Icy Highness | Yuzuru Hanyu

25.

Yumi came home a bit later than expected after her night out only to find her son hugged to Athena on the couch, both deep asleep with a TV show as background noise.

She smiled at the sweet exchange between the two and found herself thankful for the presence of the young woman. Yumi hadn't seen her son smiling in a long time, it was a relief that they seemed to have such a good time with Athena there. Maybe the woman was the solution for him to get some extra motivation after all.

As sweet as the view was, Yumi didn't want them sleeping in that position for too long, not when it wouldn't be nice for either of their backs and necks.

She slowly approached them and shook the two sleepy bodies just enough to make them wake up.

"Okasan?"

"A bed is probably a better option to sleep in"

Only then did Yuzu noticed how Athena was almost on top of him, still sleepily rubbing her eyes.

"Thea, it's late."

"Yeah... I will go back, give me just a few seconds."

"It's too late, you shouldn't go back alone." Yumi said noticing how dark it was outside.

"It would be fine"

"Please stay." The older woman begged "I can share a bed with Yuzuru and you can sleep in my room, we do it at competitions sometimes."

"No... No, I don't want to impose and Yuzu needs space to recover."

"Stay" he almost begged and she looked at that face and saying no was almost impossible. "Stay with me."

Athena kinda wished she didn't understand the implication behind his words. He was asking her to stay, but not like his mom was suggesting. Yuzu didn't want to share a bed with his mom, he wanted to share a bed with her.

"I don't want to cause any trouble. I don't even have anything to wear and..."

"You can borrow something, it's ok." He suggested before his mom even opened her mouth to offer her own clothes.

"It is okay, stay Athena. It's dangerous to be alone outside at this hour." Yumi said and the princess wanted to argue that the bodyguards would make sure it was fine. Still, looking at him, she couldn't deny those puppy eyes that were clearly asking her to stay.

"Ok... But maybe I should share with your mom so you can rest properly."

"The bed is big, don't worry about it... Stay with me? Please?"

It seemed like his mom understood it without none of them saying a thing.

"I will be in my room if you need anything... I won't say anything knowing that you're both adults but..."

"Mom!"

"Just don't forget..."

"Stop, I beg you!"

Athena chuckled at the interaction and Yuzuru's red face before his mom finally went to her room and left them alone.

He was a bit pissed that his mom said those things in front of her from the pout on his face.
"You want to talk about it?" Thea teased him, liking the situation a bit more than she should have.

"No... She likes embarrassing me. Come on, let's go to bed."

Now it was her turn to be red, knowing very well that being in such a tiny space with him would only make her crave more of him and his warmth.

Like before, he dragged himself from one room to the other, hoping on one foot every once in a while. It was still as funny as the first time she saw it.

When they finally reached his room, she noticed that it was tidy and clean, not at all what she expected. Athena noticed how plain it was, not a lot of personal touches added except for one pooh bear at the desk and a few earphones scattered around at the bedside table.

"Do you even live here?" She joked and Yuzu smiled.

"I'm not one to overdecorate my living space. My mom does all of that for me."

"Still...Couldn't miss the Pooh"

"He's my buddy. I couldn't do anything without him."

Any other person would probably find the way this man spoke of his plushie tissue case to be too childish but she just found it endearing. Yuzuru was overwhelmingly cute whenever the bear was around.

Yuzuru jumped around before getting a t-shirt and some sweatpants and placing them on the bed.

"I have an extra toothbrush in the first drawer. I hope these fit"

"Thank you. Do you mind if I have a quick shower?"

"No, of course not. Let me ask my mom for whatever she uses."

"You don't have to, I'm sure I can manage."

"Nonsense, give me 5 minutes."

Yuzuru took the clutches this time and quickly disappeared from the room, coming back a few minutes later with shampoo, conditioner, and even body wash.

"You didn't have to."

"I want you to have everything that you need. My mom said she was bringing the blow dryer too, I'm not sure if you use it."

"Yeah... usually"

Athena went for that shower while Yuzu retrieved the dryer from his mom, not missing the look on the woman's face.

"You like her" she mumbled when she gave it to him.

"Is it that surprising?"

"No... she's good for you, make sure you don't hurt her, she seems like a nice girl."

"It's not like we will date, so it doesn't matter. I can't hurt her."

"Why won't you when it's so clear that you like each other?"

"We can't... You wouldn't understand."

In his mind were her title and both of their usually busy lives. As much as he liked Athena, Yuzuru had to be realistic and understand that to be together, they would have to sacrifice too much. It was completely out of the question for him, and he figured that she had similar thoughts.

Yumi shrugged it off with " You can't control certain things" and Yuzuru was gone before it all turned into a big mess and discussion of things he didn't want to tell her at that moment.

After coming inside the room, he could hear the water running and his brain turned to the one place he was trying to avoid, the thoughts of her.

It was just very hard to ignore that she was so close to him, completely naked with water running down her body. It was wrong, the way his brain carefully imagined the delightful picture, but it was also completely out of his control. 

The sinful image was now completely immersed in his mind.