@tomoge , emoji starters  âââ  đ€ - a starter where roxas is patching up riku's injuries. i just think it'd be funny JSHDISHID
â... are you trying to rub it in?â he shouldn't complain, really, when the alternative to this was having to patch himself up â been there, done that: it'd been extremely inconvenient and inefficient. (which is why riku had smartly phrased it as a question, so that he could deny any allegations of looking a gift horse in the mouth. and any allegations, in general.)
the only thing worse than having to patch himself up, of course, was having an enemy do it. itâs not even like rikuâs short on those.
the thing is, he doesnât know where roxas falls.
(he doesnât know if he could think kindly of someone who would 1. trade him for another, 2. say as much to his face, and perhaps more relevantly, 3. be hands on about it. riku is unrepentant about the whole thing, because repentance implied he wouldnât do it all over again. he would, for sora.)
rikuâs learning, more and more, that for how much they could be the same, sora and roxas are different â especially now when theyâre able to inhabit separate bodies. for one, when sora patched him up, it was unfailingly accompanied by incessant chatter and heated concern. roxas, on the other hand, hasnât said a word. the chill radiating in the air could freeze a fire. but the thing about riku is, he wants to know where roxas falls.
âyou donât have to answer that. i didnât mean to sound...â he waves a hand vaguely at where the theoretical speech bubble that wouldâve popped up above him earlier on would be, âungrateful. anyway, uh. thanks. i owe you one.â
for several seconds, roxas deliberates whether he should dignify the question with any kind of response or continue staunchly ignoring him like he has so far, but at the end of the day (though he may be a lot of things), heâs not generally one to give in to bouts of childish pettiness this far down the line.Â
he understands riku, as much as he wants to not like him.
(he couldnât have imagined it back then, killing someone for someone elseâs sake, but⊠he can now.)
(for xion, for lea, heâd sacrifice a lot. too much, according to some.)
he guesses thereâs something to be said about that. baby steps.
âi thought you were supposed to be the quiet one,â he says, not looking up from his task. again, baby steps. (besides, he doubts rikuâs expecting him to be nice about it. they both know where roxasâs seeded grudges lie, and it has nothing to do with what went on between them on that rainy night. he also doubts rikuâs expecting him to forget about it. and he wonât.)
â...thereâs a difference.â itâs an answer that comes after several more prolonged moments of silence, and itâs to a question riku didnât really even ask in the first place. at least not directly, and not in as many words. âjust âcause we donât get alongââ he glances up to meet rikuâs gaze (sensing the follow-up question before itâs even had a chance to form as a fleeting thought) and silently dares him to mention phrasingâ âdoesnât mean i wonât care if youâre hurt.â or that i wonât have your back.
âdonât mention it.â he pulls his hands back to his sides as he senses the last surge of mana finish mending rikuâs skin. âiâm not expecting the same in return.â














