Safe Haven | Yuzuru Hanyu

9.

Meeting Yuzuru's parents was a weird experience.

Sometimes it almost felt like she wasn't there as a bodyguard but as the first girl he brought home.

Had she been honest, it wouldn't surprise her if she was. Yuzuru seemed to be the type to only introduce you to his parents when he was settled on marrying you. You know, when he's completely certain.

It still went as best as it could, his dad was as nice as Yumi and welcomed her well. Japanese people were very welcoming and warm, she had known that before being there.

They didn't stay that long in the house either. It was almost night and time for Yuzuru to go to the rink.

And no one takes Yuzuru's ice time.

Emma had her own room, one that once belonged to his sister that was now living far away. She unpacked quickly before he came to call her.

Unlike in Toronto, Yuzuru surprised her by getting inside a car and stepping into the driver's seat.

"We're driving?"

"It's not that close, so yes."

"Ok..."

He was not a bad driver at all, it made Emma wonder if not driving in Toronto was more because of the side difference than of his ability to drive. That or he didn't have much of a choice here if he wanted to be on the ice.

Yuzuru knew every corner of the building of the ice rink. He had been spending hours in this place since he was a child, so that wasn't surprising either.

Emma couldn't help but stare at the beautiful rink when they entered the main room.

She missed it.

"You want to skate?" She heard him ask.

"Skate? Me?"

"I can teach you..."

"No thanks. You came to train, not waste your time with me."

He chuckled at her reaction.

"I will get you some skates. What's your size?"

"Yuzuru... I'm not going on the ice."

"Yes, you are."

"You can't force me!"

Deep inside, Emma was panicking. Maybe she was going to be bad enough for him to be completely oblivious. It's not as if she could know how it would go, given that she hadn't tried to skate in too long.

"We will see about that..."

"Yuzuru! No."

"Are you afraid to fall in front of me? It's part of the sport, tough girl."

"Afraid? Seriously?"

"Show me you aren't..."

"You're doing that on purpose so I prove you wrong."

"Maybe... What will you do about it?"

"Ahh... Show me the skates, I will pick ones of my size."

Yuzuru's face lightened like a Christmas tree. He was more excited about this than he should've been.

"Sizing in skates is different..."

"I know."

His face was stunned at her determination, it was almost as if she knew what to do.

Emma picked the boots that looked less worn-out in her size and was quick to sit on a bench, ready to put them on.

"Can I at least help you tie them?"

The girl wondered for a few seconds, but she remembered that any person in a normal situation wouldn't know how to properly tie the skates so she merely nodded, giving him permission to help.

"Have you ever been on the ice before?"

"As a child."

"And you liked it?"

"Yes, from what I remember."

Yuzuru was now kneeling in front of her, the image hitting her with more strength than she expected. He looked good like that.

He tied the skates with his eyes on her, Emma was definitely aware of his look but chose to try to ignore it as best as possible.

Yuzuru made sure the boots were well tightened and looked well settled on her feet before wordlessly sitting beside her and opening his bag. It was still unmoved since the last time he went to the Cricket Club.

He took his skates and placed them on his feet in quick, practiced motions.

Emma found herself staring at his well-trained hands as he tightened his own boots. She had seen that movement a lot of times before but it never had this effect on her. The girl was completely entrapped in his motions.

"Shall we?" He broke her reverie.

"Ah... Yes. I guess."

Yuzuru entered the ice first, gliding effortlessly as if it was easy. It had been easy for her once upon a time, but things were different than before.

He offered his hand for her to take and even if she had been good at this in the past, the last thing Emma wanted was to fall on her ass immediately as soon as she stepped on the ice.

Thanks to his assistance, she was able to just stand on the ice and balance herself. After that, it all came back naturally.

If you were to ask Emma when exactly she let go of his hand and started gliding easily, she wouldn't know.

The girl had just missed it so much that she allowed the emotions to take over, just enjoying the frozen water underneath her feet.

Behind her, in the exact same position that she had left him, was Yuzuru, staring at her with an incredulous look.

"What?"

"How are you so good at this?"

He was confused but Emma knew she wasn't doing anything particularly special.

"Good? I'm just gliding around."

"As if it was nothing..."

"I told you I did this before as a child."

Yuzuru was looking at her in a way that told her he was about to call her out for trying to fool him. It was just that she felt at home on the ice and that usually didn't happen unless you skated before. Properly skated before, with proper coaching.

"How often?"

"Huh?"

"How often did you do this as a kid?"

"Often enough."

Emma just allowed her body to take over, she didn't even realize that she was skating on one foot, training her edges like she had done as a kid and teen for so long.

"You..."

"What?"

"You're a skater!"