Just An Ordinary Day
After the whole yelling, name calling and embarrassing themselves in public thing Milliardo and Noin settled into a professional relationship that was about as comfortable as living in the freezing Arctic. They were pleasant and cool, emotion never factoring in as they worked together like distant acquaintances and neither knew how to break the ice. Mad though she was Milliardo was her best friend even if he was a crappy boyfriend and Noin missed talking to him and hanging out. The fact that she missed their friendship much more then she missed those rare romantic evenings was something she'd picked up on as well. And really she'd made all the moves to make them more then just friends, that blame was solely on her shoulders. So in a way a lot of this was all her own fault but she couldn't quite figure out how to fix it. He'd been content to be just friends in the past and when she finally started edging him into becoming more then that she hadn't liked what it had done to either of them and wanted to go back to just being close, best friends. Her love for him had never been an illusion, it had just changed and matured over time and gone back to the love one felt for a very special friend. She knew that he loved her too but not in the way she'd originally wanted and perhaps he even loved her as much as he was capable of loving anyone. She'd taken a good hard look at both of them and if she was honest she'd seen a lot of faults and problems she hadn't even been aware of. She'd simple not wanted to see them but she was now and accepted that she was just as responsible for how dysfunctional they'd been as he was.
Since she could only take the cold silence for so long Noin decided to pack up early for the day and head to the gym, have a good work out before it was time for practice. Well not early since most everyone had already gone home but early for her, Noin thought as she grabbed her gym bag off the floor. Saying good night to Milliardo Noin casually mentioned she was going to the gym for a quick workout before heading out, hoping he'd comment or say something without a chill in his voice. But all he did was give her a cool good night in return and feeling the chill Noin walked out of the office and down the hallway, her bag swinging back and forth with every step she took. Arriving at the change rooms Noin headed in and after getting changed into black shorts and a sleeveless gray top headed into the weight room where she got busy doing some needed stretching before going from machine to machine as though she could lift, curl and climb her way out of the mess she was in. When that didn't work Noin got on boxing gloves and went to work pounding out her frustration on the punching bag which only tired her out physically, not mentally. When she was too tired to move Noin sat down on the cool floor, her back against the wall as she tilted her head up to see the clock on the opposite wall. Reading it Noin winced when she saw she only had twenty minutes to recover before Wufei showed up expecting her to be up and ready for her next lesson. That was going to take a hell of a lot of sheer will to pull off, Noin thought with a grimace on her sweaty face. A hell of a lot.
)
Meanwhile at his desk Wufei rubbed his eyes tiredly and debated getting out his glasses on the slight chance that they would help. He was almost done the paperwork though and there was no sense getting them out when he'd be putting them away in no time. Sighing Wufei bit back a yawn and considered seeing if Lucrezia would be willing to reschedule the lesson planned for this evening. It was nine on a Friday night after all, he had no doubt there were other things Lucrezia could find to do if she wanted. Well he'd see when he got to the gym, she might be tired as well since he'd imagine sharing the office with Peacecraft day after day was draining her energy levels. Wufei had offered to explain to Milliardo about the lessons so that he wouldn't be jealous anymore but she had told him that there was no need and that even if she and Milliardo managed to get on speaking terms she didn't see them ever being anything other then friends ever again. That had pleased him more then it should have but Wufei preferred to pass that off as simply being a friend who didn't want his friend in what was obviously an unsuited relationship. Plus you like spending more time with her a little voice inside his head pointed out, annoyingly accurate. Since her big fight with Milliardo Lucrezia seemed to have taken the need to keep busy to new heights. It had been two weeks since the fight and Wufei couldn't begin to remember all the places she'd dragged him to in her quest to fill up her time. Well perhaps drag wasn't the word since he hadn't minded most of the things they'd done together, especially the going to the flea market where she'd proven herself to be a champion bargainer. His house was getting fuller and fuller with all the knickknacks and things she insisted he needed but he had to pay for. Not that he minded really, most of the things did seem to suit the place and it made her happy to help him so he figured it was worth getting stuck with a few things he had no use or liking for.
)
Finishing up the paperwork Wufei saved then turned his computer off, glad to be done for the day. Grabbing his black leather jacket since he'd ridden in on his bike instead of the car Wufei carried it over his shoulder as he grabbed his gym bag and headed out after locking up the office for the night. Walking into the gym to find Lucrezia already there and looking as though she'd already had quite a work out. "You don't look in any condition for a lesson." Wufei stated as he dropped his stuff on the floor and strolled over till he was about a meter away from her, careful to stay off the mat in his shoes. "How long have you been at it?"
"Well you look tired." Noin countered as she tried not to be concerned about him and the fact that he too often worked himself too hard and without break. She really needed to get on his case about it too. She figured between her nagging and Sally's they'd have him whipped into shape in no time. "What do you say we postpone? No point in working ourselves into a coma when we can always do it later when we won't be driving after."
Well up until she'd said he looked tired Wufei had been all for cancellation but now he couldn't without appearing to be too tired and worn out to go a few rounds with her which didn't settle well with his pride at all. She was likely suggesting cancellation because she thought he wasn't up to it, Wufei thought to himself, feeling his ego force his body into a higher state of awareness then it wanted to be. Well now there was no way he was going to get to bed early tonight or out of this lesson. But he was going to have to cut down on the lesson time because he wasn't up to more either. "No but since you look beat and I'm a little tired, we'll cut the lesson a bit short? Practice for a half an hour?"
"Sure okay." Noin said, her body screaming its thanks that she wasn't going to put it through an hour long workout. Thank you God. "I'll let you warm up a bit since I'm as warmed up as I can take right now." Smiling when he smiled at her comment Noin sat down on the corner of the mat and concentrating on relaxing and loosening her body up she was only vaguely aware of Wufei leaving to change and doing his stretches when he came back. Soon he called her over and choosing their weapons they went at each other after the customary bows and circling. She was getting a lot better and she wasn't so much being taught how to fight as being shown as she learned from her mistakes and from watching her instructor. He had stopped going easy on her and she considered the fact that she hadn't been sliced to pieces to be a testament to how good a teacher he was. Not to say that he'd have cut her to pieces if she was a bad student but she had no doubt he'd have left marks if only to teach her a lesson. She held the sword with a confidence now and didn't hesitate or second guess herself, she knew now what she was doing down to her bones and showed it. She was getting good at anticipating him too so he didn't catch her off guard as easily, able to read his body language and the subtle hints his face occasionally gave away.
)
Both not at their best it was still an education to watch them as they moved across the well worn ugly brown mat. It was more of a dance with blades then an attack and they moved in synch so that anyone who didn't know any better would think it had been choreographed, each step planned out for the ultimate effect. Locking swords with each other, their faces mere centimeters apart it became a battle of wills as to who would give up first, who's strength would overpower and who's would falter. Eyes locked the gym walls could have caved in and odds were neither of them would have noticed so entranced were the position they were in and had been before suddenly took on a new meaning. It was no longer simply a training exercise but a question and which blade gave away was the answer. Muscles straining, flexing as they fought against the other's strength, the blades flashing in the lights as they pressed against each other's sides, neither willing to give away under the pressure. With everything she had left Noin pushed forward and having nothing left Wufei went stumbling back, the game of wills over. Breathing hard the two stared at each other, Noin watching intently as Wufei let his sword drop to the mat and lean over to rest his hands on his knees as he bent over slightly to catch his breath. After setting her own sword down Noin moved over to stand in front of him, placing a hand on his shoulder. "You must really be tired for me to have managed that. I told you we should have postponed." When he said nothing Noin's hand instinctively tightened on his shoulder though neither noticed as Noin waited for him to say something, anything. Finally Wufei straightened up in front of her and they locked eyes as they stood there facing each other, her hand still on his shoulder as they stared at each other, their chest heaving with exertion and something else. Both quiet as their eyes did all the talking, neither could say who moved first as they were suddenly closer and their eyes closed as they're lips met, Wufei's arms coming up to settle lightly on her back while the hand she'd placed on his shoulder slid over to wrap around his neck as they kissed for the first time.
)
Wufei had on occasion made fun of the fact that women and certain males like Maxwell went all gooey over kisses, suddenly losing all their senses and acting like starry eyed idiots. Sally had once reprimand him with the advice that someday he'd understand how a kiss with the right person could turn a person into a starry eyed moron. Then she'd said that when he did she was going to rub it in his face and had she been around and survived the shock Wufei had no doubt she'd be rubbing it in. Kissing Lucrezia, holding her like this was like nothing he'd ever experienced before and he liked it, more then liked it. It was like a combination of the rush you got in battle against the ultimate opponent mixed with the feeling of belonging, of fitting perfectly. Of coming home. Hungry for more Wufei forgot about all the reasons why this wasn't a good idea and concentrated on experiencing more and continuing to feel what he was feeling.
Kissing Wufei had to be one of the things Noin could honestly say had never been something she'd every thought she'd do. Right now she couldn't think of a single reason why. Moving closer Noin had always thought Wufei had a smart mouth but she'd never realized she'd be happy about it as that mouth was pressed against hers. She felt so right in his arms even as her blood pressure began to climb at a rapid pace as the kiss deepened so that she brought her other arm to his shoulder for support. Her legs were going weak on her and she didn't think it had anything to do with the workout they'd been given. Wow, who knew.
)
Finally breaking it off they slowly parted, taking a step away from each other as their hands fell to their sides as their eyes met each others and focused. Both faces showed surprise and unsure as to what they were suppose to do now. "Wufei..I..I don't know what to say." Noin finally got out, resisting the urge to fidget. "I didn't mean to..I...I.. Don't know what to say." Noin repeated again.
"We..we should be heading out..that's enough practice for today." Wufei finally managed to say, turning his face from her, afraid that she would read more then he wanted her to see on his face. What he wanted to do was pull her to him again but he wasn't like Maxwell, he didn't have the words for this kind of thing.
"Yeah, you're right." Noin said, not sure how to take his response. Was he upset about what had happened or just unsure about how to proceed. Noin knew there was nothing Wufei hated more then to be ignorant of what to do. He'd tell her or give himself away sooner or later Noin figured it was best to leave it alone. Saying good night Noin headed out to the girls change room, taking the time to shower before changing into her uniform again. Heading out to the parking lot Noin could sense him there rather then see him. Knowing that he would see that she got safely to her car before he left. He always did that and Noin thought it was sweet even though she didn't need him watching over her. Throwing her gym clothes bag into the back to be washed Noin got behind the wheel and putting her keys into the ignition tried to get the car to start without any success. Cursing Noin tried several time but no luck and too tired to try to play under the hood Noin left the bag there and getting out of the car locked it up and groaned as she started towards the exit for the nearly twenty minute walk to her building. Seeing the motorcycle waiting at the exit Noin didn't have to ask who was under the helmet because she already knew. He'd waited till she got in her car then driven up here to make sure she left without trouble. When she was within meters of him she watched his hands leave the bars to lift his helmet off, his loose black hair shining under the streetlights as he watched her more intently then Noin could ever remember.
)
"You're car again?" Wufei asked as he watched her approach thinking she looked as worn out emotionally and physically as he did and was. He knew her car had been acting up this week and he'd lay odds that was why she was on foot though she should have been heading into the building to call a cab.
"Yeah, looks like I'm going to be walking, no way I'm forking up money for a cab when I can walk." Noin said with a weak smile as she tried not to think of the picture he made sitting there on his black motorcycle, the black leather jacket over his Preventers jacket so that he looked to be dressed in back from shoes to the helmet. Pure bad boy dream material. "You should head out, it's no fun driving on dirt roads at night as you'll be doing, Chang."
Wufei opened his mouth to tell her to call a damn cab or let him pay for the damn cab if she was going to be stubborn but the words wouldn't get past his throat. Closing it Wufei tried to think of how to phrase it so she wouldn't be offended or take it the wrong way. Instead something other then what he'd intended to say popped out of his mouth as he held his helmet out to her before he knew he was going to do it. "Get on, I'll give you a ride home."
All set to refuse Noin could picture spending the next half an hour arguing about it far too clearly and too tired and rung out to try Noin stepped forward and took the helmet, knowing that she couldn't convince him to wear it if she was on the bike too. "Thanks." Noin said and preferring not to say anything else to him when she wasn't entirely sure she could think straight. Putting the helmet on Noin slid on beside him, wrapping her arms around his waist in reaction as the engine gave out a purr as Wufei gunned the engine and soon they were on their way with Noin holding on tight as she leaned her head against his shoulder.
)
Arriving in front of her building Wufei pulled up to the sidewalk and turned the machine off smoothly once they'd come to a complete stop. Sliding off Noin's feet hit pavement and she was never sorrier to touch solid ground. Reluctantly taking off the helmet she handed it back to him, thanking him for the ride and going out of his way. Smiling when he brushed it off Noin turned to leave and had taken several strides when he called out her name. Stopping Noin turned around to see him coming towards her, the helmet in his hand. Waiting till he was in front of her Noin tried to qualm the butterflies in her stomach but apparently they'd gotten a hold of Gundams and were duking it out in her stomach. "Yes?" Noin finally managed to get out, her voice sounding weak even to her ears.
"Do you regret it?" Wufei asked and told himself that no matter what her answer was he'd accept it and move on, not allowing it to destroy his friendship with her. He would be a man about it.
Not even having to ask him what he meant by regrets Noin slowly shook her head then thinking he might need the words tried to speak without her voice breaking from nerves and unspoken fears. "No..I..no I don't regret it, Wufei. None of it."
"Okay..neither do I." Wufei said then taking another step forward wrapped his arm around her waist and dragging her closer sealed anything she might have said with his lips. He would say more through his actions and as always they understood each other and perfectly in synch with the other.