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I woke up to Yuki giving me soft kisses on my temples. "Nabi," he whispered.

I buried my face against his chest to shield myself.
"I know you want to sleep a little more, but we have to get ready. Our flight is in three hours," he said, gently stroking my hair.

I stretched, feeling my body stiff and sore. "I can't do it... I think you broke me," I mumbled.

He stifled a laugh. "Not my fault you kept challenging me last night."

"Mmm, next time just ignore me," I groaned.

"Never. Come on, get up," he said, helping me sit up. I winced, feeling a bit of discomfort.

"Does it hurt a lot?" he asked, concerned.

I shook my head. "Just a little, but I hope it passes soon," I replied as I headed to the bathroom.

I looked at myself in the mirror. My face seemed a bit tired, but definitely different from usual. I looked much more relaxed and calm compared to my typically serious and tough expression.

I took a shower, letting the hot water soothe my tired muscles. After taking my time, I did my skincare routine and got dressed in my comfy sweatpants and a t-shirt before leaving the bathroom. Yuki was already dressed in his team gear and talking on the phone.

"Figure out how to handle this issue. Try to release the interview videos today... yes, I know they aren't finished yet," he said. As I approached, he turned and gave me a small, slightly worried smile. "Okay, I'm counting on you," he added, ending the call.

I wrapped my arms around his waist. "Is everything okay? Something wrong?"

He cupped my face, gently brushing his thumbs across my cheeks. "Yeah... it's just... on social media, fans are posting that I was looking for a local influencer in the crowd during the game, when in actually, I was searching for you. So now the journalists are going crazy, publishing tons of articles about this supposed dating rumor."

I looked at him with a smirk. "Admit it, you were really checking out that influencer."

He shot me a playful glare. "I only remember you being the one moaning all night in bed with me."

I poked him in the side and pulled away from the hug, grabbing my things. "I'm starving. Can we eat first?"

"Whatever you want," he replied, placing his hand on my waist as we headed out.

Downstairs, we left our bags with the others and joined them for breakfast. At the same time, Hiro and Ayumu showed up as well. We grabbed food from the buffet and sat down at the tables. I was craving eggs and bacon, so I piled my plate full.

"Good morning," we all greeted each other, though some of them looked exhausted.

"Rough night?" I asked.

"Don't even get me started. The people upstairs were shagging all night. I barely got any sleep."

Oh no... I hope they're not talking about us.

Yuki, casually eating, responded, "I slept great."

Ayumu snorted loudly, and I just kept eating, ignoring them all.

After breakfast, we headed to the airport for our flight back to the dorms.

- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -

The flight back was pretty quick for me since I slept the entire time to make up for the lack of sleep from last night with Yuki.

He stayed by my side the whole time, helping carry my things as we moved from one place to another, since I was still half-asleep.

courage dear heart    |    Yuki Ishikawa Where stories live. Discover now