And There Was Only One (Yuzuru Hanyu)

III There was only one staff member

"But you trained with him." Miwa argued, putting a pumpkin seed in her mouth, careful not to drop the shell on the seat of her cousin's car.

"I trained on the same ice as him when we were kids. Him and I weren't that different back then." Hiroshi frowned, glaring at her from the side, "Don't litter my-"

"I'm not!"

"You are! You're a literal pig, it's all falling on my seat! This car-"

"I'm not!"

"Fine"

"But still..."

"I have no idea what he's like right now, or why he would be yelling." He shrugged, like her concern wasn't that supported.

*

He walked in that day a mess.

This year's first typhoon decided to show up early. Not all sakura petals had fallen yet, and it was already time for trench coats and sturdy umbrellas. Miwa wasn't a fan, and by the look on Hanyu's face, neither was he.

"It's so humid" he puffed, shaking the umbrella and his head. Bangs sticking to his forehead and chest heaving – he seemed positively flustered.

"Oh" his eyes laid upon her, circling about in confusion.

Hair stuck to his forehead, mask exposing his hard breathing, hand fumbling with earphones – he seemed even more flustered.

"Hanyu-san?" she greeted him, proud of herself for keeping eye-contact. Over the past two weeks she patted herself on the back for getting better at being even with him in social interactions.

"Ito-san" he mumbled, his eyes still unfocused, the words a mare expression.

All that effort for nothing, his wandering look was confusing her, making her blush all over again when she thought she was getting better at it.

"It's... Horrible out..." she commented, for lack of a better small-talk topic.

"Huh" he agreed, finally moving forward, approaching. Look now focused somewhere to her left, he moved rather carefully compared to his normal stride.

She wished to ask what was all of that about, but she didn't dare cross the casual-chat vibes she had with him.

"Did that hurt?" finally, he asked, touching his own ear for reference. Then he smiled. A small, reserved thing, eyes eventually landing heavily on hers.

Miwa blinked, her face hurt from the blush more than all her piercings ever did. Stupidly, she shook her head no, incapable of letting his interest leave her eyes.

"Eh... is that so?" Hanyu spoke in wonder, pouting along. It was the first time he was that casual around her – aloof smile and sparkling eyes. "I'm kind of scared of needles." he admitted, his shoulders pulling upwards, expressing dislike.

"Me too."

"Eh? How did you get... Three, Four.... Six piercings?"

Miwa watched him carefully, her heartbeat slowing down. There was no danger when speaking to him, no danger of judgement. His eyes and mouth were all child-like wonder.

"You can't see the needle." She pointed at her ear.

Hanyu's eyes went wide, "I see!"

Miwa smiled and he grinned, her explanation nothing but ridiculous to both of them.

"They're very beautiful by the way." he added, smiling.

"Thank you" Miwa smiled back, more thankful for the humidity making her put her hair up than anything.