Deep Edges | Yuzuru Hanyu

30.

Izumi didn't feel at all nervous as she entered the safety of her condo with him right behind her.

Maybe it had something to do with how down-to-earth she eventually realized him to be or even the fact that she was now far more comfortable around the man than she had been before.

Then again, if she was comfortable enough sleeping in the same bed as him and let him touch every single inch of her body, this just seemed normal in comparison.

He was the epitome of polite, following her steps as she took off her shoes and jacket, placing them at the rightful place at the entrance of her apartment.

After that, he just followed her like a puppy, not wanting to risk anything to get her in a bad mood.

Izumi couldn't help but laugh as she realized that this man, who always looked incredibly confident, seemed to be walking on eggshells around her.

"Damn Yuzu, can't you just act normally?" she eventually asked with a giggle that he returned with a smile.

Eventually, it seemed like he accepted his fate and just sat down in the nearest chair in the kitchen, watching her go through cabinets and the fridge, taking up different items one by one as if he wasn't there.

"You know you don't have to cook, right?" he eventually said.

"It's fine. Just don't expect anything chef-quality."

It didn't even take too long until she placed food in front of him and started eating. Izumi hadn't lied when she said she was hungry and didn't hide it from him.

Yuzuru found the situation strangely comfortable and even comforting. He had missed the feeling of being in a home after spending the last few weeks in his hotel and even in the silence of this experience, he felt at home by her side.

"Thank you." he said when they finished eating.

The tension was for sure still there, words rarely exchanged as they tried to organize their thoughts about the current situation.

He got up and got ready to clean up when she stopped him.

"We can deal with it tomorrow." she muttered, making a shiver run through his body as he realized that she expected him to stay the night.

Izumi stood and grabbed his hand, silently telling him to follow, something that he seemed to be completely impossible to refuse.

It took mere seconds until he was following her lead once again, not even getting surprised when she guided him to her bedroom.

"Izumi... we have to talk about it." he said, already imagining her chain of thought, trying to distract him to avoid the whole thing.

He knew he could allow that to happen, no matter how irresistible he found her.

Gesturing toward the bed, she kept silent and waited for him to follow the implied request to join her.

A kiss was placed on his lips, marking the start of the next moments filled with the sweet feeling of her. They just stayed there, hands roaming, lips entangled. Nothing else seemed to matter. 

There was no doubt that it was easy to get lost in touch and just feel the intense emotions that their exchanges brought.

It was only after a few moments, when she straddled his hips, that Yuzuru stopped her with a gentle push. He just knew that it would be hard to stop her if he allowed things to go any further. In a way, that's exactly what she wanted, but he knew that their conversation was more urgent.

"You keep pushing me away." she muttered with a pout, not enjoying that her plan didn't seem to be working.

His excitement was undeniable. He was just a man after all and there was no doubt that she knew that as well. Izumi was dangerous when she was determined, but he was stronger than that and wasn't just going to allow her to win this time, even if having her win would be equally pleasurable for him.

"I will allow you anything if you talk to me about what's going on with your skating"

No single pout or attitude shift could make him budge on that and Izumi understood it eventually, caving in and just placing her head on his shoulder, wishing for the comfort it brought.

"It's nothing that crazy."

"If it isn't you can just talk about it."

Yuzuru didn't say anything else as he waited for her to talk about what seemed to be bothering her so much. Izumi seemed to need the time until she was looking at him and he knew that she would finally open up.

"I'm just afraid."

He didn't judge her words, knowing it would only make it worse.

"Afraid of failure?"

Deep down, Yuzu knew that it wasn't failure she was afraid of, but he wanted it to be clarified.

"No. Afraid of getting hurt."

It seemed crazy that a figure skater could be afraid of getting hurt when half of their days are spent falling, but he understood very well which type of pain she meant.

After getting injured and in the circumstances that she was in, it was incredibly hard to get back to what you used to be for the mere reason that you could easily be afraid of reinjuring yourself. Getting two injuries in such a short span of time could also be the reason for this sudden struggle.

"You're afraid of reinjuring yourself."

Yuzuru just took her words and managed to understand what had been going through her mind.

"Is that weird?"

"No, beautiful, it isn't."

"It's been really difficult for me to understand why. I just go into the jump already fearing the landing."

"What was your injury? Tsuzuki-sensei didn't give me any details."

"Stress fracture on the knee."

"You felt the pain when you landed, I'm guessing."

"I ignored it for so long, thinking it was just some random pain."

"Until it wasn't"

"Who knew that not eating properly could be related to the risk of stress fractures, huh?"

Yuzuru pecked her cheek in response.

"You have to eat properly."

"That's very interesting to hear coming from you."

"I eat..."

"Sure."

"I do!"

"Yes, whatever you say, Hanyu-san."

He tickled her belly teasingly, bringing that fire back in her eyes. 

A single kiss was enough to bring it all back, the sensual vixen that she seemed to be whenever given enough opportunities.

It took mere seconds for her to get into the same position she was before he pushed her away but this time he couldn't find the strength to resist her.

"You know we have to find a solution for your fears." he told her in between kisses.

"Maybe it's about confidence... and you know what would help?"

"Hum? Enlighten me, Aoki-san"

"Seeing a certain double Olympic champion naked."