Gold, love and mint tea (Yuzuru Hanyu )

58 - Pride

After having a quiet lunch with Chris, that we brought back to her room, I go back to mine for a change of clothes and a relaxing bath. I soak in the heated water for what feels like an eternity, breathing in the aromas of the soap I used to make bubbles and feeling the water hug every inch of my skin, soothing my tired muscles. I reluctantly climb out of the bath once my skin turns pruny and the water cools down, turning murky from the dissolved bubbles. I quickly shower off before inwardly groaning as I realize I am once again going to run late if I don't move my ass.

I quickly get dressed in some comfy clothes, unwrapping the damp towel from my head and letting my hair air dry for a bit as I spend a few minutes applying serums and moisturizer on my face in the hopes of preventing the many breakouts that would inevitably happen after wearing as much makeup as I tend to at competitions. When I deem my hair completely dry, after going at it with the shitty blow drier that I found in the bathroom for twenty minutes, I pull it back into a sleek low ponytail, pulling out two strands at the front to frame my face.  

I'm rummaging through the mess on my floor, trying to find my black converse when I hear a knock on my door. I wince in apprehension before daring to open it, not bothering to look through the peephole at this point because I have to face the music at some point anywa- Nathan? Oh good it's just Nathan.

He waves awkwardly as I stare at him with a confused frown "Hey..."

"Hey, shouldn't you be at your practice session already?" I ask, still dumbstruck by his presence because I could not recall telling anyone but Yuzuru where my room was.

"No, I still have a bit of time to kill!" he smiles, fidgeting with the strap of his duffle bag which must contain his skates since he was dressed in his usual skating attire: a random Nike long-sleeved t-shirt with his team jacket over it and black Nike sweatpants. He clears his throat, not unaware of the fact that I just looked him up and down, gawking at him like I didn't believe he was real so he finally offers me an explanation for his presence here "I wanted to come see how you were doing, Chris told me you were here..."

"Well come in then..." I smile tentatively, stepping aside to let him pass, closing the door behind him before shaking off my confusion and going back to the mess that was my floor, still searching for my shoes "I wouldn't mind knowing what the hell happened yesterday night! I don't even remember falling asleep!"

He laughs, dropping his bag on the floor before going to sit on the edge of my still unmade bed. I narrow my eyes at him, unsure about what was so funny to him so I slap his arm playfully, prompting him to go on "You literally fell asleep when we were talking on the bathroom floor, started drooling on my shoulder. I just carried you to the bed and made sure you were alive and breathing before I left."

"Oh, thanks for that... And for the record I do not drool..." I mumble shyly, happy to have that moment clarified "Was there something you needed?"

"Not really, just checking up on you..." he shrugs, starting to fold the mountain of hoodies that I had thrown on the bed "How was your practice this morning?"

"Mmm it was fine... Didn't really do much except map out my routine... I can't exactly do much of anything else!" I exclaim, letting out a relieved sigh when I finally spot my shoes under the bed "Speaking off, I need to get to my doctor's appointment soon, so I guess we can walk over to the rink together..."

"Cool... Sounds good..." he gives me a tight lipped smile and we start at each other awkwardly before both jumping in to say something "Okay listen I'm so-"

"Nate, about last night-"

"Sorry... You go first!" he chuckles nervously, raising his arms in mock surrender.