Foreign Tutor
Title: Foreign Tutor
Rating: G
Pairing: None
Warning: None
Disclaimer: Not mine, not true. Maggie, Marshall, Tina, Angela, and Tabitha are MINE. Do not take.
Summary: Maggie is schooled in Aikido and needs help to learn the staff. Her uncle has a sort of an answer.
A/N: Meant to take place in the future, when Maggie moves back to California, and I figured EXO would get to California for years to come. I think she's about 16 or 17 here. PLEASE. Any form of concrit is welcome.
"I might know someone who can help you learn that," Marshal said.
Maggie turned to look at her uncle, startled, trying by reflex to hide the staff at her side. "Oh?" Not that she'd say no; learning to use the thing on her own was not working.
"Yes. He'll be in town next week for a few days, and he'll probably stop in while he's here. I'll ask if he'll have time."
"Where's he from?"
"China."
Maggie stared at him. "What's he doing here?" she asked. And why would he want to spend any time teaching me to work with this thing?
Her uncle grinned. "He's here for something called SM Town," he said.
"Wait. What?" Maggie said. She knew someone going to that, actually.
Marshal's grin widened. "I'll let you know, one way or another," he said, and left without explaining himself.
Maggie glanced at Tabitha and shook her head. "So... did that make any sense to you?"
Tabitha meowed. "Yeah," Maggie said. "Me either."
The bells on the door jingled, and Maggie pushed herself up from the mats to look toward the door, picking up her staff as she went. It was about the right time for her tutor - Marshal hadn't given her his name - to get here. She stared in disbelief at the two giants - no, really, they towered over her uncle - talking to Marshal. He gestured to them and led the way into the mats, and Maggie pulled herself together because they were gorgeous giants. This shouldn't be too hard, right? She'd faced pissed off werewolves and angry unicorns. Two hunks should be a piece of cake.
Right.
"Maggie," her uncle said, "This is Huang ZiTao, and this is Kris Wu. Tao, Kris, my niece, Maggie."
They both bowed to her and she bowed back, still trying to get over that one of these amazing-looking giants was going to teach her how to use her staff.
"It's nice to meet you," Kris said in flawless, unaccented English.
"Nice to meet you, too," Maggie said, somewhat surprised it came out without a stutter. On the benches, Tabitha sneezed her amusement.
"Is that your staff?" Tao asked, his English heavily accented.
"Yes," Maggie said, and handed it over when he held out his hand for it.
He looked it over, brow furrowed, long fingers grazing over the ends. "What kind is the wood?"
"Pine," Maggie said.
Tao looked at Kris. Kris interpreted, and Tao frowned at her. "Pine is not usual," he said.
"It was a gift," she said, and hoped he didn't ask who from. She didn't want either of these good-looking giants to think she was crazy. Explaining that a tree had given it to her to fight off her best friend's twin brother, who was a werewolf, made people step away from her in a hurry. Never mind that she didn't know if half of the concepts were even translatable into Chinese.
But he merely nodded. "Well made," he said, and handed it back. "What do you know?"
"Nothing," she said. "I have been trying, but no one here can teach me."
"Good. Basics, then."
She worked hard the next hour, getting stances and basic blows right. Once in a while, Tao consulted with Kris over a word he wanted to get across or understand what she'd said, and sometimes the two of them looked in the dictionary Kris had brought. She tried to soak up everything he taught, because there was no way she'd get another session like this before he had to go again. Her uncle had set up a video camera to tape it - after a very interesting discussion about Youtube - so she could review it later. She'd need to.
But finally he let her go and she sank down on the bleachers next to Kris. Something at his throat caught her eye, and she turned to look closer. From a thin chain hung a black and silver hexagon, and she thought she could make out an E and an X.... "That's pretty," she said.
He touched it, and then laughed. "Thank you. I forgot I wore it."
Tao flipped by and Maggie forgot about that, staring as he picked up his own staff and began to spin it. Her jaw dropped as he switched hands, the speed of the staff never changing, and then moved it around his body with an ease she envied. "I don't want to meet him in a dark alley," she said.
Kris smiled. "He's a big softy," he murmured. "Cries at the drop of a hat."
Maggie stared. "No."
"Yes. It can be funny."
Maggie grinned. "Is he dangerous when he gets mad?"
"No," Kris said, smiling. "Not at all."
Maggie decided he was much cuter when he smiled. Crap. "So, uh, how did you wind up here?" she asked, trying to hide the blush that crept up her neck. Hopefully he wouldn't notice; she was already red-faced from exertion.
"Here?"
"In my uncle's dojo," Maggie clarified. "Uncle Marshal said he was here for SM Town."
Kris laughed softly. "He asked around for a place to practice last year, and got a recommendation. It's a bit out of the way, which is all to the better. I'm here because he insisted I needed a break, and because he's self-conscious about his English, but it's still better than his Korean."
"Duizhang," Tao protested breathlessly, coming to a stop in front of them. Tabitha meowed, nudging her head under Maggie's hand. Maggie petted her automatically.
Kris smirked. "You might want to cool down. They should be here in about five minutes or so."
Still embarrassed, his cheeks pink from more than his exertions, Tao went to do that, but he stayed close so he could hear what they said.
"You're not from China," Maggie said, petting Tabitha absently.
Kris laughed. "You're right. I grew up near Vancouver, British Columbia. I was born in China, though."
"He's fluent in four languages," Tao said.
Maggie stared at Kris. "Wow."
The front door jangled merrily - incessantly - and Maggie turned to gape at four more good looking guys. Although none of them were quite as much giants as the two she talked to now, they were definitely taller than she was. They came in and looked around, interested in everything. One, at least, was pretty enough to be a girl, and they talked quickly among themselves in a language she didn't know and couldn't even place. Chinese? Maybe?
Kris sighed. "And so ends my peace," he said.
One of the newcomers approached her, said something to Kris, and then touched her hair, pulling a lock straight between his fingers. She could just see it out of the corner of her eye. "He wants to know what color your hair is," Kris said.
Maggie looked at him. "What? It's red."
"He thinks it's dyed."
Maggie looked at this new young man, who looked utterly serious. "I'm sorry," she said with a perfectly straight face even as Tabitha sneezed her amusement again. "It's naturally that color."
Whatever Kris said sparked a... discussion, she hoped, which drew in the others. Kris finally snapped something, and they all fell quiet. "Excuse us," he said to her, and chivied them all out, even Tao. Tao waved at her as they left, and she waved back, calling a thank you, and then they piled in the van and were gone.
Maggie shook her head and went to change to meet her friends for lunch, mind still reeling.
"How'd your lesson go?" Angela asked when Maggie sat down across from her.
Maggie laughed. "Really well, I think," she said. "But really confusing. It wasn't my uncle. It was this giant from China, and he wasn't big on compliments."
Tina, sitting next to Maggie, perked up. "A giant? From China?"
Maggie nodded and unwrapped her burger. "Yeah. He was amazing. And he brought a friend to translate, because he doesn't speak English that well."
"And his friend does."
"Yeah, he's from Canada. He was really patient - both of them, actually - and I learned a lot. I'm going to be sore tomorrow. My uncle taped the session for me, too, so I can see it again and make sure I learn it right." Tina glanced at her, her mouth full, but she looked like she wanted to say something. "Kris made him promise not to post it on Youtube, which I wouldn't have done anyway because I looked horrible."
"Really?" Angela asked. "Why?"
Maggie shrugged. "I don't know. It was really important to Kris, though. Uncle Marshal wouldn't tell me why, either. Oh, but I wish I could show you. Kris had the coolest necklace on."
Tina swallowed her bite with the help of her soda. "What was the name of the guy who taught you? You said quarter staff, right?"
"Or something like that, yeah. Tao. Why?"
Tina stared at her, then scrambled for her phone. "And this necklace," she said, fingers working her phone, "did it look like this?" She handed the phone to Maggie, who looked at the picture on the screen.
"Yeah! See?" She showed it to Angela.
"That is pretty," Angela said.
"You have no idea," Tina said breathlessly, eyes wide as she took the phone back. "NO IDEA who that was, do you?"
Maggie stared at her, amused and surprised. "Should I?"
"Well, probably not, but." Tina flailed, her arms flapping wildly. "You know the concert I'm going to tomorrow?"
"SM Town, whatever that is," Maggie and Angela chorused dryly, and laughed. "Actually, Uncle Marshal said Tao was here for it," Maggie added.
"Yeah," Tina said. "He's the reason I'm going. Well, him, and Kris, and the rest of them. They're performing." She lay her phone down in front of Maggie, the picture of Kris's necklace still on it. "EXO. Do you see it?"
"I wondered about the E and the X," Maggie mused. "Now I see the O, but I wouldn't have without knowing it was there.
"The name of the group. They're in the Mandarin half." Tina waved that comment away before Maggie could ask, and swiped the phone to change the picture. "Is that them?"
Maggie stared. "Y-yeah," she said, and looked at Tina. "All of them. They all came in and one of them wanted to know what color my hair was. He thought it was dyed." She pointed. "Him."
Tina laughed. "Lay. Maybe he'll be red next time," she said, and then sighed, collecting her phone again and pressing it to her chest. "You're so lucky. SO lucky! I'd give my teeth to get a lesson from Tao."
Maggie picked up her hamburger. "You'll have to tell me how they do," she said.
She wasn't expecting a call the night of the concert. "You're so lucky no one knows who you are," Tina said, nearly drowned out by the screams behind her. "Both Tao and Kris said hi to you."
Maggie laughed softly. "Thanks for the message," she said, hung up, and pretended to swoon onto her bed. Maybe she'd have to let Tina give her some of their songs, just because.
I'm sorry?
Rating: G
Pairing: None
Warning: None
Disclaimer: Not mine, not true. Maggie, Marshall, Tina, Angela, and Tabitha are MINE. Do not take.
Summary: Maggie is schooled in Aikido and needs help to learn the staff. Her uncle has a sort of an answer.
A/N: Meant to take place in the future, when Maggie moves back to California, and I figured EXO would get to California for years to come. I think she's about 16 or 17 here. PLEASE. Any form of concrit is welcome.
"I might know someone who can help you learn that," Marshal said.
Maggie turned to look at her uncle, startled, trying by reflex to hide the staff at her side. "Oh?" Not that she'd say no; learning to use the thing on her own was not working.
"Yes. He'll be in town next week for a few days, and he'll probably stop in while he's here. I'll ask if he'll have time."
"Where's he from?"
"China."
Maggie stared at him. "What's he doing here?" she asked. And why would he want to spend any time teaching me to work with this thing?
Her uncle grinned. "He's here for something called SM Town," he said.
"Wait. What?" Maggie said. She knew someone going to that, actually.
Marshal's grin widened. "I'll let you know, one way or another," he said, and left without explaining himself.
Maggie glanced at Tabitha and shook her head. "So... did that make any sense to you?"
Tabitha meowed. "Yeah," Maggie said. "Me either."
The bells on the door jingled, and Maggie pushed herself up from the mats to look toward the door, picking up her staff as she went. It was about the right time for her tutor - Marshal hadn't given her his name - to get here. She stared in disbelief at the two giants - no, really, they towered over her uncle - talking to Marshal. He gestured to them and led the way into the mats, and Maggie pulled herself together because they were gorgeous giants. This shouldn't be too hard, right? She'd faced pissed off werewolves and angry unicorns. Two hunks should be a piece of cake.
Right.
"Maggie," her uncle said, "This is Huang ZiTao, and this is Kris Wu. Tao, Kris, my niece, Maggie."
They both bowed to her and she bowed back, still trying to get over that one of these amazing-looking giants was going to teach her how to use her staff.
"It's nice to meet you," Kris said in flawless, unaccented English.
"Nice to meet you, too," Maggie said, somewhat surprised it came out without a stutter. On the benches, Tabitha sneezed her amusement.
"Is that your staff?" Tao asked, his English heavily accented.
"Yes," Maggie said, and handed it over when he held out his hand for it.
He looked it over, brow furrowed, long fingers grazing over the ends. "What kind is the wood?"
"Pine," Maggie said.
Tao looked at Kris. Kris interpreted, and Tao frowned at her. "Pine is not usual," he said.
"It was a gift," she said, and hoped he didn't ask who from. She didn't want either of these good-looking giants to think she was crazy. Explaining that a tree had given it to her to fight off her best friend's twin brother, who was a werewolf, made people step away from her in a hurry. Never mind that she didn't know if half of the concepts were even translatable into Chinese.
But he merely nodded. "Well made," he said, and handed it back. "What do you know?"
"Nothing," she said. "I have been trying, but no one here can teach me."
"Good. Basics, then."
She worked hard the next hour, getting stances and basic blows right. Once in a while, Tao consulted with Kris over a word he wanted to get across or understand what she'd said, and sometimes the two of them looked in the dictionary Kris had brought. She tried to soak up everything he taught, because there was no way she'd get another session like this before he had to go again. Her uncle had set up a video camera to tape it - after a very interesting discussion about Youtube - so she could review it later. She'd need to.
But finally he let her go and she sank down on the bleachers next to Kris. Something at his throat caught her eye, and she turned to look closer. From a thin chain hung a black and silver hexagon, and she thought she could make out an E and an X.... "That's pretty," she said.
He touched it, and then laughed. "Thank you. I forgot I wore it."
Tao flipped by and Maggie forgot about that, staring as he picked up his own staff and began to spin it. Her jaw dropped as he switched hands, the speed of the staff never changing, and then moved it around his body with an ease she envied. "I don't want to meet him in a dark alley," she said.
Kris smiled. "He's a big softy," he murmured. "Cries at the drop of a hat."
Maggie stared. "No."
"Yes. It can be funny."
Maggie grinned. "Is he dangerous when he gets mad?"
"No," Kris said, smiling. "Not at all."
Maggie decided he was much cuter when he smiled. Crap. "So, uh, how did you wind up here?" she asked, trying to hide the blush that crept up her neck. Hopefully he wouldn't notice; she was already red-faced from exertion.
"Here?"
"In my uncle's dojo," Maggie clarified. "Uncle Marshal said he was here for SM Town."
Kris laughed softly. "He asked around for a place to practice last year, and got a recommendation. It's a bit out of the way, which is all to the better. I'm here because he insisted I needed a break, and because he's self-conscious about his English, but it's still better than his Korean."
"Duizhang," Tao protested breathlessly, coming to a stop in front of them. Tabitha meowed, nudging her head under Maggie's hand. Maggie petted her automatically.
Kris smirked. "You might want to cool down. They should be here in about five minutes or so."
Still embarrassed, his cheeks pink from more than his exertions, Tao went to do that, but he stayed close so he could hear what they said.
"You're not from China," Maggie said, petting Tabitha absently.
Kris laughed. "You're right. I grew up near Vancouver, British Columbia. I was born in China, though."
"He's fluent in four languages," Tao said.
Maggie stared at Kris. "Wow."
The front door jangled merrily - incessantly - and Maggie turned to gape at four more good looking guys. Although none of them were quite as much giants as the two she talked to now, they were definitely taller than she was. They came in and looked around, interested in everything. One, at least, was pretty enough to be a girl, and they talked quickly among themselves in a language she didn't know and couldn't even place. Chinese? Maybe?
Kris sighed. "And so ends my peace," he said.
One of the newcomers approached her, said something to Kris, and then touched her hair, pulling a lock straight between his fingers. She could just see it out of the corner of her eye. "He wants to know what color your hair is," Kris said.
Maggie looked at him. "What? It's red."
"He thinks it's dyed."
Maggie looked at this new young man, who looked utterly serious. "I'm sorry," she said with a perfectly straight face even as Tabitha sneezed her amusement again. "It's naturally that color."
Whatever Kris said sparked a... discussion, she hoped, which drew in the others. Kris finally snapped something, and they all fell quiet. "Excuse us," he said to her, and chivied them all out, even Tao. Tao waved at her as they left, and she waved back, calling a thank you, and then they piled in the van and were gone.
Maggie shook her head and went to change to meet her friends for lunch, mind still reeling.
"How'd your lesson go?" Angela asked when Maggie sat down across from her.
Maggie laughed. "Really well, I think," she said. "But really confusing. It wasn't my uncle. It was this giant from China, and he wasn't big on compliments."
Tina, sitting next to Maggie, perked up. "A giant? From China?"
Maggie nodded and unwrapped her burger. "Yeah. He was amazing. And he brought a friend to translate, because he doesn't speak English that well."
"And his friend does."
"Yeah, he's from Canada. He was really patient - both of them, actually - and I learned a lot. I'm going to be sore tomorrow. My uncle taped the session for me, too, so I can see it again and make sure I learn it right." Tina glanced at her, her mouth full, but she looked like she wanted to say something. "Kris made him promise not to post it on Youtube, which I wouldn't have done anyway because I looked horrible."
"Really?" Angela asked. "Why?"
Maggie shrugged. "I don't know. It was really important to Kris, though. Uncle Marshal wouldn't tell me why, either. Oh, but I wish I could show you. Kris had the coolest necklace on."
Tina swallowed her bite with the help of her soda. "What was the name of the guy who taught you? You said quarter staff, right?"
"Or something like that, yeah. Tao. Why?"
Tina stared at her, then scrambled for her phone. "And this necklace," she said, fingers working her phone, "did it look like this?" She handed the phone to Maggie, who looked at the picture on the screen.
"Yeah! See?" She showed it to Angela.
"That is pretty," Angela said.
"You have no idea," Tina said breathlessly, eyes wide as she took the phone back. "NO IDEA who that was, do you?"
Maggie stared at her, amused and surprised. "Should I?"
"Well, probably not, but." Tina flailed, her arms flapping wildly. "You know the concert I'm going to tomorrow?"
"SM Town, whatever that is," Maggie and Angela chorused dryly, and laughed. "Actually, Uncle Marshal said Tao was here for it," Maggie added.
"Yeah," Tina said. "He's the reason I'm going. Well, him, and Kris, and the rest of them. They're performing." She lay her phone down in front of Maggie, the picture of Kris's necklace still on it. "EXO. Do you see it?"
"I wondered about the E and the X," Maggie mused. "Now I see the O, but I wouldn't have without knowing it was there.
"The name of the group. They're in the Mandarin half." Tina waved that comment away before Maggie could ask, and swiped the phone to change the picture. "Is that them?"
Maggie stared. "Y-yeah," she said, and looked at Tina. "All of them. They all came in and one of them wanted to know what color my hair was. He thought it was dyed." She pointed. "Him."
Tina laughed. "Lay. Maybe he'll be red next time," she said, and then sighed, collecting her phone again and pressing it to her chest. "You're so lucky. SO lucky! I'd give my teeth to get a lesson from Tao."
Maggie picked up her hamburger. "You'll have to tell me how they do," she said.
She wasn't expecting a call the night of the concert. "You're so lucky no one knows who you are," Tina said, nearly drowned out by the screams behind her. "Both Tao and Kris said hi to you."
Maggie laughed softly. "Thanks for the message," she said, hung up, and pretended to swoon onto her bed. Maybe she'd have to let Tina give her some of their songs, just because.
I'm sorry?