Wings of Change | Yuzuru Hanyu

39.

The whole week was spent pretty much how it started. Cook, cuddles and sex. They pretty much did it everywhere around the house, looking like two teenagers who just fell in love.

The house was constantly filled with their giggles, and silly jokes keeping the boredom at bay.

When the week was done though, they were both relieved. Not that they hadn't loved the moments alone, but you always want to leave the house when you're not supposed to. That and Yuzuru was missing the ice.

On the very last day of their quarantine, Yuzuru spoke about skating the whole day. Casually suggested attending his late-night ice booking since "it was pretty much late enough to be the next day".

"You can go, I don't mind"

"I want you to come" he said with a pout. "You brought your skates?"

"I did, but I haven't been on the ice in a very very long time"

"It's like riding a bike"

"We both know that's not true. I don't want to bother your practice sessions"

"I used to bother your night sessions often, it's only fair. And you motivate me, I have a feeling my quad axel training will be better with you there"

"No no no, I flinch in pain every time I see you try it"

Yuzuru ended up successfully dragging her out to the rink, the familiarity of the cold air hitting her immediately, she loved it.

Entering the ice was too easy, she always thought it would be harder to come back but after so many years living on the cold surface, it was like second nature.

It became a custom of them, Joan came back from the University and joined him at the rink.
Like most of the things they had been doing together, being on the ice was easy, in harmony. They rarely talked or interrupted each other, minding their own business and enjoying the ice.

On one particular occasion, Yuzuru was stunned to see the girl attempting small waltz jumps, she hadn't tried jumps at all during her time in Sendai.

From there on out, he saw her growing bolder each session, singles were too easy for Joan. Her axel had an incredible height, making her single attempts beautifully delayed like he loved to do. It was clear to him that her jumps could come back naturally if she worked on them, but he knew that there was no need to pressure her, just allowing things to come naturally if she wanted them to.

Their home life was peaceful, nothing like the previous attempt when things went south. The couple clearly understood the differences they had and did their very best to keep it peaceful.

Every couple fought, and they had a fair share of disagreements, but it was always something fixable with words and Yuzuru loved the makeup sex, it was always intense because of their stubborn personalities and competitiveness.

Joan's academic studies were going really well, the tutors had approved her thesis subject: Injury prevention and treatment in figure skating, jumping technique, and body development.

Interestingly enough, Joan used part of Yuzuru's research on his Waseda thesis to come up with the best techniques for injury prevention. The whole prospect of doing work on correct technique made her sessions on the ice have more and more purpose. She saw this as an opportunity to study her own jumps and make them even better than they were.

Realistically, she wasn't expecting to jump quads at the age of 26 after being off the ice for so long, but the way her triples had started getting so consistent gave her hope. Not that it mattered that much, she just felt like proving that her jump quality in competitions wasn't just due to being in a developing body and underweight.

At the same time, she watched Yuzuru in his mindless quest for that one jump that was a childhood dream and wanted to help him as much as possible.

She spent nights awake looking at the literature and seeing what was missing in his body, she was fairly sure it was possible from his attempts but something always lacking, rotation speed or jump height. Joan knew that he would be able to land the missing rotation if he changed his takeoff with a slight squid, but that would be compromising to the flawless technique he developed over the years. He would either jump it textbook or not jump it at all, it was the Yuzuru way.

When competitions came back, she saw the scores that they were giving him and the frustration in his eyes. Joan knew the end of his competitive career was coming. "I will land the axel at the Olympics and it's done for me" he told her after the 2021 world championships.

He injured himself again months before the Olympics, the same ankle once again. It wasn't about correcting technique anymore, it was his desperation to get the jump, no matter the cost.

Joan knew how consumed he was by the whole idea, but always supported him nonetheless, it was useless to fight once he made up his mind. It was hurting both his body and heart, she knew it. The pressure from the federation didn't seem to exist with any other skater, the way the rules were casually being changed towards a Technical Focus, making artistry slowly but surely dying. It was almost as if they wanted him to retire.

It pained her, truly did. But she knew the man like no other, and once he decided to leave, they would suffer for sure.

Joan just hoped his heart survived the important quest he imposed on himself.