Dangerous Lines | Yuzuru Hanyu

66. Experience

It was so easy to feel at peace when you're surrounded by those you love.

Yuzu made her feel safe just by being there and that was an assurance she needed after so long away from him.

She was exhausted from the past few days. Giving birth and dealing with a newborn all by herself was never an easy task but when you added all the anxiety and fear from her husband it was easy for everything to be just on the verge of too much.

While he was there, holding her in his arms while staring at their baby in silence, Yae didn't feel bored. She just allowed her body to relax against his body and truth be told, it didn't take that long until she fell asleep.

So many sleepless nights had made it so she desperately needed the rest and you could also be certain that Yuzuru wanted to provide her exactly that.

Once he realized she had fallen asleep, he knew very well that it was a terrible posture that would leave her in pain the next day.

Getting her more comfortable did mean that he had to take the baby from his mom, hopefully without waking either of them up.

In truth, that was the biggest challenge.

As much as reality was finally settling in and he accepted that he was now a father, Yuzuru didn't have that much experience with children, let alone a baby so small.

No matter how afraid he was, the skater still decided to try his best.

Yuzuru managed to stand up without moving either of them too much and before doing anything, he did a quick scan of the house, realizing where the bedroom was and instantly spotting the simple crib right by the bed's side.

Once he was certain of where everything was, Yuzu was finally ready to take action.

Picking up the newborn for the first time was a feeling he would never forget. The baby remained asleep, quiet and peaceful as Yuzu tried to deal with all the emotions going through his body.

He made this little human being.

It was an equally amazing and crazy feeling to experience all of it for the first time and he would certainly have a lot more days to spend with that little bundle of joy.

Yuzuru was very proud of himself after successfully placing the baby in the crib, which was by far the most difficult part of his mission. He was finally able to take a good look at Yae.

Her tired expression pained him, making him swear to never allow her to do anything by herself anymore.

After a few moments of watching her sleep, he finally went over to the couch and picked up her limp body as gently as he could. Carrying her bridal style, Yuzuru heard a small whimper leave her body.

"Yuzu?"

"Shh... rest... I'll get you in bed."

"The baby?"

"Already in the crib, sleeping. Let me take a bit of the burden from you. It's time to get a bit of rest."

Yaeko merely nodded as he finally placed her on the bed.

Yuzuru didn't even bother to get his suitcase from the entrance of the condo, choosing to just strip to his underwear and get in bed by her side.

It took just a few seconds until she rolled up and cuddled into him. 

Feeling her like this for the first time in so long meant more than he could ever describe. Her familiar scent was like honey, warm and inviting.

Maybe they didn't have that much time together in the past but he had always felt a connection with her that went beyond anything he ever felt before. Those short and intimate nights they shared had gotten their son into this world and he still remembered every detail of them. There was no doubt that this connection he felt was unique and needed to be cherished.

His hand settled around her, holding her waist to his body, pulling her as close as he could muster. Contact never seemed to be enough, no matter how much he had it.

They had a lot of months to make up for but he didn't want to pressure her into anything, especially when her body had gone through so many changes in the past week. Yaeko needed to recover before he could even consider intimacy with her.

"Thank you for being here." She eventually muttered.

Yuzuru thought she was asleep but he had clearly been wrong about that.

"I had to find a way, my parents agreed."

Yaeko's eyes suddenly opened and stared right into his soul.

"You told them?"

"I needed to if I risked the info going public."

"Yeah."

"Are you mad that I did?"

"I'm just thinking of what they must think of me. A married woman having a child with another man is never a good look."

"Most people can't even begin to understand the true circumstances of what happened between us. It's not as if you married that monster willingly and if my parents are telling me to hurry up and get by your side, I think that's a good indication that they don't really care about it."

"What about you? Don't you care that your image could be affected by me and our son?"

"Yaeko... our son is my biggest pride, better than any medal I could ever achieve. That's not something I could ever feel embarrassed about. If that did happen, whatever they ended up saying would have no truth to it. We didn't do anything wrong until you were finally out of that family, I only ever touched you after the agency took you out of there. If anything, if they hadn't, I don't think either of us would be here to tell the story."

Yuzuru's mind was very obviously settled on every word that left him. The skater didn't hide for a single second that he had no regrets, no matter how things ended up being.

"I love you." was all she could answer to his thoughtful words and it certainly worked in getting him to smile.

"I love you too, baby. In the future, I will make sure to prove it to you over and over again. You are both my priority now."