Songs For Us [English Version]

Twenty-four. Stay with me.

There was a scheduled practice in the afternoon, but around the two skaters there was nothing related to their sport but a park with snowy trees, a long wooden trail and the slightly distant sounds of the city.

Beside Yuzuru, was a girl staring at the sky mottled with gray and white like a big painting as she walked.

"Dal"

She glanced at him to discover him offering his hand. He was wearing a medical mask to keep his asthma away so she couldn't see how red his face really was. Still, his eye-smile revealed he was grinning under the mask. Dalia looked away as her hand found its way to his.

There, they noticed for the first time how hard it was to take the next step once you knew feelings were mutual; even more so since in less than a week they'd be leaving to opposite sides of the world -although they were aware the other understood that perfectly.

She loves figure skating as much as I do. Her eyes said so, her expression when she stood in the middle of the ice staring at the crowd after her Short Program in Helsinki, heart beating fast and uneven breathing. It was also in her gestures when the screen announced she had outdone herself with a new 'Season's best' score – which made the audience clap once again.

In the past few days, Yuzuru had discovered a possessive side of himself. He had only kissed her once and now he wanted to hold her close all the time -and he did, yet he also spent a lot of time feeling unsettled: he'd find himself frowning at the back of the room as she laughed next to Shoma and Boyang or when she greeted Michael Martinez, snorting and rolling his eyes when she smacked Nathan's head as if the American male was a little kid with an argument that said something like 'I told you not to be an idiot and you still let it get into your head and acted like a brat in front of the press!' before actually congratulating him for his gold medal at the 4CC.

It annoyed him. And then he started to act like a kid demanding attention.

"Hey, Dalia. Can I ask you about your skating?"

"Huh?" She stopped and turned to look at Nathan -who took her away from him without a second thought.

~

"Can you help me with my artistry? You have that softness in your skating... If you could, maybe... give me a hint to improve a little, please?" Nathan begged with puppy eyes, making Dalia chuckle.

No one had ever asked her such a thing before, except for the children she was teaching at her Club and Hiroyuki. Even less a gold medalist -someone as good as Nathan.

"Give me your hands." Nathan blinked, bewildered. "I can't tell you as much as I can show you."

"Oh." He nodded. Dalia started moving backward and Nathan followed her, unsure of what to do.

"Have you ever tried to skate in sync like Ice dancers do?" After he hummed in response, she continued: "Try it. And don't look down, you can land quads- you'll be fine."

Nathan looked up to meet her eyes.

"The trick is, fully knowing your body: the way each gesture looks from outside. What does feel comfortable for you?"

"Hmm..."

"My coach always says: 'everything must look effortless and your face should always say you're comfortable even when struggling'"

Nathan snorted, slightly amused.

"But, still" Dalia said softly. "If you are comfortable, you can express freely through your body." The male skater seemed lost. "For example, if you do this..." she turned and her back touched his chest and she somehow managed to get his hands to hold her waist, suddenly making them skate in a position that seemed strangely romantic even though Nathan had no idea of what was going on. "What are you telling the audience? What's the story? Everything has a reason in your routine, you don't move just because, you want the rest of the world to experience whatever it is you're feeling: sadness, peace, anger, hatred, happiness, unbearable loss or desire."