Icy Highness | Yuzuru Hanyu

78.

Truth be told, it took about an hour for Athena to feel comfortable around his parents.

They were nice but it's always awkward to get to know your partner's parents, especially after already being so publicly engaged.

Athena guessed that meeting his grandparents would be even worse but only time would tell.

The good thing was that eventually, things just fell into place and she had the best of times as they told her stories of Yuzu, of his first skating experiences, of his difficult teenage years, of the move to Canada, and all of the things that he would probably never tell her willingly.

Even when the time to go to bed came, Athena didn't feel awkward saying her goodbyes.

Maybe it wasn't the most natural thing in the world, but she felt as if they had accepted her presence wholeheartedly.

Even as they laid in bed, talking about the day, she felt loved and happy.

During the next week, he showed her around Sendai. It wasn't even hard to tell the impact that he had on the economy of the city.

Everywhere you walked was some kind of evidence of his importance, from posters to signatures, it was clear how much this city loved him.

He took her to a small shop and it took just a few seconds for the owner to recognize him and widen his eyes.

"Hanyu-san, I haven't seen you in so long!"

"Naoto-san... It's nice to see you well."

"The usual?"

"Yes. Two, please."

"Who's the beautiful lady."

"My fiancee, she doesn't speak Japanese"

The man looked at her curiously before finally addressing her in a very limited English

"Take care of him, yes?"

Athena smiled at the nice Japanese man and nodded before attempting to reply.

"Ganbaru"

He seemed very pleased before getting back into conversation with Yuzuru.

Soon enough, another lady brought plates for them and Athena recognized the contents as mochi.

"Is this mochi?" She quickly asked.

"Zunda mochi... It's one of my favorites and typical from Sendai."

"Must be good then. Thank you."

She tried it and her eyes shined instantly.

"You like it?" He asked but already knew the answer from her expression.

"It's so good!"

"I'll get some for you to take home before you go."

"Maybe I should get Hagi no Tsuki too, I think my dad will like it."

"We can get whatever you want, princess."

🌸

On the next day, they went to Yuzuru's grandparents. And yes, she was even more nervous than when she met his dad.

Even with Yuzuru by her side, it was obvious that Athena wanted them to like her. His whole family's approval was very important to her.

They didn't speak Japanese, but Yuzu was patient enough to translate the conversation.

It didn't surprise her that they were lovely people, nice and kind, that received her with open arms.

His grandmother said something that made him flush and Athena expected the translation that didn't seem to be coming anytime soon.

"What did she say?"

"It doesn't matter."

"I want to know, especially if it makes you that red" she quickly joked.

"She just asked something, but it's ridiculous."

"What did she ask?"

His grandmother seemed to notice their bickering and quickly lectured him.

"Fine... She asked if I'm becoming a prince by marrying you."

"Just that?"

Yuzuru seemed too embarrassed for that to be the only thing. She figured he was already aware of what could happen.

"And if our children will be royals."

"You know the answer to that if I don't abdicate..." Athena answered, ignoring the obvious little detail about children.
They hadn't spoken of it before and he didn't even know if she wanted children.

He said a few words to his grandmother that seemed pleased with the answer.

Athena vowed to learn Japanese so she could talk with them better. It was hard to bond with people through translators and even if they were trying hard, it was never the same.

She said goodbye with teary eyes. She liked his family and knew that eventually, it would be time to go back to the palace and away from this little happiness bubble that they created in Sendai.

But Yuzu needed to resume his training and Athena had to go back to her duties.

Eventually, after the wedding, whenever that was, they would need to find somewhere to settle, but until then, things would be hard for a while.

It was only when they were driving back home that she asked him about the topic that had gotten him all red.

"You want to talk about children?"

The way she asked that made him chuckle. Athena always had a way of making things look easier than they really were.

"You noticed, huh?"

"It got you all flustered in front of your grandparents."

"Yeah, but because we never talked about it and I didn't want to say anything without knowing how you felt about it."

"I want kids." She simply said making him nod. "And I have a feeling you want them too."

"Of course."

"But only when we can settle somewhere. Because I don't want to do long distance with you while raising children."

"I don't want to do long distance at all."

"Yes... But I know it will be inevitable for a while."

"I might leave Canada if it's what we need."

"While you're still competing? You love Cricket..."

"I'm a double Olympic medalist... I think I can go for a few more years but I won't compete for much longer."

"We have time for all of that... First, we have to endure the worst."

"The worst?"

"Wedding planning..."