Icy Highness | Yuzuru Hanyu

27.

None of them was quite sure when they fell asleep, but when Yuzuru woke up and felt the heavy weight on his chest, a smile erupted immediately from his face.

Athena was still asleep but during the night, she had found her way into his chest and arms. Yuzuru just wished this moment wouldn't end.

He knew that it was probably only a matter of time until she woke up and propelled herself out of his hold. Still, Yuzu was going to enjoy every possible second of this while it lasted.

Athena, on the other side, woke up with a warm feeling around her body and it took her quite a long time to understand exactly what was going on from her groggy state.

When she finally did, the princess chose against opening her eyes and just enjoy the feeling of his embrace. It wasn't as if she would have a lot of opportunities to enjoy this feeling.
Athena couldn't resist cuddling further into him, not when it felt so nice and comfortable. Almost her whole body was on top of his.

Yuzuru was surprisingly comfortable given how his body was built and she wasn't going to complain about it.

It surprised him, that she wasn't repulsed by his touch but instead enjoying it. He was still as afraid to say anything about it as he was when he woke up, but the feeling of having her this close was too good to deny.

One of his hands moved to her head, lightly caressing her scalp and running his hands through the smooth waves. He liked this, the feeling that she allowed him to see what most of the world doesn't.

It was the same for him, of course. Yuzu knew just how relaxed he could be around her and it was one of the reasons they got closer in the first place.

He saw her finally opening her eyes and gave her the brightest smile.

"Good morning."

Athena could only smile back, even if her face was a bright red knowing that he was watching her and they were in this position.

"Good morning, Yuzu." She finally answered in an almost silent tone.

"You slept ok?"

"Yeah. I'm sorry for invading your personal space"

Athena might have said it, but she still made no effort to move, not when it felt so nice.

"I didn't complain"

She stared at his eyes for a few seconds and it quickly turned into too much. His eyes were intense when he was looking at her like that, like she was the most incredible thing in the world, full of interest and emotions that she couldn't quite figure out.

"You know what I mean."

They kept what looked like a staring contest for a few minutes, none of them uttering any words and just trying to silently understand what the other was thinking.

"If only things were different" he muttered after a while and she understood it better than she wanted.

"I know."

"If we were both different people, things could be so easy"

"Shhh" she begged of him. Thinking of sad things on that beautiful morning seemed wrong. It was certainly a way to ruin the moment.

"It's true..."

"I know, but it's better not to think about it."

"I wonder too... How it could be like"

He smiled and Athena could tell that he was picturing it in his mind as well.

"I would kiss you right now." He muttered almost silently. It was still loud enough for her to understand every word and audibly gasp in reaction.
She wanted that more than anything at that moment, his lips looked so plump and inviting, it was incredibly hard to resist the pull that he had on her.

Athena closed her eyes, imagining just how good it would feel, to let go with him and allow herself to enjoy a normal thing for once.

"Thea" he called out with a raspy voice that managed to make her shiver.

"Hum"

"Open your eyes."

He couldn't handle knowing that she was probably imagining the one thing he had been wanting to do ever since he woke up that morning. Not when he was right there.

Obeying his requests was impulsive and natural, gradually letting go of all her barriers one by one and opening her soul and heart to the man close to her.

"Yuzu" she muttered in a low voice once she finally opened her eyes and found his staring right into her, observing her every expression.

"So beautiful"

"Don't..."

Compliments were hard to take when he was looking at her like that. Athena knew he meant it, Yuzuru wasn't one to use words without meaning them, he would always find a way to dodge things if he didn't want to say them.

"You are... Especially now, in my clothes, without any makeup and with that gorgeous hair set free."

Athena cursed herself for being the reason that he learned better English and was now so comfortable saying those words without sounding forced.
If it was hard to resist before, she couldn't handle it now.

The princess found herself being the one closing the distance between them. For a few seconds, she didn't care who they were or what responsibilities were waiting for them.

She wanted to be just a girl that liked this handsome Japanese boy.

Her lips found his in a short but meaningful touch. The mere second that she held there was enough to make shivers run through her body. It was almost as if an electric charge quickly ran through her and Athena felt the adrenaline immediately after.

Yuzuru had only a fraction of a second to react. Once he finally realized what she was doing and the meaning of it all finally reached his brain properly, she was already pulling off and her face turning a deep red shade.

Had he been a better man, Yuzu would have stopped everything there, blamed it all on a spur-of-the-moment thing, and leave it there.

The skater allowed his emotions to fully take over his body, ignoring their responsibilities and closing the distance again.

Yuzuru couldn't always be the better man.