Wings of Change | Yuzuru Hanyu

37.

In the morning Joan finished packing everything and cleaning the apartment.

Saying her final goodbyes, she was ready to go to the airport.

With earphones in her ears, she boarded the plane for the long flight. Her phone buzzed.

'Have a nice flight. See you soon'

A smile was placed on her face, Joan knew he couldn't come and get her from the airport, no matter how much he wanted. It was fine, her Japanese was decent enough to get around and find her way to him.

The flight gave her an opportunity to catch up on the recommended literature that one of the tutors had sent her the week prior. So far everyone had been very welcoming, she even had personal phone numbers for most of them.

Joan had been thinking a lot about her thesis, she could easily make a generic sports thesis but having the advantage of knowing Figure skating so well made it a very enticing major theme. Hopefully, the tutors would agree.

Time flew faster than expected and soon enough the plane had landed.
She quickly texted Yuzu that she arrived while waiting for her bags.

Carrying 3 big bags through the Airport was a nightmare, but one she was quite used to. The place was almost empty, there weren't many flights entering or leaving the country.

In the arrivals section, she spotted a figure dressed in all black tracksuit. Even with a mask and hat, she would recognize him anywhere. Her eyes widened and she let out an inhumane screech.

The figure approached her quickly with a smile visible in his eyes as she processed everything. He hugged her tightly as soon as her body was close enough.

"Are you crazy?" she asked, not believing her eyes.

"For you" he replied, earning a big eye roll from the girl.

"What if you're recognized, silly?"

"You can barely see my face" he gestured towards his outfit.

"I recognized you right away"

"The airport is almost empty. Stop worrying. How about I take you home?"

"You? Or the taxi?" she joked.

"Very funny, but that one will backfire. Cause I'm driving"

"You what? Do you even have a license?"

"I do, I just don't use it outside of Japan"

"You know, some days I just have this feeling that I barely know you"

"You know me better than most, you just missed a few years."

They entered Yuzuru's car, a very lowkey Honda. A j-rock track filled their ears while resting in peaceful silence, just enjoying each other's company after so long.

"Is there anything you want us to buy before we're locked for a whole week?" he asked while placing his hand softly on her thigh.

"I'm guessing you have enough food for us to survive the week?"

"Yes"

"Then we should be fine"

"I don't have snacks"

"Are you looking for an excuse to buy candy?"

"Don't judge, I've been very strict with my diet lately"

"I won't, we can buy whatever you want Zu"

They stopped by a store and Yuzu got out of the car, waiting for her to do the same.

"What? I'm supposed to be quarantined, I can't just go to the store"

"You're on recommended quarantine, not mandatory. We'll be quick"

It was irresponsible, but she couldn't say no to him.

Entering the store, they picked up a nice variety of snacks, almost immediately agreeing on a movie night later. Joan was always amazed by the amount of snack diversity in Japan, there were so many unique flavors.

" I forgot to buy you a toothbrush, let's get that too"

"Now that you mention that, I probably need some stuff. I don't even have shampoo" She laughed at the realization and they separated to get what was missing.

Getting all she needed, she found Yuzuru staring at a shelf of a variety of different condoms.

"Do you need help choosing or something?" she asked, startling the Japanese who clearly wasn't expecting her to be done so soon. Red showed on his cheeks, nicely hidden by the mask on his face.

"I'm not assuming... You know... But it's been a while, I don't have anything at home"

She laughed and hugged him from behind, trying to show him a bit of affection. "Get a few, just in case"

His eyes widened even more, but he recovered fairly quickly.

"Do you want anything in particular?" He asked with shyness.

"No Zu, they all serve the same purpose. I don't remember you so nervous about these things."

"Overthinking I guess"

"Hum" Joan stared at the same aisle and found some massage gels, quickly picking up one and placing it on Yuzuru's hand. "We're taking this too, hurry up with that" she said pointing at the shelf he was staring at moments before. "I'm getting some drinks".

The Japanese didn't even know how to react, quickly grabbing a few packages and placing them on the small cart.

After a debate on who was paying for the stuff, they eventually found themselves back in the car, this time heading home.

The trip took less than 5 minutes. Soon enough they were pulling up to a small modern-looking house, beautifully landscaped in a Japanese-style garden. It was clearly a very quiet and peaceful neighborhood.

Right across the street, the famous Sendai ice rink filled Joan's view.

"You always loved living in front of ice rinks" she told him, reminiscing of his Toronto house, right in front of the TCC.

"It's just nice that I don't have to worry too much about getting there"

They carried everything to the house.
Inside, she found a very neat interior, simply furnished without a lot of decorations. She loved everything already.

"Hum, Let me show you around" he said as he placed her bags in the hallway. "It's not that big, you know how Japanese homes are."

"I love it, I really do" Joan interrupted him.

Yuzu showed her the different divisions of the house. She was surprised to find a small improvised gym room with a weight rack and a few other equipment. "It used to be an office, but I figured I wouldn't need it so I converted it. It was my salvation when everything closed"

"It's so cool"

"And here are the bedrooms, this one is yours" he told her, opening the door.

"Yuzu...Are you really giving me a separate room?"

"Just in case. I told you I don't expect us to share a bed... You have a lot of closet space here and the private bathroom has some cabinets too, but I have some space in my room too if you need"

"I don't feel like unpacking right now. How about we cook some dinner and see that movie like we planned?"

Yuzuru laughed at her antics, grabbing her close and capturing her lips sweetly for the first time since they said goodbye in Torino.

"I missed this"