Archive of Our Own ^beta

Riku let out a hiss, shying away slightly from the cloth pressed to his wound. “Hurts,” He muttered, not looking away from his lap.

You huffed, moving closer to him so you could continue to clean his injuries. “Then be more careful out there.” You breathed out a small sigh, leaning your head against his shoulder. The alcohol-soaked cloth fell into your lap. “Please, just be more careful.”

“(Y/N)...”

Chuckling softly, you lifted your head and smiled at him. “For my sake, at least.” You picked up the cloth and started dabbing at his wounds again, slowly cleaning and bandaging each one. After you finished his arms, you tugged on his shirt. “Your back, let me see it.”

Riku still wouldn't look at you. “No, it's fine. There's nothing to see there.”

You frowned. “Riku, please. At least let me check. Maybe you have bruising.”

He shook his head, and you didn't miss the quiet hiss he let out. Your breath hitched a little and you moved behind him. You grabbed the pair of scissors you used to cut the bandages and grabbed the bottom of his jacket, first. “Sorry, Ku,” you muttered softly. “I'll sew you some new ones.” With that, you began cutting, slicing his jacket in half. You pushed the halves aside and gaped.

There were three giant slash marks in his shirt, going all the way from his left shoulder to his lower back. What you could see of the wounds through the fabric nearly brought tears to your eyes. You cut the shirt away quickly and carefully, wanting to see the full damage.

A gasp left your lips as you moved the fabric away. “Riku,” you breathed, eyes wide, “why didn't you say anything?”

“Didn't want you to worry.” His reply was soft.

You couldn't even bring yourself to reprimand him as you stared at the wounds. Three angry gashes were gouged into his back, dried blood crusting on the edges. There were large bruises littered on his sides, his skin already blue and purple. Blissfully, the gashes on his back hadn't reached any bones, so the only order of business was...

“Riku,” you breathed, tears coming to your eyes at the thought of what you were about to put him through, “I... I have to clean these.” He tensed as you cut the rest of his shirt away, discarding the shreds of fabric. “I-I need you on your stomach.” Moisture ran down your cheeks and you quickly wiped it away. He didn't need to see you cry. It was the last thing he needed. “I'm sorry.”

Riku hummed his response. He moved slowly, stopping and heaving a breath every few seconds from the pain. You helped him the best you could, your mind whirring. How could he stand to breathe like that? And then the thought struck you – he'd been breathing so shallowly. You couldn't see his chest rising and falling. You only became more and more worried as he got into position.

Eventually, he laid flat on the table, breathing even more shallow than before. Your hands shook slightly and you frowned, willing them to stop as you bustled around the infirmary. You brought him two towels, sliding one underneath his head. The next...

“I, um.” You rolled up the towel, keeping your gaze away from his. “I... don't want you biting your tongue.” It was the best thing you had to offer.

Riku immediately understood what you meant and opened his mouth, allowing you to fit the towel between his teeth. He bit down experimentally and gave another hum, the sound muffled.

Smiling weakly at him, you gathered your supplies and stood over him, staring at the wounds you were going to be dealing with. “I'm sorry.” You managed to get out, opening the bottle of alcohol, “This won't be easy.”

Riku didn't vocally respond, only tensing his body in preparation for the oncoming pain. You took a deep breath to center yourself, then slowly, carefully came down on him, beginning to clean. His body seized up the moment the alcohol touched him, a small noise getting trapped behind the towel. You almost stopped, just to spare him the pain, but if you didn't do something, his wounds could get infected, and then...

You didn't let yourself think about that. Trying to be as gentle as possible, you continued to clean, wiping away the dried blood and shards of fabric from his shirt. You didn't stop – couldn't bring yourself to stop. This had to be done. And you hated to hurt him like this, but it had to be done.

At some point, Riku went limp, and fear overtook you for a split second. But then you'd wiped at the next spot of tender skin and his body twitched, a small whimper leaving his throat. He was still conscious – barely, but still hanging on. Sweat beaded on his forehead, and you grabbed a fresh towel to wipe it off. It became a cycle for you – alcohol, wipe his back, wipe his face, alcohol.

It didn't take much longer for you to finish cleaning him up. You breathed a small sigh as you dripped some healing potion into the gashes, dreading the next step. They were too wide for you to just bandage and leave...

“Riku,” you said, and the shakiness in your voice startled you a bit, “I'm going to have to stitch them up...” You paused, threading the needle and wiping his forehead again. You ran a hand through his hair, watching helplessly as his face twisted from pain aftershocks. “I'm sorry.”

Shaking off your reluctance, you gave him a firm warning before beginning to suture the first gash closed. The little whimpers and cries that'd leave him were almost enough to stop you from continuing, but you couldn't stop. He needed the wounds closed up. Your hands were steady as you moved the needle through him, stitching up the wounds with precision.

You carefully finished the first and moved to the second, repeating the process. “You're almost done,” you told him as you moved to the final gash, “You're doing so well, Ku.” You knew the soft praise wouldn't really do anything, but you couldn't stop yourself from saying it. He deserved it.

“All done,” You tied the final knot on the stitches, breathing out a sigh. Gently, you rubbed a healing salve over the stitched wounds before finally bandaging them. Relief washed through you as you covered the wounds, glad to finally put an end to all of that.

You ran a hand through Riku's hair again, kneeling in front of him and pulling the towel from his mouth. His eyes opened and he stared blearily at you, watching you wipe more sweat off his forehead. He breathed out a sigh, closing his eyes again and finally relaxing against the towel.

You gave another weak smile, shaking your head at your frayed nerves. This wasn't the first time you'd patched him up like this, and it wouldn't be the last, as much as you hated that fact. This Keyblade War... It was so, so dangerous. You worried about him constantly. He was always away fighting, and when he did come back, it was with some injury like this.

You wished he could stay, but you knew that wouldn't happen. Not with the determination he had... The next best thing would have been for you to go with him, but he wouldn't allow that, either. He always wanted to keep you out of harm's way. He always wanted you to be safe. So you stayed behind, and he went out to battle. You'd always be here to patch him up, at least.

You continued to run your hand through his hair, humming softly to offer some semblance of comfort. You hated seeing him in pain.

He nuzzled your hand just a bit, a smile curving his lips. "Thanks," he muttered, his eyes fluttering open to look at you.

"Just doing my job," you replied, grabbing his hand and squeezing it. He squeezed back lightly and you nodded before standing. You grabbed a potion and made a glass of water, setting them aside. You pulled a chair up to his cot and sat down, grabbing his hand again. "You're gonna be upset with me," you started, watching his face carefully, "but I'm going to have to pull you out of battle."

Riku breathed out a sigh. "Understandable. Doesn't mean I have to like sitting out."

You laughed. "Don't complain my ears off, okay?"

Riku smirked. "No promises."

You laughed again. "That makes me feel so much better." You squeezed his hand again. "Well. Tomorrow, I'm going to change your bandages and wrap them all the way around. Then, if you're up to it, we'll move you somewhere more comfortable. For now, you just need to rest." You laid your head down next to his, smiling. "I'll be right here if you need anything."

Riku smiled back at you. "Thank you, really."

"No problem."