Nocturne of Nightmares (Fanfic)

Chapter 29

Just as Subaru and Nalalie made it up the stairs leading to the surface, they ran into Leila, Mina, Ray, and Licht heading towards the basement.

"Look, there they are!" Nalalie said.

"Finally." Subaru replied as they headed towards their friends.

Ray and Mina ran towards the two with relieved smiles on their faces, Mina immediately going to embrace her sister though still managing to be gentle enough not to aggravate her injury.

"How are your wounds? Are you okay?" Mina asked as she held Nalalie at arms length.

The next thing she did was check her injuries, looking her all over in an attempt to find the places that needed attention.

"I'm okay, Mina, really." Nalalie assured her.

Ray also went over and assessed her injury.

"It's not that bad, but we need to clean these cuts to avoid infection." He said.

"Okay." Nalalie said.

Ray then went over to Subaru and quickly checked on him.

"Hmm. You seem okay too." Ray concluded and he lightly petted Subaru's head.

Subaru, like a little puppy, closed his eyes and spontaneously smiled. Ray then turned back to Nalalie and pet her head as well.

"Thanks for keeping Subaru safe, Nala." Ray said. "You're a lot braver than I thought you were. You did good."

Ray smiled broadly as he spoke.

'I thought he'd be angry.' Nalalie thought. 'Ray sure is a lot more easygoing compared to when I first met him.'

Ray reached into his pocket and looked a little puzzled. He fumbled through both of his coat pockets and then through his pants pockets, frantically searching for something.

"Goddammit..." He muttered.

"What are you looking for, Ray?" Leila asked.

"Bandages. I know I always carry some around, but..." Ray scratched his head in annoyance. "Why now of all times?!"

After a few minutes going over where he usually kept his supplies, Ray sighed in frustration as he put a hand on his hip and the other catches his head in a facepalm.

Mina put a hand over her mouth to hide her smile.

'He's kinda cute like this.' She thought. 'He's usually so calm and collected, but now he's all flustered.'

A giggle unintentionally slipped from her mouth.

"Wh-What are you laughing at?" Ray stuttered out. 

'He's even cuter when he's sulking.'

Mina reached up and placed her hand on his head, petting him. Ray stiffened for a moment, but, after a few pats, the tension faded from his jaw.

"What do you think you're doing?" He asked her as he purposely looked away from her and folded his arms.

"Sorry! You were being really cute. I couldn't resist." Mina lightly teased, peaking at his expression to see the pout on his lips and the pink tint to his cheeks.

"Stop that. Jeez. You're still as clumsy as ever. What makes you think you can pat my head?" Ray said as he took ahold of her wrist and gently squeezed it. "I'm not a kid, you know."

"I know, and neither am I." Mina told him. "I'm not that same little girl who was too scared to make friends."

Ray finally faced her with a resigned look as Mina gave a small but warm smile. Suddenly, Ray flicked her on the forehead.