Did I? He meets Inigo's eye once more, studying him closely. Wondering if, just like him, he was trying to get by without troubling anyone else; not now, not after a mission like that. But Roland can't assume, and if Inigo hides how he feels, who was he to reprimand? Who was he, as the grip of the sutures and the pain radiating in waves keep him awake and conscious? His smile does not quite reach his eyes.

"I'll do better. And he won't have to ask me to look out for you next time, either. Making sure the people I care about are safe is my priority. I won't fail."

He glances back down and his hands continue to work, the same horizontal sewing motion piercing through a good inch away from the first closed knot. He has better control of his movements now, perhaps numbed from the act itself, accustomed to the feeling, too much feeling in fact. So he focuses instead, again, on something else. Inigo's words, the fact that he cares about Tidus so, and it was mutual. His smile that wasn't quite warm or pleasant before, finally grows into a fondness he can't control. It's almost enough to distract him totally from the slight tremor in his grip, the force in his jaw and teeth as he attempts not to bite his inner cheek.

"Heh. Stick together. Surround yourself with people like that. People who care more about others than they let on." He inhales deeply, quietly, and just like that, he cuts the knot clean and the second is done. Halfway there. He sits up to open up his chest, his lungs, giving him slight reprieve. If he looks older to Inigo now, regardless of the smoothness in his face, the shine in his hair - there is a deeper well of wisdom that hides behind his gaze. "They'll be the light that will change your life for the better. They'll change you for the better. Teach you things about yourself you didn't even know existed inside you. Trust me on that."

The third stitch begins in earnest not soon after.