Dangerous Lines | Yuzuru Hanyu

17. Closeness

Against all of her survival instincts and most likely, her husband's will, her mornings remained the same.

Still, as much as she was able to hide things from her husband, the same didn't happen with the other man.

It took Yuzuru one single look at her and he instantly could tell that something had happened, even without looking at the scarf that was strategically placed around her neck.
For the longest time, he had gotten used to seeing her cover up most of her body but her neck was usually an area that she had exposed.

"What happened?" he asked with concern evident in his voice. She could do all she wanted but he could read her way too well.

"What makes you think something did?"

Yaeko didn't want to tell him, she didn't want Yuzu to know what had gotten her into this mess and she certainly couldn't find the courage to admit that their friendship was a bit more to her than what it seemed on the surface.

"Don't even..."

"I'm fine."

"Are you covering your neck?"

Yuzuru was way too smart and aware for his own good but then again, she had been the one being obvious

"It's just a scarf."

Yae should've known by now that she could never predict this man's next move but it still surprised her whenever he did something different.

Yuzuru didn't even allow her to sit down before dragging her out of the public eye and out of the coffee shop, the only words leaving his mouth were directed to Nakayama-san, in assurance that they would be back soon.

"Tell me" he ordered as soon as they reached the back entrance.

"Yuzu... You shouldn't be concerned about something like this."

"That just tells me that something did happen."

Yae would never be able to explain how she found herself suddenly uttering in slow words what had happened in the past day, even if she still avoided giving him any details about her deepest fantasies.

Word by word, the figure skater's stance seemed to tense even further and she was afraid of the moment it all broke and he released all of the frustration in her, just like her husband had.

But Yuzu wasn't like that, he wasn't her husband and she needed to remind herself just that.

"How dare he?"

Hearing his question caught her a bit by surprise but if anything, having this man take the scarf around her neck and expose the dirty work of her husband to his eyes seemed to affect her even further.

"It's fine."

"It's not fine that he hits you."

"He never did it before... I... He had his reasons."

Yaeko pretty much admitted the whole thing, not even bothering to attempt to hide it when he could read her so well.

"I don't like it that you're defending his actions... but...Why, though?"

As much as she tried to keep it all to herself, it didn't seem like he would budge. Yuzuru wanted to know the whole truth instead of being fueled by little small things that didn't help in the slightest.

"I was thinking of someone else when we... You know... And he realized it."

Yuzuru's eyes analyzed her carefully, doing a once-over of her body with a slightly raised brow. She knew he didn't mean to but it was extremely obvious how he seemed to be attempting to find further answers with her body language.

"When you..."

"Don't make me say it."

They were quite effectively alone but it didn't mean that it was easier to face the whole thing.

Yuzu was curious, that much was obvious, but in the end, he did allow her to get by this whole thing without embarrassing her too much.

Or at least that's what she hoped.

Still, he wanted just some small information that she would never wish to give him.

"So... Will you tell me who the other person was?"

That was the moment she hit his chest in frustration, her strength barely enough to get any reaction but a few giggles as he enjoyed seeing her embarrassed.

"You will never know that."

"Maybe I already do."

She could have foreseen it from the distance, the shift of mood that got them both warm and red. It was more than obvious what was about to happen and yet, the moment his lips touched hers, none of the feelings in their head managed to match the whole thing.

Being kissed by this man was something she had fantasized about for weeks on end but her imagination couldn't come remotely close to reality.

The warmth that consumed her whole body in an instant seemed to make everything go away. It was a whole new reality, without her husband or the family that she had grown to accept, it was freedom.

Yet, all at the same time, it was dangerous.

If up until that point she could easily argue that nothing had happened between them and everything was in her head, the feeling of his lips on hers was a gentle reminder of just how much the man kissing her didn't deserve the craziness and danger that came with her life.

"Yuzu... We can't..."

"Tell me you don't want it, tell me you don't feel the same."

He knew as well as she did that it was impossible to say something like that without lying. The feelings might have been hidden, but they were still there without any doubts.

"You know I can't."

"Then don't fight it."