Safe Haven | Yuzuru Hanyu

56.

The influence of Yuzuru's crazy attempt was far bigger than a medal.

It took a few days for him to recover with a lot of private crying sessions in between.

There were a lot of questions, he figured most people expected him to announce a retirement there and he didn't want to do so under anyone else's terms.

He still scheduled the press conference, knowing that it was the easiest way to close this chapter.

Yuzuru went on the ice after allowing his ankle some rest for a few days.

The plan to do Haru yo Koi as a gala program was still standing, but he found himself skating to his previous programs, ignoring all the pain in his ankle.

Yuzuru knew a few skaters were at the main rink practicing for the gala, but he wanted this moment to himself.

In a way, it was a goodbye to Olympic ice, to competitive ice.

But he didn't want anyone to know that just yet.

He knew that everyone expected the press conference to be for exactly that but he just went there, answered the questions thrown at him, and left it at that.

There would be another opportunity to give his decision, hopefully under a more controlled environment.

Now, more than ever, he felt afraid of the future. He was uncertain if people would follow him, and support him, despite what had happened in Beijing.

His decision was a big leap after all.

Yuzuru wanted nothing more than to go home and into the warmth of his bed with Emma.

But he still had the gala to skate.

Even if against every single doctor's recommendations, including his girlfriend.

Emma didn't push too much, but she did give him her educated opinion.

Yuzuru's whole endeavors in Beijing would give him a different type of backlash than he expected.

He expected to lose fans, to disappoint a lot of people.

What Yuzuru didn't expect was to gain followers after the Olympic games.

The Chinese people and staff had been incredibly nice to him, helping as much as they could.

But everywhere he went, a whole sea of people did as well.

Even on social media, it seemed like a lot of people were inspired by his fearless attempt to try the impossible.

Maybe it wasn't just about skating.

Yuzuru only noticed just how much impact it all had a few months later, but Emma saw this effect coming from far away.

She didn't tell him, though. The woman knew better than to try to reason with Yuzuru when he was healing.

And he needed to skate in the gala, go through all of the interviews and even cry a little bit more to be able to heal himself from scratch.

The man who left for Beijing wasn't the same that returned to Sendai.

He learned once again that not everyone could be trusted, and that sometimes, outsiders cared more for you than the people who were supposed to.

It was really hard to trust anyone outside of his family bubble after that.

Still, and despite anything, he knew he could trust Emma and his family.

She didn't come to get him at the airport, that would be too obvious, even if he managed to arrive mostly unseen.

When he did see her, in the privacy of their home, a sigh of relief left him as soon as she hugged him close.

Everything would be okay. This is still the same. She doesn't love you any less.

Weirdly enough, he needed that reassurance.

Emma kissed him lovingly as soon as he was close enough and Yuzuru felt at home right away.

There was nothing like the warmth of her embrace whenever he was feeling down.

"Hey, Superstar."

"I hate that nickname even more now."

"Well, good luck getting rid of it..."

"I don't want to fight." He immediately said with a pout.

"We won't, love. You have way too much to tell me before we even have a chance to fight."

"Not sure I want to talk about anything."

"I have an idea."

Emma instantly dragged him from the living room and to Yuzu's room, ignoring the looks of his father and Saya.

As soon as they were inside the room, finally alone for the first time since the skater arrived, Emma kissed his lips softly, taking in every single feel and detail of that moment.

"Hum...Em..."

She just wanted to take his mind off everything that happened, just wanted to give him something good to think about, even if just for a few minutes.

Emma took the bags he was still holding from his hands and headed to the bathroom. He didn't need any words to follow her like a lost puppy inside the small room.

She closed the door behind them, making sure to lock it from the inside, and her hands were instantly on his chest fumbling with the zipper of his team Japan jacket and taking the dreaded thing off.

It might have looked good on him, but it was time to close that chapter.

"Emma..." He moaned out again.

"Patience."

The girl then moved to the bathtub and started running the water until she found a nice temperature to let it fill.

Even turned on her back, she noticed the small limp he still carried.

Emma kissed his cheek lovingly and sat him down. There was no reason to force him to stand when he was still in pain.

She removed his clothes slowly and without any protest from the man in front of her.

He looked like a limp person, that allowed everything and anything, finally letting his guard down after so many days of worrying about every single thing in his surroundings.

"Come on, let's get you in that tub."