A Nice Little Hobby
Coming in on Monday morning Noin was in high spirits and really pleased with the progress they'd made on the house. They'd gotten a hell of a lot done on Saturday and she, Heero and Trowa had popped in yesterday for a few hours to help Wufei finish the roofing. She had blisters on her hands, a bit of a sun burn and countless scrapes but she felt good and proud of herself. Whistling under her breath Noin put her hands in her pockets as she wandered down the nearly deserted hallways. She'd come in early to get a quick jump on her work so that she could leave early to get some errands done. Strolling along Noin walked past the gym area where only a little while ago she'd gotten into that fateful fight with Wufei that had changed their relationship forever. Hearing music playing in there Noin raised an eyebrow and walking over to the door opened it and stuck her head in curiously. Blinking Noin felt her jaw literally drop at the sight before her. Without even realizing what she was doing Noin slid inside the room then carefully closed the door behind her, her eyes never leaving Wufei. He was on the mat in bare feet wearing only his uniform slacks with his hair down and a deadly looking sword in his hand. Moving with the primal music coming from the speakers he was like a totally different person. Moving with the wall to her back Noin walked till she was facing the middle of the mat before sliding down to sit and watch him. It was so graceful and beautiful, not at all like fencing or any sword play she'd ever seen. This was a dance with the sword as an extension of Wufei who moved as sure as any dancer as he moved over the mat in what was likely a training exercise but didn't look it. His tanned skin was stretching against a well muscled body and Noin realized that though he was slender he was actually really well built only made to suit his statue. Pulling her knees up to her chest Noin hugged them and watched silently, admiring until the music stopped and she realized that he'd stopped moving and was in the middle of the mat staring right at her with a less then pleased look on his face.
)
"Wufei...I apologize." Noin said as she got to her feet, walking over him hoping that she hadn't made him mad by coming in to watch without his permission. She would have but she hadn't wanted to interrupt him. "I just got caught up watching and..that was really beautiful."
Blinking Wufei didn't quite know what to say. The tone of her voice and the look in her eyes said that she was telling the truth and the thought that she'd thought it was beautiful threw off the lecture he'd been about to give her for coming in without permission. "It was nothing." Wufei said looking away though there was a hint of red to his cheeks over the fact that she'd been watching and thought that it..that he'd been beautiful.
It was her turn to blink in shock when she realized that she'd embarrassed him and forced her face into a normal smile rather then the wide one itching to replace it. "That wasn't nothing, Wufei. That was..amazing. I wish I could do something like that but as you know I'm not what you'd call skilled with a blade or particularly graceful." Noin said, unaware that there was a wistfulness to her voice.
"You are graceful." Wufei said before he thought about it and when she looked at him in surprise he quickly explained. "You're light on your feet and hold yourself well. You aren't that bad with a sword either, you were just rusty and had an inferior teacher." Wufei added assuming that Milliardo had taught her. He knew that Peacecraft was considered a great fencer but the man didn't love it or put his heart into it which meant that he couldn't be considered a true swordsman.
Laughing at the thought of Milliardo hearing himself be called inferior by Wufei Noin grinned broadly. "Well thanks for the thought but there isn't a teacher in the world who could make me move like you were."
"I could." Wufei said then wished he'd bitten his tongue at the surprised look on her face. That had been very close to offering to teach her and Wufei couldn't begin to describe what he thought of the idea of taking on Noin as a student. Not that she'd be interested, it had just been one of those comments that people made but didn't mean.
"Really? You think so?" Noin said as she looked from him to the sword. He likely hadn't been offering but if he had been...well then wouldn't this be the perfect hobby to get? Both she and Wufei worked odd hours so it wasn't like they'd have to stick to a normal schedule and it was something that interested her. Plus if she did get good it would be something in common with Milliardo and she'd finally be able to beat him at something other then academics. "Would you? I'd pay you for your time of course." Noin said in a rush then looked at him with an unsure look on her face, waiting for him to say no.
)
Raising an eyebrow Wufei thought about it carefully. He didn't need or want her money which would be a problem since she'd insist on it knowing her and her pride. That meant they'd have to figure out something else to trade but he couldn't think of anything she had or knew that would be of any use to him. Not that it mattered since he had no need to take on a student, if he were there were more promising individuals he knew in his various classes that would be more suited to take on. But it was obvious this was something she really wanted to do and there was really no reason he couldn't take a few hours out of his week to help her relearn what she needed to and teach her what she had yet to learn. It wasn't like it would cut into his social life and though his books..his books. Remembering something Wufei looked at Noin with a thoughtful expression on his face. "Noin..you're Italian aren't you?" Wufei asked and when she nodded Wufei smiled slightly as it all slipped into place depending on her next answer. "And can you read and speak it?"
"Yes of course." Noin said in surprise, having absolutely no idea where this was all leading. Why would the fact that she was a born and bred Italian have anything to do with taking her on as his student for sword lessons. "Why?"
"I propose a trade." Wufei said with a small smile on his face, seeing that he was about to kill two birds with one stone. "I'll take you on as a student and see to it that your skill improves enough that you would prove a challenge to any real swordsman. In exchange you will teach me to read Italian. I collect rare books and have a few in my collection in Italian. I wish to be able to read one in particular, so that I might compare it to another copy of the book I have only in French. If you would be willing to take the time to tutor me for a few hours a week in Italian I will do the same for you in the training you require."
"You want me to teach you Italian?...I could do that. I did a little of that before when a friend of mine in elementary school was German and she needed help learning Italian." Noin said as she turned the idea around in her head. "And actually my grandfather is a book collector as well so if there are old Italian words I'm not familiar with odds are he would. It's a deal." Noin said with a wide smile as she held out her hand to Wufei who after a moment took her hand in his slightly larger one and they shook on it. "When do you want to start?"
"I'll look over my schedule for the next two weeks and we can meet later to compare it with yours to see when we can fit the lessons in." Wufei said tucking his hands in his pockets feeling a bit nervous about this though he had no idea why. There was just something different about Noin lately that threw him off and puzzled him in a way he wasn't sure he liked or not. "I should be hitting the showers, I'll see you at lunch?" Wufei said as he suddenly realized he was standing there without a shirt on and likely pretty sweaty. "Say thirteen hundred hours to compare?"
"I'll be there. Bye." Noin said with a smile then headed back out unaware that Wufei had not moved from his spot until she was out the door and on her way down the hallway.
)
At her desk when Milliardo came in Noin was already hard at work and only looked up to say a quick hello before she went back to work. She'd decided not to tell Milliardo about the lessons because she wanted to surprise him with how much she'd improved once she got good. Wufei had said he'd teach her until she was skilled enough to pose a threat to a real swordsman which she took to mean that he'd give her lessons until she could kick Milliardo's ass. Not that sword fighting was the same as fencing but she had a feeling the training would improve her fencing abilities as well. Plus she'd also need to see about getting some teaching tools so that she'd have what she needed to begin teaching Wufei Italian. It was weird really, that she'd known him so long and never knew that he collected rare books like her grandfather. She'd heard the boys tease him about his love of books but she hadn't realized he loved them that much. Next time her grandfather came to visit she'd have to introduce them, they'd have a great time since books were her grandfather's favorite subject next to his family. Surprised at the thought Noin pushed it away and continued typing before becoming aware that someone was looming over her desk. Looking up from the screen Noin turned to see Milliardo leaning against her desk with a questioning look. "I'm sorry, did you say something?" Noin said with a sheepish look, dragging her thoughts into the present.
"I asked if you wanted some more coffee, Noin. Long night?" Milliardo asked with an amused look on his face before his eyes narrowed as he reached out to grab her left hand, pulling it across the desk for inspection. "You've hurt your hands. How?" Milliardo asked as he looked from her hand to her.
"I spent the weekend helping Wufei with his new house." Noin explained thinking her blistered, scraped and tanned hand looked out of place in his smooth pale one. "Roofing is hard work but we all had a blast along with the scrapes and blisters." Noin said with a shrug, the marks no big deal to her. They were signs that she'd worked hard and long. "And I'd love another cup thanks."
"You should have taken better care of them, they look painful." Milliardo said letting her draw her hand back before reaching over to retrieve her cup. Moving away from her desk he was back shortly with another cup made just the way she liked it. "Here."
"Thanks, appreciate it." Noin said with a smile as she took it from him and took a grateful sip, the caffeine hitting her system with a jolt.
"Well I'll leave you to your typing." Milliardo said as he moved away and back over to his desk, Noin watching him go. He never just stayed and chatted with her about his weekend or even a book he'd been reading, Noin thought with an inner sigh as she turned back to the computer. When it was a date they chatted but when it was just a casual meeting in the hallway or in the office it was business and that was really it. Sometimes she wised he'd just take a break from work, roll his chair over and talk to her about something that wasn't work related at all. She'd even settle for a boring conversation about sports or opera. But that wasn't likely going to happen anytime soon and with a sigh she turned back to the computer and the work at hand.
)
Later that night
Noin was captivated by Wufei's voice as he explained the history of swords, the importance of choosing the right type of blade and how the samurai warriors of old had considered them to be like their souls. It was always fascinating to listen to someone when they loved what they were talking about because their enthusiasm tended to be infectious. Looking at the swords as he pointed the advantages of each blade as well as their disadvantages Noin had no doubt that he was going to be one hell of a teacher. When he was done he let her test out the various swords teaching her the importance of using one that was the right weight for her, had a good balance and that she could grip correctly. Once they'd found "her" sword, a beautiful piece with intricate carvings on the handle they began stretches and exercise with wooden swords that couldn't injure unless one was to put all their weight into bringing it against their opponent. Soon caught up in her lesson they were just starting to go through some of the basic moves she'd learned in fencing when there was a knock on the door. Coming to a halt Wufei walked over to the door to see who it was and returned shortly with a slightly surprised look on his face. "It would appear the time got away from us." Wufei said as he nodded towards the wall clock.
Looking up Noin was surprised to see that they were already over a half an hour on the time they'd agreed on. The night guard had probably come to ask why they weren't gone yet. "Time to hit the showers then." Noin said with a smile as she walked over to replace the sword. Soon they had finished putting everything away and headed to the showers and back into their uniforms from their work out clothing. Not bothering to dry her hair Noin came out of the ladies change room to find Wufei waiting for her, his damp hair drawn back in its usual ponytail even though it would have dried quicker out of it.
"So we'll meet at your apartment at twenty one hundred on Wednesday?" Wufei said thinking that she looked younger and like a fairy with her dark hair plastered against her head since she'd apparently decided not to dry it first.
"Yup, sounds good to me." Noin said with a nod as they started walking towards the parking lot to head home for the day. "So when do you think you'll be moving into your new house?"
"I should be able to move in next week depending on how things go." Wufei said with a pleased look on his face, looking forward to being able to move into his house and finally getting to live by himself in something he'd bought and paid for with his own money. Chatting the rest of the way to the parking lot about the house Noin offered to come over and help him anytime and Wufei mentioned that he could possibly use her help on a few things though he'd try to do them himself first. As this was a big step from his usual insisting that he didn't need help with anything Noin held her tongue over the fact that he'd save money letting her help him the first time around. Arriving on the lot Wufei turned to say good bye. "Good night, Noin." Wufei said with a slight bow, taking a few steps before something occurred to him. "Why do you go by Noin by the way? No one ever calls you by your first name."
"My family does though they usually shorten it to Lucy." Noin said in surprise, wondering why he'd suddenly brought it up now considering he and everyone else had been calling her Noin for over half a dozen years, longer then that actually, since the academy. "When I was in the academy girls were girls and I guess I just started going by Noin because it didn't proclaim the fact that I was a girl to everyone. When I became an instructor in Oz it was always Lieutenant Noin anyway so it was rare to even hear my first name." Noin said with a shrug.
"It doesn't suit you..nor does Lucy." Wufei said thinking that the first just didn't seem to fit her though he really had never thought about it till now. Lucy was too childish and girlie to suit her either. Her first name was Lucrezia as he recalled and that was a strong, yet beautiful name. Something that suited her more then Noin or Lucy. "Lucrezia suits you a lot better, it's more elegant and strong, more fitting of someone like you."
"Well it's what people usually call me and what I respond to." Noin said with a laugh though she was a bit flustered at what he'd said. He'd said that the name suited her and that her name was elegant and strong..did he think she was strong and elegant? Pleasure mixing with surprise Noin smiled at him. "Anyway yours suits you, Wufei." Noin said referring to his name. "Good night, Wufei."
"Good bye, Lucrezia." Wufei said with a nod as he wandered off and finding his car where he'd left it unlocked the door and opening it slid in and waiting to make sure she got into her car safe and sound Wufei nodded to her wave before following her out of the parking lot then separating as they drove off in two different directions.