× × × Nora's POV × × ×
"Oh, you guys have already met?" Orser stepped off the ice, wiping the shaved ice off the his blades.
"Kind of." He rolled his eyes rolled his suitcase to the wall and started stretching a little.
"This is our new assistant, Nora. She'll be helping me when you guys travel and help lessen the language barrier between us." Brian tried explaining slowly to Yuzu.
Yuzu stared blankly at Brian and kept saying "Yes."
"Coach, might as well ask Nora to translate that for you." Javi messed with my hair.
Brian chuckled, "Might as well. Nora, I guess your job starts now."
I sighed and shifted my attention from Orser to Yuzu and switched to Japanese. "I'm Nora, and I guess I'm your translator and assistant now."
Yuzu groaned and stretched down to his toes. "I don't need a translator. I understood what Brian said."
I frowned. "Okay then, what did he say?"
He looked away and coughed nervously.
"You don't know do you?"
"Okay, fine. I didn't completely understand Coach said. I'm still studying English okay? It's not very good. Yet." Yuzu quickly pulled out one of his skates from his suitcase and started lacing them on.
Not very good was an overstatement. His English was hardly existent.
He pulled out his second skate out of his suitcase and I saw a glimpse of a red and yellow plushie inside.
"Is that a Winnie the Pooh tissue cozy?" I smiled and pointed to tissue box cozy. I hestiantly asked, "By and chance, were all of those Winnie the Poohs on the sofa yours?"
He scowled. "You saw them? You went into my house?"
Excuse you. I took a deep breath keeping my temper down.
"Hey, no need to get mad." I countered, "Your mom invited me in."
He zipped up his suitcase, "Just stay away from me.", and he walked away to the rink and bowed.
Kind of hard to considering I have to help you with communication, paperwork, and equipment. I sighed. No point to add oil to the already raging fire.
× × × Yuzu's POV × × ×
I bowed onto the ice, returning back to my second home.
Could you believe her? She showed up to my house and is now my assistant?
"Hey Yuzu, want to do some laps with me?" Nam popped up behind me, startling me out of my thoughts.
"Yeah." And he took off and I followed.
After about 10 laps, I glanced to the side and Nora was on her laptop typing away.
"Yuzuru. Hello?" Orser waved his hands in front of my face.
"Huh?"
"You're oddly distracted today."
"U-uh sorry."
He gave me some instructions. I listened hard but it sounded like a jumble of gibberish. He tried doing some hand movements to try and get his point across.
"Okay." I replied anyways, still not knowing what he was trying to say.
I sped off into a quad toe and landed it. I smiled.
Orser clapped, but then called Nora over.
I saw that girl run to the rinkside and Orser told her something.
"Hey Yuzu, Orser said to work on the footwork that he showed you yesterday. Not jumps."
I bit my lip and nodded.
"Thanks Nora." Coach thanked her.
I saw her bow slightly and return to office in the mirrors.
I don't like her.
Practice finally ended, and Javi and I were going around rink, cooling off.
"So, how many quads did you land today in practice, mi amigo?"
"Uhm." I counted on my fingers, "Seventeen. Fell on five."
"Nice, nice. Landed sixteen today. Today was a good practice. By the way, did Nora really show up at your place yesterday?"
"Yes."
× × × Nora's POV × × ×
By the time Yuzu and Javi's practice ended, I had moved from the office back to the bench by the rink side glanced up from my laptop and saw Yuzu towering over me.
"Are you about to leave? Orser told me to help you bring your equipment back home."
"Yeah. You don't need to, I can manage."
"Jeez, I still have to help you whether or not you want me to." I closed my laptop and slipped it into my bag, "It's my instructions from my boss."
He reluctantly handed me his suitcase and we walked out of the TCSCC together. It was dead silent between us. When we got on the bus, I heard people whispering.
"They're really cute together."
"Do you think they're dating?"
"He's really cute and she's really pretty. They're like perfect for each other."
"Power couple."
I glared to the person behind me. I pulled up my phone and sent a text to Auntie.
= = = = = = = = = =
Me: I'll be home soon. I just have to finish up my last task for the day.
= = = = = = = = = =
A few moments later, my phone lit up.
= = = = = = = = = =
Auntie: Hurry home. Forecast says it's going to snow again.
= = = = = = = = = =
The public bus stopped. Yuzu's eyes were closed. He looked so calm. I shook him a little.
"Hey, Yuzu. This is our bus stop."
Our winter shoes crunched on the hardening snow as we walked back to his house. We stopped for a moment to rub my gloved hands together.
"So...how long have you been skating?" I tried breaking the awkward silence between us two.
"Shouldn't you know? You've practically invaded my life." He turned and walked away.
I scoffed. Nobody has infuriated me more than him in my entire life. I grabbed his suitcase from behind me and ran after him.
"All I know about you is your name and that you're an ice skater. I just happen to know where you live. If I never went to your house yesterday, but I still go this job, would you even be treating me like this?" I started ranting in English finally catching up to him and kicked the snow to the side of the sidewalk.
He stopped in front of his house and grabbed his suitcase from my hands, "If you're going to complain about me, do it in a language I can understand."
× × × Yuzu's POV × × ×
"I'm home!" I set my snowy gloves and jackets on the drying rack for them to dry.
"Welcome back." Mom walked down the stairs, "Was that a girl walking with you? She kind of looked like the girl I invited in yesterday. That's a first." She giggled a little.
I picked up my Winnie the Pooh tissue box from my suitcase and started up the stairs, "Yeah, she's the same girl. She's my assistant now apparently."
أنت تقرأ
yh | just a coincidence
قصص الهواةMeeting Yuzuru was never part of my plan when I was moving back to Toronto. Neither was becoming his landlord or assistant. I don't think falling in love with him was either.
