Icy Highness | Yuzuru Hanyu

51.

If anything, the Olympics had already given Athena some different experiences.

She had to admit that doing something like that with Yuzu was far from being in her comfort zone but as usual, the skater managed to make her forget all about it.

She woke up the next morning feeling refreshed and far more relaxed than the previous days.

Don't be mistaken, her nervousness about him competing was still there, it was just that her body was more at ease after the previous day.

Athena started her day with a lazy morning in bed and since these days were becoming harder and harder to get the plan was to fully enjoy it.

And there was only one way that she knew how.

Getting out of bed to get her supplies was not her favorite thing in the world, but she still did it knowing the satisfaction it would bring her later.

The sketchbook she was using was still the same, the one that she had so many draws of him. It was still one of her guilty pleasures, to go through the pages and remember the memories that were so naturally attached to every single one of those images.

Her favorite was one of the only draws that weren't drawn from an image or memory, rather it was drawn by looking at the real thing, when he was on the bed, the morning after their first time.

If only she had known then what the future would hold and how much the past months were a living hell for them both.

At the same time, it just made her realize how much they had fought for this to work out and it made her happier than she already was on that morning.

Going to the first unoccupied page, she started drawing from memory what would probably be an image too explicit to show to anyone, even him.

The deep sounds of his voice and the images of what they had done mere hours before were occupying her thoughts and the best way to deal with it was to draw away.

It didn't take too long for the image of his naked body to appear on the page through a quick sketch, one that she blushed at from merely looking.

Let's just hope that no one ever goes through these pages without her consent...

The sound of her door opening suddenly made her close the sketchbook quickly and turn to the intruder with a deep red face.

"Are you okay?" Her father asked as soon as he saw her face.

"Just feeling a bit hot..."

"Are you getting sick?"

The king was quickly by her side and placed his hand on her forehead.

"You are quite warm yes. Stay in bed and rest. I will ask someone to bring you medicine."

She was warm, but not from being sick, that she was sure of.

"Probably just a cold."

"Yes, but better be safe than sorry."

"Yeah, I guess..."

"But that's not why I am here."

"I figured as much" Athena said with an unattractive snort.

"I'm not sure if it's the best idea to suggest this since you're sick but..."

"What is it?"

"I might be able to get you to Korea"

Athena looked at him dumbfounded for a few seconds, not sure if she was dreaming or if her father was just messing with her.

"How?"

"There's a United Nations meeting in Seoul tomorrow."

"Ok?"

"We usually send someone from international affairs to these things, but..."

"Are you suggesting that I go?"

"Only if you want to... Seoul is about 2 hours away from Pyeongchang."

"But mom..."

"I will deal with her and everyone else. But you have to promise you will be careful. If anyone knows that you left Seoul..."

"I know, I know! But if I can go..."

"I also requested something else."
Her father then took something out of his back pocket and handed it to her. A backstage pass for the Olympics.
"I figured that getting tickets now would be impossible."

"How?"

"I have my ways..."

Athena couldn't help but launch herself into his arms and hug him tight.

"You have no idea how much this means to me."

"You deserve to be happy, darling. If no one else in this family understands that you're miserable without him, then I will do everything I can to make you happy and help you fight."

"Not very diplomatic for a king...or traditional." She joked.

"It's not as if you will ever take the crown. You don't even want it."

"God...no. I can barely deal with all the politics of being a royal, let alone being on the throne."

"I know, that's why I can't deal with seeing you suffer because these people still live in the last century."

"But if they don't approve... I don't want to keep hiding forever."

"Listen to me, your happiness is far more important than any title will ever be. You can find something you enjoy, get a job, and leave this place if you want to."

"Are you suggesting I abdicate the title?"

"Only if you have no other choice. Don't get me wrong, sweetheart, but you are used to a certain lifestyle that most people can't get with normal jobs."

"I can live without it."

"Maybe, but don't make that choice if you don't need it."

"Ok...enough talking about that! Tell me about the plan for Korea! How do I get there and how do I sneak out?"