Work Text:
Autumn breeze passed through Roxy's window, hitting both of their cheeks gently. It was a sunny Saturday afternoon, and Qiu was hanging out in Roxy's room while lazily laying on her bed. The first week of school passed by and the two were hanging out as a break from the stress, thankfully, there were no assignments yet. There were a few reminders to start advance reading, but the two already knew they would not be following those reminders at all.
The two were talking about random stuff: plans to go out together, things they've been doing recently, shows that they're catching up on, and more. When the topic landed on Qiu's ballet classes, they ignore most of her words and her want to see them dance again, deciding to change the focus on Roxy's hobbies instead.
"You know, Roxy. It's kind of strange." Qiu looks over at her guitar case, and Roxy raises her eyebrow at the sudden remark. "What is?"
"I've always seen your guitar in this room, and you've been playing it since a few years ago right after moving here." Autumn very slightly pouts, and their reaction elicits a cheerful giggle from Roxy.
"And?" She smirks and wiggles her eyebrows, pulling her knees up to her chest and scooting to face Qiu. "I'm expecting some kind of catch here."
Qiu scoffs, sitting up as the hood of their jacket falls off their head. They refuse to meet Roxy's gaze, but turn to face her anyways.
"Will you play me a song?"
Roxy's smile fades, but she shrugs and laughs it off. That was quite unexpected, although, she's not exactly against the idea of serenading the person she likes. "Fine, I do too much for you." She rolls her eyes yet can't contain the smile on her face, standing up to grab her guitar and pick.
"I'm not that good of a singer, Qiu. Be warned." Roxanne jokes, nudging Qiu's shoulder playfully as she sits down and crosses her legs to face them. They smirk at her words and nod, as if to nudge her to continue. She places the guitar on her lap, grabbing a capo just in case. However, she doesn't end up using it and starts feeling even more bashful as they look at her expectantly.
Silence fills the air as Roxy awkwardly coughs, thinking of a song to play. She clears her throat for the second time and finally starts, her left fingers pressing onto the strings while the right ones start plucking.
"Just wanna know you, just wanna talk to you... I wanna hear about your day." Roxy sings the lyrics of the song off the top of her head, her voice barely above a whisper as she plays the guitar. Qiu raises their eyebrow, but a smirk appears on their face as they lay on their stomach while facing their best friend. They press their elbows on the mattress, smugly cradling their face in between their palms. "I'd never leave you, never be mean to you..."
As they hear the rest of the lyrics, Qiu opens their mouth, wanting to say something but the words get stuck in their throat. Instead, they decide to peacefully watch Roxy sing the next of the song bashfully. To encourage their friend, Qiu teasingly kicks their legs on the mattress softly as they look at her lovingly, the front of their legs meeting the futon.
She tries not to notice her friend's gaze, but she can't help smiling at their reactions. Autumn was always cute, but they looked twice as adorable here. If they reacted like this whenever she'd play, Roxy would not mind taking her guitar out more.
"I'd always let you get your way. Something good will come our way, and maybe this good thing's gonna happen today."
Qiu giggles sweetly as they blush like a high-school teenager with a crush (well, they technically are one). And for a second, Roxy hesitates for a second, looking at them for a bit before quickly averting her gaze, realizing she's getting distracted. She swore that Qiu was blushing while admiring her skills.
"If I were honest, I'd tell you everything."
"But it keeps coming out as lies..."
Not an ounce of smugness is left on Qiu's face anymore, just replaced by admiration and affection as their cheeks slightly redden. Roxanne bashfully plays the rest of the song, her eyes refusing to meet her best friend's anymore. Once the song ends, she coughs awkwardly and places the guitar on the mattress instead of her legs. Qiu freezes for a while as they lock eyes with her, before sitting up and clapping.
"Uh... I'm not that good honestly." She says as her smile slowly fades, scratching the back of her head. Normally, she hates playing for others and would decline if anyone else asked her to, but it's Autumn. Her best friend for 4 years, the person who's looked out for her, and who she's looking out for now. She'd have to play the guitar again for them soon, it's the least she could do after all the time they've spent together.
"Nonsense, Roxanne." They deny her statement, and Roxy chuckles at the sudden use of her actual first name. "It might be the best thing I've ever heard in my entire life." Even with the sarcasm in Qiu's tone, there was a bit of sincerity in it.
Roxy rolls her eyes, standing up to place the guitar back as she looks at them shyly, crossing her legs again as she sits on the bed. "If that's what you really think, then alright." She shrugs, but feels warmth spread through her chest at their words.
"You should play again sometime, like for my birthday? Please?" Qiu pleads, as they start moving closer and batting their eyelashes, a coy smile on their face as they grip Roxy's arm to convince her.
Roxanne sighs and closes her eyes in defeat, it was too hard to resist Autumn sometimes. "Fine..." She groans, but instinctively moves closer to her friend.
However, a smile appears on her face as she slowly opens her eyes, meeting theirs in return.
"Only because it's you."