Dangerous Lines | Yuzuru Hanyu

20. Solutions

It's hard to say that they longed for the possibility of being caught, but were they even doing anything that wrong?

No matter what was in both of their minds, besides that little slip of a kiss, nothing else had really happened.

Whether it was the mere fear of being caught or the fact that both of them were more than aware of the risks, it seemed like their morning routine never evolved much further.

More than that, the fact that her husband seemed to be escaping from his crimes once again meant that their extended holiday could soon be over and the direct consequence would be parting ways with Yuzuru.

Yaeko had been thinking about the whole thing and even mentioned it to him multiple times but the skater always said that they could find a way.

Well, every day that went by meant that the day of their departure was getting closer and closer.

Still, neither of them seemed to be ready to face that fact.

If anything, the one key difference in Yae's life was how much the mood of Kiyoshi had been shifting.

Her husband was way too happy with the situation. The prospect of finally returning to a life he loved so much. The privilege of being back in a position of power and enjoying every perk that came with his status.

More than anything, the return to their usual life meant that Yae would lose the small freedom that was acquired during the time in Sendai.

The good old life of being able to move without bodyguards in her tail would be over from the moment they stepped foot in Tokyo.

As concerning as that was, all she could even think about was the fact that seeing him again would either be a rarity or purely impossible with how much things would change.

Just as fast as she started thinking about the possibilities and their limited time together, the whole problem finally arrived.

It didn't even take too long until her husband found a way to fix all of the dreaded plans.

On one night he was telling her about the intention to return and on the next morning she had immediate instructions to pack.

But she couldn't just leave Sendai without saying a single word to the man who had been making the whole experience so much better. It wasn't even just about Yuzuru. Yae wanted to say goodbye to Nakayama-san and everyone in the coffee shop and the small streets that surrounded it.

The request to have one more final morning routine had gotten her husband's brow to raise and she had no doubts that his suspicions were back almost right away but if anything, he just ended up nodding and telling her to go.
Whether his mood was just good or he just didn't care, it was hard for her to know but one thing was certain, she would take full advantage of the opportunity.

It wasn't every day that he so dutifully allowed something he didn't trust. Well, for all that it was worth, it was probably only because he knew she would be under his confinement for the next months but whatever it was, she would just go for it without hesitation.

Seeing Yuzuru on that morning was like a breath of fresh air. It was almost as if she needed him to breathe and everything just seemed to get better from the moment he showed up in front of her eyes, no matter how much conflict had been in her head.

He too, brightened up when his head lifted and saw Yaeko, none of them could hide how good it made them both feel to see one another.

Sitting on her usual chair, it was unavoidable to look a bit sad and even dejected as she remembered that this would most likely be the last time they were like this. It was also inevitable that the man in front of her would notice it with just a few words. None of that had changed and it probably never would.

"What now?" he asked, not even bothering to ask whether she was ok or not. All of it was way too obvious.

"We're leaving Sendai."

Yaeko saw all of the emotions go through Yuzuru's face. As sneaky as he could be with his feelings sometimes, for her, he was always transparent as well.

"When? How long do we have?"

Her face contorted painfully. This was exactly what she meant when mentioning the subject before. They should have talked about it when they had time rather than waiting for the moment to happen. Now it would all be rushed.

"Today... he just told me when we woke up."

Yuzu seemed disappointed right away but at the same time, you could almost tell that he wasn't too surprised about the whole thing.

She could have never predicted what happened next.

Yuzuru took a phone from his pocket and handed it to her.

"What's this?"

"I figured he is probably monitoring your phone in some kind of way."

"So?"

"I bought you another one."

How did you even react to something like that? Was he waiting for the moment she left to give her this?

"How long?"

"I know you think I've been ignoring your pleas for us to talk about it, but I've just been trying to find a solution. It isn't perfect but as long as you can hide it, we can talk sometimes. I can't imagine not being able to talk to you at all."

"So you got me a phone?"

"My number is the only one saved, I didn't use my name since I figured it's probably safer."

She could barely believe how much he had thought about the whole thing, how much he had considered while she just lamented about their imminent departure.

This man just kept surprising her over and over again.

"It can be dangerous... If we're ever caught..."

"The whole thing has been dangerous from the moment we met. At the very least, let us enjoy what we can have."

Just like that, they had found a way. The real question was how much trouble it could bring.