Melody of You | Yuzuru Hanyu

48.

Yuzuru went to worlds in Saitama with complete knowledge of his lack of preparation. He knew that if everyone else was clean, his chances of winning weren't that great. Still, he wasn't one to give up. 

He went into his short program with confidence but a mistake in his opening jump would end up taking any chances of winning the gold. Going into the free, he knew very well what he had to do. Taking a few of the transitions, Yuzu focused on the jumps for his Origin program and did an almost flawless program. At least that's what Sophia thought as she watched him from the most secluded place she could find with a good view.

Her boyfriend didn't exactly agree with that opinion when she said as much, quickly arguing with all the things he could have done differently or better. Soph knew him well enough to understand his perfectionism, after all, she was the same with her music.

At the end of the competition, she was the one that comforted him when he only managed the Silver. Sophia still thought of it as impressive given his health condition, but the skater didn't seem to agree.

It was always hard to convince Yuzuru of his worth. Despite his outer crust of self-confidence, the skater was still very insecure about himself, often needing that last push towards a healthy mental state. Yuzu's mind was always his biggest enemy, he was more sensitive than he would ever admit. Tears came easily to his face and Sophia would let him cry on her shoulder every single time.

She watched his gala with tears in her eyes as he skated the Haru yo koi, the song she collaborated with him almost a year ago in Fantasy on Ice, where it all started for them. Soph loved the Sakura fairy skating on that ice with all of her heart and it was hard to believe how far they had come in the past year, with all the hurt and happiness in between.

After a crash like the one she had, it was only natural for her to start valuing the small things in life, like these moments when she could simply watch him skate and every single good thing he gave her, from the moments they were alone to the dinners with his family.

Just like the first time her eyes laid on him on the ice, Yuzuru still managed to amaze her every time with his skating. He could be graceful on one program and a rockstar in the next, his versatility was amazing.

They went back to Sendai the day after the gala and Sophia was glad to be out of the mess with the media. It was nice to be able to be near her boyfriend without worrying that someone would snap a picture of them and post it on the internet. It's not as if they were secretly dating, but it didn't mean that they wanted the mediatism of a public relationship.

Living their lives peacefully in his hometown, the days passed quickly. Yuzuru liked to mention how much they looked like a married couple, fighting about the most insignificant things but never really being pissed at each other.

Fantasy on Ice came faster than expected, the whole environment surrounding her once again. The musicians of this leg were far better than the others, she made friends instantly. A few familiar skaters were on the show once again and it made the experience even better than the one she had before.

It was crazy how quickly times passed when you're having fun. It was amazing that Yuzu and her even managed to travel a bit through Japan while on the tour. It was hard for the skater to go unnoticed, but he still managed to make it incredible.

Sophia was falling in love with Japan with each day that passed, the country having so much to offer and the culture being so different from everything she was used to. Yuzuru took her to a concert with the Tokyo Symphony Orchestra and she simply loved it. There was something about the traditional oriental style and instruments mixed in the orchestra environment that made her excited to see more.

During Fantasy on Ice, Sophia and Yuzuru chose to not do any songs together. She didn't mind it at all when it meant that she got to see Masquerade every show night. Still, on the last show in Toyama, she knew he was about to ask her something when he wrapped her arms around her and started giving small pecks on her neck during rehearsals. Yuzu was never like that when they were in public and it got her attention right away.

"What do you want?" she asked with a laugh.

"Do you think you can play Origin?" he whispered in her ear, not even bothering to hide his hidden agenda.

"Probably... why?"

"I was thinking... and it could be fun if we did an encore tonight."

She chuckled at his very subtle request and turned her head to kiss his lips, earning enthusiastic comments from the skaters that were still on the ice. 

"Send me the part you want to skate and I'll try to play it by ear."

"Yay" he said enthusiastically, getting what he wanted.

The music wasn't that hard to play and Sophia happily learned it in less than an hour. The doors for the crowd would open in about an hour when he dragged her to the venue to run through the small portion of music a few times. The pressure was ridiculous, there was absolutely no reason for them to do this on such short notice, but it wouldn't be them if it wasn't ridiculous.

Hurries aside, the show was amazing. Sophia wasn't sure if the best moment of the tour had been the Kobe 4 Lutz or their encore of origin in the masquerade costume. There was something about them performing together that was simply impossible to describe, she wasn't sure if the public was able to see or feel it, but she did. Being by his side always exceeded any expectations, no matter what it was, it was simply a question of where and when they could get it done.

Who knows what the future will hold...