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The storm poured over Roxanne and Qiu even when they were starting to walk home already—a rainy Friday was like an oxymoron—gloomy weather for a luminous day. At least for two days and a few hours, the two could fully break free from the hell they called school.
"Roxy, I didn't know you had an umbrella. Why would you let us get drenched like that earlier?" Qiu raises an eyebrow, and their reaction elicits a giggle from Roxy as she continues to hold onto the handle for the two of them. "No reason, I totally didn't do it just to make the confession dramatic."
They groan at her words and throw their head back to convey their emotions in an exaggerated manner, making the hood above their head fall. "I'm gonna catch a cold." Qiu jokingly frowns, and Roxy pinches their cheek playfully. They try to turn their head to the opposite side to break free, but end up almost getting drenched again.
"Well, I can take care of you by then." She winks, and Qiu groans yet again, pressing their face into their hands. "And what happens if you're sick?" They ask, muffled by their palms.
"You can take care of me, but you always do that." Roxanne smirks, and they give her an suspicious look. "What happens if we're both sick?"
"Easy, we can sleep next to each other and keep each other company. How romantic is that?" She smirks even wider, and Qiu sighs in defeat, this was not going to go their way. "You win, smartass. You're too witty for your own good." They reply, and Roxy proudly beams at their words, even with that tone. It was another oxymoron, where Qiu would give out the most sincere compliments but with the most unimpressed tone.
"I know, I always win." She shrugs, before continuing her words. "You can come to my place, we can talk about things by then."
They nod at her words, continuing to walk from the park to the cul-de-sac, quickly getting closer to their destination.
"We're here." Qiu says as they both reach Roxy's place, wiping their boots on the entrance's doormat. The two usually hung out there on Fridays since her mom gets home late. Roxanne opens the door for Qiu and they give each other sincere smiles as they enter her place, she closes the door behind them and hangs her wet denim jacket on one of the coat hooks. Usually, they keep their coat on, but they decide to take it off and do the same as Roxanne since it's more drenched than usual.
"Make yourself at home." She says, but Qiu stops her and grins.
"You make yourself at home... Well, it is technically your home. Either way, let me take care of you. It's the least I could do especially after what happened earlier." They reply smugly, but Roxanne looks at them sternly.
"Qiu, you're not the boss of me." She pouts, and they roll their eyes as they decide to adjust their tone.
"Roxy, please let me make you hot chocolate." Hesitantly, she nods and Qiu sighs. "You can be a handful sometimes."
"Well, Qiu, there's something you didn't consider." Roxy says, and Qiu raises an eyebrow. "I have lactose-free cream in the fridge, just for you. You can make yourself a hot chocolate too without your stomach hurting." She replies blankly, but they look at her gratefully, feeling a surge of affection. This was why Qiu liked Roxanne, she always thought of their needs and wants above everyone else's.
"Thanks, Roxanne. You're the best." Qiu beams, and she nods smugly, as if to say "I'm aware" wordlessly.
As they leave to prepare hot chocolate for the two of them, Roxy is restless on the couch, still feeling regretful of the insensitive words she said last time. Even if she already apologized, she's not sure how to make up for it. She faces the side, pulling her knees to her chest as she buries her face in her legs.
"I should really watch what I say..." Roxanne mumbles, as she hears the sound of footsteps approaching. Quickly, she sits like normal again... Well, not really normal. She had a habit of manspreading, but Qiu was already familiar with her style.
"Here you go, your majesty." They sarcastically say as they place the mug on the coffee table in front of them, and she rolls her eyes. "Don't call me that, dumbass. Thanks either way though." Roxy chuckles, patting the place next to her to invite them to sit down and Qiu doesn't pay any attention.
"Well, unless you wanna sit here." Roxy pats her lap, unable to resist the urge to tease Qiu. They visibly scowl, but their cheeks slightly redden. "No thanks." They reply coldly, opting to sit beside her instead.
"So, is there anything on your mind?" Qiu asks casually, and Roxanne shakes her head. As they sip their hot chocolate, they raise their eyebrow and set the mug down.
"Don't lie, Roxanne. You rolled up into a ball earlier, that's what you do when you're stressed." They state, and Roxanne shuts her eyes, realizing she's been caught.
"I don't know if you knowing a lot about me should be working against my favor." She shakes her head, and sighs, grabbing her mug and sipping the hot chocolate after blowing it.
"This is good, Qiu." She smiles, and they smile as well at the compliment before immediately clearing their throat.
"Roxy, I'm serious. We should talk about how you feel more. It's always me doing the crying, I want to be there for you too." They say, reaching out to place their hands on her nape in an attempt to get closer to her and to make her face them.
She shyly drinks a bit more of the hot chocolate, it was that good. Although, Qiu's concern mattered more, whether she wanted to admit it or not. Roxanne sets the cup down and moves closer to Qiu.
"Sorry, Qiu. It's not that I'm not uncomfortable with you, it's just..." She sighs, wanting to kiss them because of their current stance. They've already done so once, but now is not the right time. Roxanne visibly frowns and looks down, and Qiu reaches out gently to tilt her chin up with one of their hands so that their eyes can meet each other. She holds their wrist, placing it behind her neck again like how it was earlier. She scoots closer, before clearing her throat.
"Okay, I'll look at you. I want to be more comfortable with how I feel with you." Roxy takes a deep breath, giving them a broken smile. "I'm really sorry for what I said last time. I know I apologized, but the guilt is eating me up. It was greatly insensitive of me to minimize your struggles, especially because of the times I've listened to you rant to me about this."
"Is that it?" Qiu raises their eyebrow, and Roxy doesn't want to lie anymore. She shakes her head and mutters, "No, Toffee."
"I'm not used to opening up to others, I always feel like they don't care about me as much as I care about them. Already happened before in my old friendships, I'd talk about something that upset me, I'd just be dismissed or stared at. I understand that not everyone is good at comforting, but nobody even tried for me, not with actions nor words." Roxy moves closer, hugging them and resting her face on their chest.
"There's also times people would say they care about me, then leave me when they wrong me instead of fixing things. I don't understand them." She replies shakily, closing her eyes, this is the most honest she's been with anyone. "I'm also sorry for saying that I'm always the one doing everything for you to stay. The truth is, you chose to stay with me. I didn't need to do all that, and you've done so much for me as well, like right now with the hot chocolate you made for the both of us."
"I will be forever grateful for you." Roxanne's voice cracks, and...
A tear falls from her eye.
This is the second time Qiu has seen her cry, well at least after a while. They instinctively reach out to rub the back of her head, placing their head on top of hers.
"Oh, Roxanne..." They coo softly, looking down at her with admiration. "You've been so strong, you should be proud of yourself. You can always come to me for comfort."
Roxy shakes her head at Qiu's words, continuing to sob into their coat. "I'm not..." She murmurs, muffled by their sweater.
"I'm sorry I haven't done enough for you." They say softly, and Roxanne shakes her head again.
"No, don't say that." She says, tilting her head up to look at them. "You've done more than enough for me, Qiu, even with your own struggles."
Qiu shakes their head, continuing their words. "I even called you stupid, you're not stupid at all. You're way smarter than me, have you seen the way you answer during recitations? I look up to you Roxanne, even if I don't get why you put so much effort into school."
"That's not the only reason why I admire you. You work hard, you're determined to get what you want. I may be contesting towards others, however, I can't help but listen to you even with your demanding nature. If someone else was that bossy towards me, I would've told them off already... but you're different. It's only you, Roxanne."
Roxy sits up, wrapping her arms around their waist again. Although, she places her chin on their shoulder instead of burying her face in their sweater. "I'm gonna get your sweater wet with my tears." She chuckles, and Qiu curls their arms above her shoulders.
"I mean it, Roxanne. This is the first time I've told you this, but I really admire you." They say, and Roxy smiles wider. She doesn't cry anymore, but her tears haven't dried away, paired with the slight redness on her cheeks.
"Thank you, Qiu. It means a lot especially coming from you." She responds, now it was her turn to shower them with affection.
"You know, I've had a crush on you since we first met. Initially, it was from looks. Once I got to knew you better, I fell even harder for you." She says, smiling widely.
"I kn-"
"Yes, you knew." She interrupts them. "Your crush on me was also painfully obvious." The two chuckle at the silliness of the situation.
"Before, I liked you because you cared deeply for others. I wished I was like you." Roxy states, acknowledging her lack of empathy at times. "Now, you've changed and I like you more than ever, hell... I even love you. I'm glad you're thinking of yourself now. It was torturous when I had to tell you that we should do what you wanted."
Qiu sighs at the past, but offers a warm smile, a direct contrast to their cold demeanor.
"I love you too, idiot." They chuckle, and Roxy pinches their cheek. Qiu doesn't swat her hand away like usual, but leans into her touch. Roxy nuzzles her nose against theirs, and they both giggle. Feeling a bit bold, she tilts her head and leans in for a quick peck on the lips. Qiu's eyes widen, and they blush really hard, covering their lips after she pulls away. Roxy smirks, extremely smugly; however, she decides to spare Qiu from her usual teasing for whatever reason.
"Well, our hot chocolate will get cold." Roxanne says, adjusting her stance as their shoulders touch each other, picking up the now-lukewarm mug before taking a sip; it still tastes pretty good.
"I still can't believe you bought lactose-free cream just for me." Qiu bashfully replies, feeling touched at Roxy's thoughtfulness. She wraps her arm around them to wordlessly state that it was no problem, and they grab their cup on the table as well before laying on her shoulder, taking a sip.
"You remind me of this." They say, pointing towards their hot chocolate. "Huh?" Roxy raises an eyebrow, seemingly perplexed.
"Why do you call me Toffee, Rox?" Qiu questions her, and Roxanne replies absentmindedly. "You remind me of caramel."
"You're... tough, but warm, and easy to melt." She states, and Qiu scoffs but is unable to hold back their smile.
"You're so cheesy." They retort, but Roxanne smiles; she's accustomed to this by now.
"But what about me? Why do I remind you of chocolate?" Roxy interrogates Qiu, and they clear their throat.
"Well, you remind me more of cookies and cream... but that's for another day." They state, and Roxy glares at them. Qiu piqued her curiosity yet again.
"You're sweet, and your eyes are the same color... Well, the same as dark chocolate." They say while sipping their drink, and Roxy can't help but smile. "No wonder you keep staring at me during our classes together, you were trying to figure out my exact eye color." Qiu groans, realizing they've been caught like how Roxanne was earlier.
"Damn it, Roxy. Don't act like you haven't been doing the same." They scoff, and Roxy grins impishly. "I never hid it, you always look away when I notice your staring; I smile when you notice me, that's different."
"Fine, you win already." Qiu huffs, and Roxy tilts her head to press her lips against their forehead. "I always win when it comes to you." She smirks even harder, and they sigh but smile at the kiss, blushing a bit more. She was impossible.
"Let's just enjoy each other's company before your Ma comes home." They state, tilting their head sideways and nuzzling their face into Roxy's neck briefly, before taking a sip of their not-hot chocolate.
"Sure, Qiu. I don't mind." She smiles, and continues her words. "I'd spend all day with you if I could, Toffee."
"I share the same sentiment, Choco."