nevertheless || yuzuru hanyu

thirteen - when spring comes during winter

In his room, Yuzuru was pacing around in excitement. He had prepared everything for his practice the night before. All he was waiting for was the people whom he would ride with to the training center.

He woke up relatively early in a great mood. He went down for breakfast and enjoyed a regular sized coffee. He was happy, lip-syncing to songs he was listening to on one of his favorite earphones.

After having breakfast, he waited for a few more minutes until his ride arrived. Soon, he was at the training center, determined to have a great practice.

Beginning with body warm-ups and for some reason, a lot of lip-syncing, Yuzuru conditioned himself for the entirety of his practice. He always wants to do well, but even more so today.

Gabriella still hasn't texted him, but he trusted her, he knew she would come because she said so. How exactly and when? He didn't know. All he knew was that he really wanted to look good in her eyes. There were no words to describe the reason to why he wanted her attention, but he just did.

Even just when she looks at him, he feels as if he was given the kindest and most genuine compliment. When she talks to him, he feels as though he was in a bed of roses. For the small moments he was with her, he felt warm and comfortable. Though winter is awake, whenever he's with her he feels the mixture of spring and autumn.

According to order, Yuzuru would be the last one to go, which meant that he is currently waiting for his turn. He was sitting on the chairs close to the sidelines of the rink as his phone chimed upon receiving a message from an unknown number.

"Morning! This is Gabriella hehe" Yuzuru read as he opened the message on his phone. A smile appeared on his face as a reflex. One which he noticed and tried so hard to disregard. Either way, he felt his day become so much better just by receiving a text from her.

"Good morning!" Yuzuru happily typed a response.

Upon the message being sent, Gabriella was not able to answer immediately which made Yuzuru consicous and nervous for a few seconds, however, after his short moment of anxiousness, his phone chimed once more.

"Apologies for not being able to message earlier, I had to talk to my coach a while ago, and yesterday, my phone was really going through a hard time." She replied.

"But I'm texting you to say that I'm free for the rest of the day. However, I don't know what training center I'm supposed to go to, so I guess I'm asking you for the name of the place..." Another message from her followed.

As he read the messages, he was filled with much joy to know that she could come see him. Without much thought, he sent her the name of the skating center he was in and told her to just call him when she arrives.

"Ah, this is very close by actually. I'll be there in a few minutes. See you soon..." She messaged back after she was given the information.

Once more, a smile crept out of Yuzuru's teeth, and upon realizing that, he paused for a moment, studying himself, "What is going on with me? What is this?" He shyly muttered.

With a slight feeling of embarrassment, he put his phone down, just allowing the music from his earphones to continue playing. He took out his skates and prepared them for when its already his turn to practice. While waiting, he just watched as other athletes practiced their jumps and routines. In his eyes, everyone was having a great practice. He was never one to discredit the artistry of those who practice and perform before him. To him, more than figure skating being competitive its also personal, something that you put your whole self into. Therefore, by discrediting another skater's artistry in skating, you also discredit their person and their story. That was against his principles, more than that, to him its a lack of sportsmanship. That's why he always treated everyone's skate routines with respect and admiration. After all, every skate, jump, and routine, whether one may be easier than the other, all of it takes effort.

While silently watching as other skaters graced the rink, Yuzuru would look at his phone every once in a while waiting for Gabriella to call him or send him a message, however, there was none. It even came to a point wherein it was already his turn to practice which would mean he had to leave his phone in his bag for a few minutes. He was a little hesistant to leave his phone, but then again what could he do? He needed to practice, so he ended up leaving his phone and elegantly conditioning his routine.

For about ten minutes that he skated, he wondered if Gabriella sent him a message or even tried to call him. He was lucky that despite him having his head elsewhere, he was still able to skate well. More minutes passed and he was immersed deeper into the skating, the wonder of whether or not his phone had chimed seemed to have left his mind. Finally, Ten minutes before Yuzuru's practice ended, Gabriella finally arrived.

Upon her first glance of the rink, she caught sight of Yuzuru skating to Notte Stellata. For a moment, she questioned whether she was watching someone skate, or if she was watching living art, maybe even both. The way he moved was captivating, it was warm and emotional. He melted with the music. Definitely, he was the subject of the art. No. Not even that... he was the art.

It was not Gabriella's first time watching someone skate, but the way Yuzuru skated made her see the colorful aura of passion. It was unexplainable, he was something else.

By the time the music ended, Gabriella subconsciously applauded, being echoed by the other skaters who were also extremely touched by Yuzuru's performance. Her applause did not go unnoticed, as Yuzuru's melted expression turned into bright welcome. "Hi!" He mouthed with a smile as he was trying to catch his breath. In response, Gabriella lightly waved her hand and returned the smile. It was an exceeding interaction on Gabriella's part but for Yuzuru, it was something more.

Seeing her watching him intently in his moment of both vulnerability and strength awakened something in him. Perhaps a new season, or feeling. His emotions were as open and bright as the notte stellata. His mundane night was filled with stars of different shapes and forms; Some we exploding in heat and some were on their positions just brightly spectating. It was unexplainable and it remained as a vivid image in his mind.

"Is this what it feels like?" He internally questioned himself.

As he walked over to the volunteers to have a change of song, his mind was elsewhere. The image of the bright stars remained etched in his vision. There was even a voice. Maybe even a feeling; it was tugging on his heart. It was exuding more heat than all the other stars.

Until finally, he seemed to have come to a realization. The feeling was fleeting, but it was an honest internal battle.

"Haru yo koi." He uttered. With both the risks and truthful passion, he knew that the song perfectly conveyed what he was feeling and searching for.