Flash rubbed the back of his neck, grinning sheepishly at the scene before him.
On one hand, he should feel kinda bad for the amount of embarrassment and quite literal butthurt his guest was experiencing. On the other, with a girl currently splayed across his kitchen floor on her back, fuming at the tray of chips and dip that was scattered all around her, a single chip balanced neatly on top of her head...
"Don't... don't laugh." Sunset chided grumpily. "It slipped! The counter is slippery!"
"Ok ok, I won't laugh." Flash bent down to help sweep up the mess, still grinning. Sunset, however, misinterpreted this as a motion to help her up, and grabbed his shoulder to pull herself vertical.
"Whaa-OW!" Flash toppled himself, sitting down hard and holding his head where he had headbutted the cabinet. Sunset squeaked in surprise and hurried to apologize.
"Oh, shoot, I'm sorry, I didn't mean-"
"How..." Flash chuckled, "How did you survive a transcontinental trip without sinking the boat? You could break a anvil in a plowed field."
"I'm just not used-" Sunset stopped, then sighed. "I mean, I really am clumsy, aren't I? It's just... it's a lot to take in. At... at least I got the language down."
"Well, like anything, I guess it's just a matter of practice. You gotta use it or lose it." Flash suggested, helping her to her feet properly. He froze as half an idea came to him.
Sunset glared at him suspiciously. "You ok, Flash? You look... concussed."
Flash's brain was going as fast as it could, which, admittedly, wasn't all that fast. Cute girl, guitar, hand-eye coordination, sit together, equals win. Best idea ever. Thanks brain! "Hey... Forget the movie, I got a better idea. Just, uh, gimmie a sec to get it ready."
He bolted out of the kitchen, taking the stairs three at a time to his room and diving in to scoop as much laundry as he could into the closet in one go. Socks and boxers flew though the air and the door was slammed shut, the top drawer of his dresser opened, and the pile of junk on top was swept in.
"Nice try." Sunset walked in behind him and roughly threw the covers of his bed back into place, sitting down like she owned the place. To Flash's horror, she picked up a magazine of questionable taste and calmly scrutinized the cover before tossing it aside. "Now, what could possibly be more important than 'The most relevant pop-culture sci-fi of this decade?' I was looking forward to it."
"Well..." Flash stuck his toe under the neck of his guitar, kicking it up into reach. "I figured, if you wanted to work on your dexterity, I could teach you how to play guitar."
"What?" Sunset cocked her head.
Flash held out the instrument. "It's a guitar. My old acoustic. You strum the strings, and hold them against the neck to get-"
"I know what a guitar is! Did you just use the word 'dexterity' properly? I'm impressed. That twice as many syllables as I'm used to hearing from you! Bravo!" She clapped once, then reached out to take the instrument from him before he could get insulted. Placing it on her lap, she examined it briefly, then carefully pressed the back of her knuckles against the lower E string and flicked.
*Twhummmmmm~*
Nodding to herself, she held her other hand down on the neck and flicked the string again.
*Twhimmmm!*
"You want to make that a lot easier?" Flash asked, smirking. He sat down next to her and lifted the guitar into a better position. "Hold it up by the neck, with your fingers around the front. Here, here's a pick, easier on your fingers. Try holding down the A string on the third fret."
"The who-what'sit on the dohicky, right." Sunset deadpanned. "Point at it."
"Here." Flash scooted closer, and Sunset leaned into him so he could point out the spot. "Try to pin down here, here and here, too."
"And what are they called?" Sunset twisted her hand to get at the strings he indicated.
"Well, together, it's A-minor. Give it a strum."
"Oh." Sunset flicked the pick down the strings a few times. "Ok. I see."
"Now, like this... yeah. That's C. And use your little finger on the third fret, second string, that's B..." Flash felt a warm glow of pride as Sunset followed through, then chained the three together without prompting. The girl really was a genius.
"Whatddya know. Music." Sunset frowned at the instrument impatiently, then scooted down so Flash could see over her better. "Come on, next one."
"Ok, ok, jeeze. I didn't expect you to pick it up so fast."
He felt Sunset shrug. "I played violin in a past life. My mother expected it of me until I got my, ah... until my talents became more apparent. It's the same, only completely different."
Flash grinned like a fool. This is so perfect! We are literally cuddling! "Ok, cool, I'll speed up. Go back to A-minor... now this is G."
A few more chords, and practice switching between them, and Sunset sat herself up, shaking out her hand. "Flash?"
"Yeah?"
"This was better than the movie. Thanks." She leaned over, and much to his surprise and internal celebration, pecked him on the cheek.
Flash smiled to himself and picked up his own guitar, scooting closer again.
ΩΩΩ
Well, he gave in quicker than expected, Sunset thought. But, then again, it is Flash Sentry, romantic extrodinare. He could never resist. It'll be a great boost, though.
Still... he won't be to happy once my plans become a little more open. Pity...
Sunset leaned into Flash's shoulder, setting her fingers on the guitar.
Enjoy it while it lasts, then.
And they started to play.
Author's Note
"Hey now...
We all shine like stars...
Then we fade away..."
I must request that any edits or writing recommendation be sent to me as a PM, not in the comments. Please. Otherwise I LOVE COMMENTS.
