Beyond the Sound | Yuzuru Hanyu

29.

Yuzuru was pretty much like a Muppet. He allowed he to do whatever she wanted to him as they showered.

Maya was a bit surprised for a while, not really sure how the man she had grown to know seemed to be completely gone.

The main indication that something wasn't right was that he didn't even look at her the way he usually did. She was completely naked, just a few inches away from him and he didn't even look at her with the usual fiery gaze that she was accustomed to.

"Are you ok?" she eventually asked, receiving a mere nod in return. "You're sure?"

"Yeah. Just tired."

"Alright."

"Why did you ask like that?"

"Just making sure."

She looked down on him and he seemed to understand why.

"You're as beautiful as ever, Maya. I just can't turn on my horny brain right now"

"It has an on-and-off switch?" she joked, making him laugh for the first time that night.

"It's hard for me to get horny when I'm afraid."

"Hopefully not of me."

"No, gorgeous... never. I just want to give the fans the best show possible and this mess makes that very hard."

"I have no doubts that you will be amazing."

"Even like this?"

"A little birdie told me that you are used to skating in pain. This should be no different."

"You're getting far too close with my mom."

Maya smiled and kissed his lips softly.

"You know that she asked me to stay with you tonight?"

That seemed to get his full attention.

"What? She got the wrong impression."

"That's what I told her, she didn't seem to believe me."

Yuzuru just shrugged his shoulders.

"There's no point in fighting her. Once that woman gets something in her head, it's hard to make it leave."

"Hum... no wonder."

"What?"

"You're just like her in everything, it seems."

He smiled at her.

"We're stubborn, yeah."

Maya took a bit of shampoo and ran it over his scalp on her tiptoes, massaging slowly. He moaned softly in return.

"You like that?"

"I always like it when you touch my hair, Maya."

"Good to know. I will keep that in mind."

Eventually, he was all washed off. Maya dried his body with a towel using gentle motions and helped him put some pants on while she was still in her towel. Yuzuru always preferred to sleep without a shirt on so she didn't even ask.

"Do you need anything else?" she eventually asked him when he was ready for bed.

"No. I'm ok. Thank you for everything you've done." He kissed her once again and Maya couldn't help but think of how different everything seemed between them. For a while, she could almost imagine that this was all real.

Yuzuru left the bathroom and allowed her to get dressed. Not that it took too long since she only chose one of his bigger shirts. It wasn't as if Yuzu hadn't seen it all already.

When she got in the room, however, she found the skater trying to apply something on his back.

"Why do you have to be so stubborn?" she muttered.

"I..."

"You always try to do everything yourself when you have people to help."

"I already bothered you so much tonight..."

"Shut up, Hanyu. That's just stupid. Turn around."

Once again, he knew that it was best to do as she said, slowly turning around on the bed and doing his best to avoid showing just how much his back hurt.

"Thank..."

"And stop thanking me."

He couldn't help but chuckle. God, he had missed this side of hers, had missed their interactions when everything was simple and they didn't allow their fears to step in and ruin everything.

She massaged the lotion on his naked back, taking her sweet time in releasing all of the sore muscles and avoiding any of the painful areas.

"It's nice to see you laugh. You looked like a ghost when we were having a shower."

"I've told you before that I'm not always nice to be around. When things don't go my way, I can get very grumpy and usually those around me suffer. It's one of the reasons I tend to stay alone. and avoid people when I'm like this."

"You need more than that to make me go away."

Maya knew well what the implications of her words were but he didn't say anything, enjoying how they were at that moment. He wouldn't admit it, but he was constantly afraid that she would leave if his words weren't right. Hearing her say that it would take more than words was reassuring, even if things were still so damn confusing.

He had said it before, they could talk after the show.

"Is that ok?" she asked after a few minutes of her massage.

"Yeah. I might need to re-apply, but only in the morning."

"I will gladly do that for you. Now just make sure you rest."

"You're staying in the bed, right?"

Maya smiled at the man in front of her. Yuzuru looked so vulnerable in front of her eyes that she wasn't quite sure if this was the same man that had shared a bed with her in the past months. Being so used to his confident side made this all a bit surprising.

He was more sensitive than she expected. Deep down, he was a softie.

"You won't be more comfortable alone? I want you to rest properly and don't mind staying on the couch. It looks comfortable."

"Never. I want you by my side."

Trying as best as she could not overthink any of this, Maya was by his side in just a few moments.

At that moment, she only wanted to give him everything.