Melody of You | Yuzuru Hanyu

46.

Sophia started a steady practice routine on her violin, making sure she could be back to her old form as soon as possible.

Her previous habits all started to come back, music started consuming most of her life again.

For once, it felt incredible.

Meanwhile, Yuzuru started practicing his jumps again and often came back from the ice limping slightly. He would take her eye rolls willingly and gladly accept her help icing the injured foot.
He found it funny that she didn't lecture him anymore, probably realizing it was truly useless. Yuzu would always be Yuzu, even if she gave him a lecture about being reckless almost every day.

He wasn't the only one in pain. Going back to her long practice hours was hard on her wrist and it was easy to tell that she was in pain every time a session ended.
Sophia wasn't sure if this would keep happening, but she knew it was something she had to deal with for now.

Yuzu would come home and sit, watching her play for hours, sometimes bringing his books to get some studying done, others just purely enjoying her playing.
Those sessions would often end up with her sitting on his lap, allowing him to softly massage the painful joint. More than anyone, Yuzu knew what was like to do what he loved despite the pain.

Yumi ended up moving back to Japan. Yuzuru suggested it one night and his mother's reaction told him that maybe she had been dreading the opportunity to go back. He now understood how hard it was for her to be away from his father. His relationship with Sophia made him understand better than ever how much you can become dependent on your significant other. Yuzu simply couldn't imagine spending a long time away from his girlfriend and it made him value all the sacrifices his mom made for him through the years.

Having a house for themselves made their lives easier. Not only did it take the pressure of the possibility of being caught having fun, but it also meant they could control better what they ate and when they did.

A bad habit they developed was eating on the couch while watching TV. It was wrong, but it's not like there was anyone there to stop them. It was likely his mother would suffer a heart attack if she saw that.

Sophia took his advice on teaching and it was going amazingly. Not only was she making more money than expected, but her students were also mostly children who had passed through different teachers that didn't seem to realize that kids need more time and patience to learn things.

Most of the kids she taught had been on the verge of giving up their instrument, but one last leap towards her and she could often bring back the magic of music for them.

Part of her almost felt like they were her children with the amount of time she spent with them every week.

Soph's conversation with Yuzu a few months back about having kids was often in her mind these days. She often wondered if they ever had children and if they would enjoy the same activities as their parents.

A strong desire to teach her own babies how to play grew on her, but at the same time, imagining a mini Yuzuru trying to tie small skates was also a picture she loved to think about.

Maybe someday they could have all of that, once their lives were slightly more settled and Yuzuru was done with competitions.

Her boyfriend came back home one day slightly more excited than she was used to and the musician knew something was up.

"What's going on?"

"What do you mean?"

"You're too excited..."

"Am I that easy to read?"

"You are to me..."

Yuzuru laughed and crashed his lips on hers before breaking the mystery.
"I'm going to Worlds"

"You're what?"

"I'm competing at the World Championships"

"But your ankle is not healed."

"I have been cleared by the Physiotherapists and doctors. I'm not at my peak, but I can always try for a medal."

"Yuzu... I'm not sure it's a good idea."

"It's in Saitama... My home worlds... I want to go."

"Ok, it's your choice, you know I won't fight it."

Sophia knew very well that there was no point in fighting the man in front of her. She dreaded that he would probably leave her alone for a while because of it and was for sure worried he would hurt himself again, but it wasn't her choice to make.

"I was hoping you would come." He said seriously and straight to her face.

"Me? Publicly watching you?"

"Yes..."

"I'm not sure Zu, your fans are good at connecting the dots."

"No one needs to know who you're watching. Having you there would mean a lot to me."

"Yes... And I'm the one who has to watch you suffer if it goes bad."

"Even if it does... Having you there to cheer me up will make it better."

And Sophia couldn't resist him... She never could.

Flying to Japan in March was convenient, they wouldn't go back to Toronto in a few months until the start of the next season. Sophia was already set to do FaoI after Yuzuru's personal invitation and request and it allowed the musician to get to know his home country a bit better.

Soph expected to see his family waiting for them, but when he told her they didn't know he was in Japan, her eyes widened and she barely knew how to react.

"What do you mean, they don't know?"

"I haven't told them"

"Why?"

"Because they will have my head when I do"

"Wonder why... And where are we staying? I assumed we were staying at your place."

"We are."

"But your parents won't be shocked when we get there?"

"I have my own place, Soph"
Yuzuru was laughing softly at her reaction. Sophia always assumed he lived with his parents in Japan given how much time he spends in Toronto and how dependent he seemed to be on his mom. "I can do things myself, especially when I'm not in the middle of the season. I bought a house years ago when I felt the need for my own space. It's close to them so I can go there when I want"

"Yeah, I can see how wrong my assumption was"

"I'm calling my mom on the taxi...because news travels fast in Sendai, and if she knows from someone else..."

"You're already screwed honey, you're just delaying it."