Dangerous Lines | Yuzuru Hanyu

53. Dad

A few days before the dreaded date, Yaeko was finally allowed to travel back to Tokyo.

Against all of her arguments, Yae didn't go back alone. Hana made sure to take the whole week off to be by her side in case of anything, good or bad.

It was very uncertain just how much Yuzu knew. The last time they spoke had been almost a week prior and Agent Miura ordered a complete cut of contact until the trial. They just didn't want to risk anything more by placing the famous skater in the middle of the case when it was already so public.

Someone wishing to bring down the Yakuza was always national news but given leaks that the whole case was built based on proof gathered from someone on the inside made everyone even more curious.

Anyone who watched the news on that week would be aware of the case and there was a feeling that half of Japan was carefully watching. People were curious and it seemed like everyone wanted to know who was bringing these people down to the mud.

The real scale of the whole thing was only evident then, as she was surrounded by bodyguards in a random hotel in Tokyo, trying to get to the courtroom.

Yae was shaking uncontrollably with her surroundings. It seemed like there were a hundred journalists waiting for her outside the door and not even her friend was allowed to be there, not with so much attention around the case. The mask on her face did nothing to assure her safety and all of those strong men surrounding her didn't seem enough with just how many people were outside.

This was a high-scale case but the reaction of the public was very unexpected. One could almost think that someone famous or important was around to make people go so crazy.
But it was just her.

Yaeko was dressed in the loosest fitting clothing she could find as she tried to hide her very obvious belly but in the middle of all that mess, she just felt vulnerable. In her head, everyone would be able to see it, everyone would know.

Weirdly enough, given the full scale of everything, that seemed like the least of her concerns then.

Shaking uncontrollably, not even the presence of Agent Miura seemed to be able to calm her down, no matter how much he tried.

"I promise you're safe. You're one of the most guarded women in this country right now."

Yaeko knew he was trying to reassure her but the reality was that he was far from succeeding. If anything, he just reminded her of the danger. No one had so much protection without reason for concern.

She was maybe halfway in the route to the car when it became too much. The overwhelming noise consumed her senses and she felt like the ground was disappearing beneath her, her limbs threatening to fail her as everything turned dark.

The girl was barely able to understand what was happening when two strong arms caught her in the midst of the fall and raised her to her feet.
If she hadn't heard the comforting and familiar voice behind her, Yae would have believed it all to be a dream.

"You're ok, I got you."

"Yuzu?"

"Shhh. Just walk, slowly. Be careful"

His arm was wrapped around her body in a protective manner, ready to catch her if she came close to losing herself again.

Yae barely had the chance to look at him, but the mask and sunglasses on his face did nothing to cover up his distinguishable features. Yae felt like it was all too obvious, he could be recognized and if this went south, then Yuzu would be in serious danger.
She couldn't believe he was there, publicly by her side.

They hadn't even spoken about this, they hadn't thought about all the possible consequences.

More than anything, she was surprised that they allowed him to be there.

It was only once they successfully made it to the car that she confronted him, fully ignoring the fact that Agent Miura was there and listening to the full conversation.

"Are you out of your mind?"

Yuzuru's laughter filled the car as he removed the sunglasses from his face. It felt almost weird to see them on him, but all of those feelings were quickly overwhelmed by him. Seeing his face for the first time in months felt incredibly reassuring, almost beyond expectation.

And she wasn't the only one excited.

It seemed as if her baby was very aware that his father was right there with how much kicking she was feeling. Her son had always been an active baby, but never with as much intensity as she felt then.

Her hands settled on her belly in instinct, barely missing how Yuzuru looked at her with so much love and care.

"I was hoping for a warmer reception." 

Yuzuru's jokes were all she needed to relax slightly, the emotions fully setting in as she got the chance to experience everything properly.

It was only then that she allowed her body to take over and embrace the man she missed so much.

"You know I'm not supposed to stress? Your presence isn't helping."

"Liar."

He was right. The mere touch of his arms around her body made her relax, fully laying on his chest for what felt like the first time in ages.

"I missed you."

"I missed you more, my beautiful girl."

Yae could have sworn she saw a hint of a smile on Agent Miura's face as he pretended not to watch the scene. The man had a weak spot for them and it showed.

Her focus was only brought back to Yuzu when she felt his touch on her stomach.

"Hey baby" he uttered while touching her belly, not allowing any doubts about who he was addressing.

The small whisper made her heart beat faster. Yuzu was finally experiencing it all by her side. He could finally feel the presence of his son.

"I think he likes his dad already."

Repositioning Yuzu's hand, Yae guided his touch to where their son kept on kicking and soon enough, the man holding her had tears on his face.

"I can't wait for this to be over, I can't wait to meet our boy. "

"I can already see how much you will spoil him."

"What's wrong with a dad spoiling his son?"

Just like that, there was no turning back, Yae was instant jelly on her seat. There were no doubts, Yuzu would be the best father in the world.