Raguna almost laughed out loud in disbelief at the scene that lay before his eyes when he returned from the fields. Cobi, sat on Zavier's lap, carefully threading daisies into a long chain- she already wore a necklace of them- and Zavier... plaiting her hair? And quite skilfully too, his fingers gently separating thick locks of hair and winding them together, circling around her head, forming a sort of crown, with her black hair hanging loose at the back. Zavier had even woven daisies into the plaits, giving Cobi the look of a pixie. Both were smiling and chatting, even though each had no idea what the other was saying.
Raguna, stood at the doorway, cleared his throat loudly. Zavier looked up- and turned bright red when he saw Raguna staring at him, one eyebrow raised in disbelief.
"Not one word, Raguna. Not one damn word." He hissed threateningly, hurriedly fixing Cobi's hairstyle in place with an elastic band and pulling off the daisy chain that hung over his head.
It was difficult to look threatening when you were sat in bed, bruised and bandaged and plaiting a little girl's hair. Raguna strode over to the mattress and knelt down beside it. "Hey, Cobi. That's a very grown-up hairstyle you have there."
Cobi practically glowed with delight. "It is, isn't it? Zav-yah did it for me, and I love it, love it, love it! Don't I look like a princess? A fairy princess!"
Raguna laughed. "You certainly do."
"I love Zav-yah!" Cobi fawned happily. She turned and gave Zavier a big hug. "Thank you for my lovely hairstyle."
Zavier laughed uncertainly and gently pushed Cobi off him, still embarrassed. "Uh, what did she say, Raguna?" He asked.
Raguna grinned. "She says she loves you!"
Zavier's face blanked in surprise. "Oh. Right." He said.
Cobi jerked her head up from Zavier's shoulder suddenly, beaming. "I know!" She leapt up off the mattress, causing Zavier to curse in pain as she trod on him. "I'll go and put on my new dress! Mummy made it for me, and it's red. Then I'll REALLY be the princess!" And she trotted out of the room.
Raguna and Zavier sat in silence for a few second. Raguna shifted so that he sat comfortably, instead of propped up on his knees. He smiled at Zavier. "Man of many talents, eh Zavier?" He said, nodding in the direction Cobi had run. Zavier scowled.
"Yeah, well, I used to do Tori's hair when we were kids, so..." He pouted, folding his arms and looking away. He looked like a sulky little kid forced to eat his vegetables. It was sort of cute.
"What about your Mum?" Raguna questioned.
"Tori was real sensitive. She said Mum pulled too much when she brushed, so..." Zavier shrugged, trailing off vaguely. Raguna would've found it hard to believe that Zavier could ever do anything gently if he hadn't just seen him brushing Cobi's hair so carefully.
Taking the opportunity to tease Zavier a little more, Raguna asked "Don't tell me you did her nails too?" And just like that, Zavier's face whooshed bright scarlet. A small smile spread across Raguna's face as realization dawned on him.
"You did?" He asked, grinning. It wasn't in his nature to tease people, but with Zavier it was hard to resist the urge to. And it wasn't as if Zavier never got him back for it. Raguna started to laugh.
"Shut up! Shut up!" Zavier shouted furiously, his cheeks unmistakeably fiery red. "I hate you! So what if I did? I don't care," though the look on his face told Raguna that he did care quite a lot.
"I'm only joking." Raguna said innocently, blinking his big puppy dog eyes. Zavier swore at him, knowing that he wouldn't be able to continue his rant at Raguna without feeling terribly guilty after he'd looked at him like that.
Suddenly the doorframe creaked, and Raguna turned to see Sahra bustling into the room, followed by Cobi, who was skipping lightly, making her mother seem awfully heavy in comparison.
"Look, Rag-na! Do you like my dress?" Cobi twirled around, holding out the hem of her dress to show it off. It was hand-made, and not red but many different shades of red, varying from deep maroon to pink, as it was crafted from different rags sewn together. It was shapeless and sewn by an obviously inexperienced hand, and the strappy sleeves were too big and kept slipping down her shoulders, but it was obvious that to Cobi, it was the most beautiful dress in the whole world.
"I like your dress very much, Cobi." Raguna said, smiling down at her. "It really suits you."
"Zav-yah?" Cobi turned to Zavier, tugging at her dress. "Do you like it?"
Raguna translated this, and Zavier grinned and gave Cobi a thumbs up sign. Sahra shook her head.
"You shouldn't encourage her. That's her best dress." She said sternly. "She'll have it ruined in five minutes."
"I won't!" Cobi retorted sulkily. She spun around again, twirling like a ballerina, her shiny black hair streaking out behind her. At that moment, she really did bear a stunning likeness to a fairy. Raguna could almost see the wings sprouting from her back.
Sahra shook her head, smiling. "Yes, well, you'd better be off now, missus. Mummy's got some doctor work to do." She said, patting Cobi on the head as she spun out of the room.
"I have to change your stitches, or your wound will get infected." Sahra told Zavier directly. "I won't lie to you, this is going to hurt."
Zavier look up at Raguna for help. Raguna swallowed, wondering how he could manipulate Sahra's words so that they sounded less... menacing. "She's going to change your stitches." He finally settled on. In this case, it was better Zavier didn't know what he was in for.
"My... stitches?" Zavier looked down at his injured right side confusedly. He quickly pulled the sheets over his chest protectively. "No." He refused.
"She says it's to stop your wound getting infected." Raguna said.
Zavier shook his head. "No." He said. And Sahra smacked him.
"Ow!" Zavier rubbed the back of his head in annoyance. "What the hell was that for?"
"You will have these stitches young man!" Sahra shouted viciously. Raguna's eyes widened. Scary! He was glad he wasn't the one under Sahra's knife. Zavier couldn't understand what Sahra was saying, but he could definitely understand her tone of voice, and he looked visibly shaken.
Swallowing, he lowered the sheets from his chest.
And despite what Raguna would one day recall, he did not wince as Sahra peeled off his bandages, he did not squeak in shock as the cold air hit his wound, the blood did not drain from his face as Sahra produced a large sharp needle from her sleeve, he did not hold tightly onto Raguna's hand as the needle bit painfully through his flesh, and he most certainly did not have to bite his lip until it bled to stop himself from bursting into tears throughout.
"Good boy." Sahra announced, splitting the thread and patting Zavier on the head in an infuriatingly patronizing way. Zavier shook his head, willing her away. Sahra rolled her eyes. "Tell that puppy to buck his ideas up!" She said to Raguna, and Raguna went pink and laughed nervously, casting unsure glances at Zavier, who was growing increasingly suspicious.
Sahra left the room and Raguna turned back to Zavier, who was glaring at him.
"What did she say?" He snapped, rubbing his side.
"Uh... Nothing." Raguna said, scratching the back of his neck. Zavier shot him a look that told him he wasn't buying it and Raguna just laughed nervously.
Zavier sighed. "This sucks." He said sulkily. "I've got a headache and my side hurts and I need to pee and... and I want to go home. I want to see my sis." He lowered his eyes, ashamed, and Raguna felt slightly guilty having reminded Zavier of his sister.
"I'm getting up." Zavier announced suddenly. "I gotta go to the toilet." He lifted himself slightly off the mattress- then immediately fell back down, inhaling sharply as a dagger of pain shot past his ribs.
Raguna smiled sympathetically. "I'll help you." He said, offering Zavier his hand. Zavier batted it away.
"I don't need your help." He snapped. Raguna sighed exasperatedly and slung Zavier's arm around his shoulder, ignoring his cries of protest. Hauling Zavier to his feet, Zavier tried to push him away- though in his weakened state, only ended up pushing himself back. He stumbled, as if shocked by his own weight, and collapsed against the wall, struggling to support himself.
Raguna tried to take his arm again, but was met with a punch to the shoulder. He shook his head. Zavier was a law unto his foolish pride, as usual.
Zavier was biting his tongue in anticipation, not quite daring to let go of the wall, but not wanting to stay there shaking like a leaf either. His legs felt terribly weak, and he could feel his weight pushing down on him like a ton of bricks. The floor felt too dense under his feet, as if both the sky and ground were putting pressure on him until he succumbed to their harshness. Gulping, He pushed himself away from the wall, outstretching his arms to keep his balance. He could feel the blood rushing round his head, and he felt dizzy. He leaned back against the wall, glaring into the bare wood.
"Don't help me." He muttered to Raguna.
Raguna sighed. He outstretched his hand toward Zavier. Zavier eyed it warily.
"I'm not going to help you. I'm going to show you to the bathroom." Raguna assured. Zavier hesitated for a moment, before begrudgingly taking Raguna's hand and staggering away from the wall, very nearly falling on him. Steadying himself, Zavier narrowed his eyes at Raguna.
"It's not like I need you to do this." He said, though Raguna had to stiffen his arms as Zavier's weight leant heavily against him, and he could feel his hands shaking as he held him.
"I know." Raguna said. "But I don't mind." Zavier scowled at him.
Raguna assisted Zavier as he took his first few shaky steps. It was as if he was learning to walk all over again, and Zavier was certainly not happy about it. His face was flushed and he kept muttering under his breath in annoyance.
"I'm not a baby... God, this is so humiliating..."
Though his red cheeks, sandy freckles, feathery hair, scowl and pout made him look younger than ever, and Raguna couldn't help laughing a little. Zavier was filled with anger, eyes flaming.
"Are you laughing at me?" He demanded.
"N-No." Raguna spluttered, though he was, and Zavier knew it. Pulling his hands away, his pride at an absolute low, Zavier tried in vain to march away- but just ended up in a heap on the floor.
"Z-Zavier!" Raguna cried, rushing to his side. "Are you all right? Did you hurt yourself? Did you-" He was cut off by Zavier's good left hand punching feebly at him.
"Stop it!" He shouted. It meant to sound threatening, but it came out like a plead. He cursed himself loudly. "Shit!"
Raguna just smiled sheepishly, taking Zavier's arm and helping him to his feet. Zavier did not smile back, but nor did he protest when Raguna went to help him. He let Raguna pull him up.
Then he glared at him suddenly. "You ass! I'm gonna pee myself in a minute! Hurry up and show me where the bathroom is." He snapped, though the edge faded from his voice as he neared the end of his sentence, and he was smiling too.
Raguna grinned as he took Zavier's hands again. He tried to sling his arm around his shoulders to carry him there, but Zavier wasn't having any of it. He was not some pathetic baby, and he could walk perfectly well by himself, thank you very much. Though maybe he should hold onto Raguna just to be on the safe side...
It took them fifteen minutes to reach the bathroom, which was less than twenty feet away outside. And, to Zavier's immense embarrassment, by the time they reached it the toilet was somewhat unneeded.
--
Okay, perhaps I'd better stop torturing Zavier now... Oh, just one more chapter! I can give it up any time I want, really...
