the cushion beside Sora. She wasn't sure where this conversation was going to go, or even if she wanted to continue it. It hadn't gone well last time, but she knew they had to get through it and finish it, so then they could put this behind them.

 

When Kairi sat down, Sora allowed his eyes to fall on the ground in front of him. He didn't want to stall; he wanted to get this conversation over with. No matter how awkward it was for him to come right out and say something, he knew it needed to be done. "...Sorry," he said softly. "You were right...about a lot of stuff."

 

Despite the fact he wasn't looking at her, Kairi's eyes were trained on Sora's face. "...Like what?" she asked. There had been many things discussed earlier, and she wasn't sure which exactly he was talking about.

 

"...Like how you said that it hurt when the people you love don't take care of themselves," Sora said softly, remembering the one thing that had impacted him the most. Kairi had said it like she was the one performing the action to get him to see how much it would hurt him to see her act that way, and now he realized just how harmful his "heroic" personality was. It was good for battle, but he did need to take care of himself sometimes. Even if he didn't do it for his own sake but for the sake of others, it was good enough.

 

"Oh..." Kairi muttered, letting her eyes rest on her lap. She fumbled with her fingers, not sure on what she should say. She wanted to tell him not to take it too hard, because then she would feel even more terrible. She supposed she felt bad now because she didn't like forcing things on Sora like that, but it had to be this way...

 

Sora saw Kairi out of the corner of his eye, but then he looked back down, formulating another thought. He exhaled silently and lowered the icepack, his arm already tired from holding it there. "Earlier," he started softly. "....You asked me how it would be different if you were acting the way I have been." He finally looked over at Kairi, a pained expression on his face. "There's no difference," he confessed softly, the realization hitting him hard. If he had been hurt by the mere idea of that happening, he couldn't imagine how much pain he had put Kairi through lately.

 

Kairi turned her head to the side, violet-blue eyes finding the ocean-blue she loved so much. "...It hurts, doesn't it?" she said softly, keeping her eyes on Sora's. The idea of having the person you love more than anything, or anyone, constantly put others before themselves when they were really the ones in need of care takes a toll on you after awhile, and she had to deal with that.

 

Sora lowered his head, his eyes closing in shame. "Yes," he confessed softly. He hadn't meant to cause any damage...He hoped Kairi knew that. He had only been trying to do what he thought was best, but he had been wrong. It wasn't easy to admit that, but he had made a great error in his thinking if he thought pushing off his own health would help those around him.

 

Kairi pressed her lips together as she looked at Sora. She was glad he finally realized what was going on with her, and that she was struggling to handle much more of it. She lightly set a hand on Sora's knee, her eyes following the motion.