Noah (ex_army_of_o387) wrote in oblivionrp, @ 2009-01-08 08:35:00 |
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Entry tags: | leto, leto and noah, noah |
Swimming!
Who: Noah, Leto and Levon
Where: H Deck by the pool
When: Late afternoon
Noah finished unpacking and decided to head to the pool. He donned a pair of black board shorts and a white T-shirt that stretched over his arms and chest. He grabbed his room key and took the elevator to the H Deck to one of two pools.
It seemed odd that no one was there. Noah shrugged to himself and stripped off his shirt, throwing it onto a nearby lounge chair. He dove smoothly in the water, enjoying the feel of the cool water. He swam a couple of laps before pulling himself out of the water to sit on the side with his legs dangling into the water.
As the afternoon went on, Levon had spotted the pools and started getting antsy to go swimming. Really, that was kind of the last thing Leto wanted to do before the dinner tonight, but she decided to just give in and live a little. She dressed him in his swimgear, water wings, and carried a long a tot-sized inner tube before heading to one of the pools on H Deck. The upper level pools had a lot more people splashing about, and Leto didn't want her son in the water with a crowd of people. So she was overprotective. Sue her.
As soon as they entered the room Levon started squirming in her arms to get to the water. "Swimming!"
"Yes, yes, swimming. Be patient, love." Leto murmured, oblivious to the other person in the room at first. She was too busy putting her son in the tube - then she noticed they weren't alone. "Oh." she said. "Sorry, will we bother you?"
Truthfully Noah was glad to have some company. He didn't share that thought with the woman, instead he smiled. "No not at all." He turned his gaze to the little boy squirming. "Hey little man!"
As soon as Leto let go of Levon, he took off running (well, legs secured in the tube it was more like waddling) towards the pool and with complete disregard to his mother's heart, jumped right in. He didn't go under, but it was still a bigger fright than she needed after such a busy day. "That boy has no fear." she sighed, slipping out of her flip flops as she calmly headed over to the side of the pool. "No running around the pool, Levon! You'll hurt yourself and Mommy will have a heart attack."
Noah had to laugh at her exasperated sigh. "Boys will be boys, eh?" He watched Levon splashing about. "I'm Noah," he said, smiling warmly. "Levon is quite the interesting name...I've not heard that before," Noah mused, looking at the woman thoughtfully.
"Leto," she introduced herself, returning the smile. "I named him after an Elton John song. He's probably gonna hate me for it in ten years." She knew what that was like, she'd always sworn up and down she'd give her kids normal names, for the events of his birth to just blow all the plans out of the water. Oh well. She took off her coverup and slipped into the water, her attention equally divided between her son and Noah. Levon couldn't be happier, swimming back and forth as fast as his little arms and legs would take him. Which, for the record, was not terribly fast.
For his part, Noah only had eyes for Leto. To say she was beautiful would have been an understatement. "I'll be impressed if in ten years he knows who Elton John even is," Noah grinned.
Noah slipped into the water and sneaked up behind Levon. He tickled Levon's bare foot under the water and then ducked under the water when Levon spun around trying to see who was messing with him. Noah came up the other side, laughing.
Leto kept a protective eye on her son, her mother-gene wanting to be wary of him playing with any strange adult man, no matter how kind he seemed to be. But she smiled warmly as Levon squealed with laughter and started splashing up a storm. "He'll know." she confirmed. "I'll make sure of it."
Listening to Levon's squeals brought back flashes of other children's squeals. Voices Noah wished he could forget but knew he never would. Noah closed his eyes against the noise in his head, trying to force away the memories that threatened to spill out.
He opened his eyes and focused on Leto. She was watching her son, so protective, so nurturing. It brought a small smile to his face to see the love between them. "How old is he?"
"He just turned three yesterday." Leto answered with a smile. "He's having a big week. I hope he doesn't expect this kind of treatment every year, I might have just shot myself in the foot."
Noah laughed, "You've done it now. Mom of the year!"
"So I take it this is your first cruise?" The darkness was neatly filed away in it's drawer, not to come out for a while.
Leto grinned brightly, but she had to wonder how much of this Levon would actually remember when he grew up. She knew she wouldn't actually be getting best mom ever rights until she finally took the kid to Disney World - something he'd been talking about for as long as he'd been able to talk. "Yup, first timer. How about you?"
Noah nodded affirmatively. "For me as well. I've always wanted to go on a cruise." He watched Levon as he swam around the pool. "He is definitely a ball of energy, isn't he?"
"Always." Leto confirmed. She was hoping he'd tire himself out by dinner - she hadn't been able to get him to take a nap today, so she gave it another hour or two before he finally pooped out. The ship offered daycare and baby-sitters in the family room, so she'd have to trust him with them this evening - an idea that still gave her a little anxiety. "He keeps me busy. Do you have any kids?"
"Nope, no kids," Noah said. "I just got out of the Army - been in since right before 9/11." A shadow crossed over his face as the drawer full of memories started shaking loose. He mentally shoved it closed again, but knowing it was only a temporary fix. "What do you do other than be a great mom?"
"Wow. I guess you're twice as happy to be here as I am," Leto said softly. She didn't ask if he had been stationed in Iraq, she knew the situation and that odds were good he'd seen a lot of shit he wished he hadn't - eight years worth, by the sound of it. Poor guy. "I'm a nurse at a children's hospital in Philadelphia. What do you think you'll do when you settle back home?"
Noah studied her. "Children, huh? I bet you're really good at what you do." He thought about the answer to her second question. "I'm not too sure right now. I was a kid when I enlisted, hadn't really given much thought to my future. But now..." he let the sentence trail off. "I am just happy to be alive and back in the States and that's all I can ask for now. The future will work itself out."
Again, he trained his blue eyes on her. "Is Levon's father here with you on the cruise?"
Leto wondered if perhaps she shouldn't have asked. She couldn't imagine coming back to your life with most of your younger years spent towards a war. She'd read an article about how tough it was for vets to come home right now. Pick better subjects. she reminded herself.
And then he asked the daddy question. Ack. "Ah, no." she said, smiling awkwardly. "He's not in the picture at all."
Even though his heart gave a little jump at that information, Noah said sympathetically, "That must be really tough on you." He figured she probably didn't want to talk about it, so he searched for a different topic of conversation.
"So do you have a theme room, or was I just the chosen one on this tip to get the theme room?" He smiled, hoping to lighten the mood a bit.
"My family is really supportive." Leto replied, shrugging it off. "My brother is here with us." But she happily let the subject change. "Do I ever. We have the Enchanted Forest. The bed looks like it's carved right out of a tree. You think he looks excited now?" she asked, nodding her head at her son. "It was insane. What did you get?"
"That's great that you have such a supportive family." Noah sighed. "I don't know what I would have done without my family."
Changing the subject, he answered, "My room is total zen and relaxation. There was a little postcard that said something about Epione? Other than the brief description that it gave, I'm still not sure what that has to do with zen." Noah grinned, "I guess I should have brushed up on my Greek mythology before coming aboard."
"Ah, lucky you - my mom is half Greek." Leto said. "Epione was a deified mortal, and the goddess of soothing pain. Her husband was the god of healing." It felt to Leto like a very appropriate room for a war vet. Poor guy.
Noah ducked his head. "I guess it fits, huh?" It was a soothing room, he supposed.
"I can imagine that you'll be redecorating Levon's room when you get home," he laughed. "You'll have to recreate the Enchanted Forest. He'll be the envy of all the three year olds!"
Jeez, poor guy. Leto half wondered if she shouldn't have told him. "Oh no, I do have some lines. He's already a pretty spoiled little boy." she said, smirking slightly at her son. Levon looked oblivious to the comment, as he continued splashing around.
He had the sudden urge to grab her by the arms and make her understand how important it is that she continue to spoil him, to love him, to protect him - that life is short and bad things happen. He held himself back though, not wanting to ruin the light mood - or frighten her.
"As long as he's happy, that's all that matters," Noah commented. That was his parents way of raising him and it seemed to have worked pretty well.
"Not to be forward, but would you like to sit with me at the Captain's dinner tonight? You're the first person I've met here and it'd be nice to see a familiar face." Noah looked into her blue eyes, his own blue eyes light with hope.
Well. That was interesting. Leto immediately had to wonder if that was... asking her out. She wasn't sure she even remembered how to spot that, or respond to it. She'd been in mommy-mode for too long. "Sure," she answered easily. "Levon will be with a baby-sitter, and I don't know what my brother's plans are yet, but I'll definitely be there."
Noah let out a whoosh of breath in relief. He smiled happily. "It's a date then." He paused and quickly backtracked, not wanting her to scare her off. "Or not a date...just two people getting to know each other better." He stopped himself before he completely embarrassed himself.
Leto was relieved when he corrected himself, not needing to think about the complications of a date. The thought made her head spin. "Sounds like a plan." she agreed, smiling easily, before looking down at Levon. "Are you getting tired yet?" Levon pouted up at her in response, but she could tell he was starting to wind down.
Noah grinned at his pout. He headed to the side of the pool and pulled himself out of the water. He again sat on the edge of the pool, his feet dangling in the water. He absently rubbed his knee. "I need to head in soon as well. Do you need any help carrying stuff back to your room?" He stood up and grabbed his towel, rubbing at his chest and hair with it, trying to dry off as much as possible.
He was pretty, she'd give him that much. Almost distractingly so, and Leto had considered herself off the market ever since she got pregnant. "Nope, thanks. I'm a mom, I'm an expert carrier. I'll see you tonight."
Giving her one last burning look, he smiled and said his goodbyes. "Bye Levon!" he waved at the little boy, feeling slightly out of his element. "See you later, Leto." With that he strolled out of the room, a small smile lingering on his face.