Dangerous Lines | Yuzuru Hanyu

11. Touch

Realizing who that voice belonged to was just the beginning of all of the crazy thoughts going through her head.

From understanding the presence of the man she had been fantasizing about to how he was dressed, everything seemed like way too much to handle.

Yet, for all it was worth, the only thing she did was fall on her ass once again.

No one could blame her. Yaeko had just been told that he wouldn't go around during the regular free skate hours, and here she was, realizing that this man was not only there but trying his best to go unnoticed.

Maybe if someone else noticed it, she wouldn't feel so bad but the sudden realization that she was probably the only one to understand exactly who it was made everything even worse.

Falling on her ass wasn't exactly nice but the worst of it all was seeing the almost slow motions of the man in disguise as he realized that she was falling. Everything happened fast but she could've sworn she saw it as if it was a movie, the realization in his eyes, the alarmed eyes, the quick motions of his legs.

He didn't exactly reach her in time to avoid the fall, but the man seemed very worried once he did.

"Are you okay?" he asked over and over again until she finally answered.

Yaeko panicked, but not for the reasons she imagined. It wasn't because he was touching her or even because he was so close. She was panicking because he was placing himself in a visible position, one she was almost certain he didn't want.

"I'm fine, I'm fine." she said right away, trying to stand and avoid Miko's attention, as well as everyone else's.

Not that it worked.

Soon enough, she was surrounded by people worried about her well-being. Had the fall been that bad?

The truth was that she barely felt a thing when her eyes were so clearly focused on the man in front of her.

Only after she realized he didn't look too concerned did Yaeko finally start to accept the circumstances and well, the obvious reality was that it didn't help as much as one would expect. Because now, as she noticed he didn't look too concerned over the possibility of being recognized, all of her focus was on the fact that he was, quite effectively holding her quite close.

Looking like a hormonal teenager wasn't exactly what she expected when she left the hotel that morning, but that's exactly how she felt now under his watchful eyes. Her skin filled with goosebumps and she was certain to be red all over.

"Are you sure? I keep warning him but he's just too careless!"

Hanyu sounded mad at the boy, and the worst was that she knew he had no responsibility for her fall. In a way, that was purely out of her own clumsiness and Yuzuru's impact on her.

"It's ok; I'm sure I fell on my own; it doesn't really take that much given how clumsy I can be."

He giggled and she instantly found it to be one of the warmest sounds she had ever heard. That man was beautiful in every sense of the word.

From that point onwards, and even if she thought the whole thing couldn't possibly get any worse, the feeling of having this man slowly lift her from the ground with extreme care was something that she could have never prepared herself for.

"Maybe you should go to the hospital" she heard Miko say, still very worried about her.

"No way, I'm just fine, I promise. Can we just pretend I didn't embarrass myself by falling hard on my ass?"
That got everyone laughing and she relaxed right away. "Seriously, just go back to skating."

Miko didn't need to be told twice. She smiled at Yae and soon parted with a few intricate steps, focusing on her session.

The man by her side wasn't as easily convinced.

"Are you sure you're ok?"

Yaeko's face filled with an embarrassed grin. She truly didn't know how to deal with the whole thing.
Would it be wrong to admit that she had recognized him? Maybe it wouldn't be so bad when it was clear that he had successfully avoided everyone's suspicions.

"I'm fine, Hanyu-san. But I appreciate the concern."

He looked down right away, not even bothering to hide that he wasn't planning on being recognized. Even so, he only needed a few seconds to process the whole thing and finally answer her.

The thing was, he seemed to want to surprise her as well.

"I wasn't sure you'd recognize me, Takayama-san."

Yaeko was nowhere near ready to know that he knew her or that he somehow remembered meeting her in Tokyo.

Her body was filled with a warm feeling that was impossible to describe and if she had flushed before, Yae was certainly beet red now.

"I... you remember me?"

"Hard not to."

He didn't elaborate much further, but the concern still hadn't left his eyes. In a way, she found it quite adorable.

"Stop worrying."

"It would be a shame if you got hurt, just that. I want to make sure you can be on your own before you actually hurt yourself."

It was a bit insulting, but she could easily accept the comment, especially when the guilty look on his face after he said it was more than enough to see right through his intentions.

"It's my first time on the ice so I expected the falls."

As if something clicked, the man's worries seemed to vanish.

"Well, if you ever need some help to improve a bit, I'll gladly do it."