Unforgettable | Yuzuru Hanyu

39. Passion

Kana didn't exactly blame him when he looked lost for a fraction of a second after hearing her suggestion.

She was no longer dancing around the topic and it wasn't exactly difficult to understand the hidden request behind the suggestion.

Her intentions were clear and the true question was if he was willing to take the bait or deny her completely.

What Kana couldn't really know was how he was unable to simply say no to her. Yuzuru wanted to be there for her every single time, no matter what she needed or wanted and this was no different.

Maybe he looked like a lost puppy as he took her inviting hand and followed her out of the ice hand in hand, shooting an apologetic smile to his coaches who merely nodded when it was very clear that he had been on the ice for way longer than usual already.

They took their skates off side by side in silence, glancing over at one another every now and then, observing the other carefully. 

She ended up being the first one breaking the silence, even if now way more uncertain than when she first invited him over.

"I should...hum... get a shower before we go."

"Yeah." he replied nervously, replicating how on edge she seemed "The first one waits out here?" he eventually suggested, making her react with an overenthusiastic nod. They were both so painful it hurt but all at the same time, equally nervous to be around one another.

That shower ended up being one of the fastest in her life. As much as Kana wanted to hide it, she couldn't wait for what the night held, even if she wasn't way too certain if he understood what she meant in the first place.

One thing was certain, she was very quick to text her best friend to get the hell out of the house and leave the whole place for them alone. Maybe it was selfish but the truth was that Stella was barely sleeping at home on most days either way so it isn't as if it was a huge request.

The answer came seconds later, filled with winking emojis and smiley faces that explained in detail just how broad Stella's imagination could be.

Even with all of that, Kana's focus was quickly shifted back to the man she invited over on that day and just a few steps outside of the locker proved that maybe she wasn't the only one in a rush to get there.

Yuzuru was leaning against the wall, skate bag by his side. He was wearing his usual tracksuit and the feelings of just how incredibly attractive he was ran through her head right away.

It was always daunting to realize how incredibly out of place she was in terms of the actual reality. Sometimes, Kana just straight up realized that this was no ordinary man and she still couldn't fully accept it.

When he finally spotted her staring, the bright smile that he offered made up for all of the uncertainties that filled her mind.

Whatever or whoever he was didn't matter. What did matter was the way he treated her and when it came to that, she could never say it was with disappointment.

"All ready?" he asked, expression never changing.

"Yeah."

As they walked to her place, Yuzuru quickly found conversation with her, talking about their latest sessions and her noticeable improvements.

She still blushed at every compliment that left him and it was inevitable to have a permanent grin when he was around. Kana loved every single second of that walk and weirdly enough, even found herself relaxing around this man who seemed to always bring out the best side of her despite the initial nervousness.