The Ice Prince // Yuzuvier Fan Fic

Chapter Four

A/N: OK. I've been sleeping on this chapter for too long lol and I still can't figure out why it's annoying me. I'm closing my eyes and posting...

Yuzuru:

Hot chocolate? I watched Javier as he skated away from me and looked down at the flask warming my hands. I really didn't drink or eat anything that wasn't on my list of dietary requirements and Coach Brian had given me his own list yesterday that pretty much matched the one my mother made for me. I knew for a fact hot chocolate was on the 'BAD' list...

But Javier had taken time out of his morning to make me something and that in itself...a token of acceptance from someone I'd seen as a rival for so long was making my resolve weaken. It was just one day. One day wouldn't make that much of a difference, right?

I took a sip and nearly spat it out on the floor. I coughed as politely as I could and covered my mouth while I tried to choke down the hot sweet liquid. So sweet... what on earth had he put in here, and entire beehive? Oh my God...

"Good, right?" He asked as he whizzed past me. I pinched my face into something appropriate and gave him a thumbs up. There was no way I could open my mouth right now.

"I'll see you tonight." My mother was saying on the phone. "My flight lands at 8 so don't have dinner without me." I was so tired today that all I wanted to do when I got home was sleep. Honestly, as much as I'd prayed for this move, it was taking a lot out of me at the moment. My body was having trouble catching up right now. I felt like I needed a second to relax and breathe but...

"Of course." I muttered. "Do you need me to send a car?"

"How old do you think I am?" She grunted in reply. "I can take ...what do you call those ...things...those things. You know what I'm talking about."

"An Uber?"

"That thing." She said firmly and I had to bite my bottom lip to keep from smiling.

"If you're sure." She humphed and hung up after a quick goodbye. I picked up my gym bag and I was shoving my towel back in when I noticed something was wrong. Where was...

I looked around my bag on the bench but clearly it wasn't there or I would have seen it already. I peeked under the bench and around the back...nothing. Shit. Don't panic, I told myself. Don't -

"Are you looking for this?" I heard from the doorway and I looked up to see Coach Brian standing there with my precious Winnie the Pooh doll in his hands. I could feel the blush creeping up my neck in a hot flash. As much as I didn't want to be embarrassed, there was still something mildly humiliating about my heavy dependence on my good luck charm.

"Thank you." I said when I shuffled over to him and he handed me my bear. I couldn't even look at him. Takahashi Sensei had barely tolerated my need to have Winnie with me every time I skated. He'd found it childish and unnecessary; but he let it slide when the last few times he'd banned me from having him with me, my scores had been horrendous. I had just turned away from Coach Brian when he said,

"So, you like Winnie the Pooh, huh?" My breath shook when I sucked it in.

"Yes." I admitted, facing him again. "It's...like my..."

"Good luck charm?" He asked with a raised eyebrow and I nodded. I'd rather he know how much it meant to me now than to have to fight my way into keeping it with me by the time I needed to skate in a competition.

"It's important." I said with as much meaning as I could. He nodded once and looked down at the doll in my hands again.

"I get it. I'm a little superstitious myself. You know, in a way, Winnie the Pooh is Canadian, too." He said, surprising me.

"Really?"

"Mmm." He smiled at me. "The creator was based in Winnipeg. Which is where the Winnie comes from."

"I ...didn't know that." I said softly. When he left a little later, the heaviness in my heart disappeared too.

Javier:

I dropped the weights on the soft mat as gently as I could with my flagging strength and flopped down next to them gracelessly. Damn. Instead of getting stronger it felt like I was getting weaker. It was the strangest feeling and I was starting to hate it.

I made myself get up off the floor and headed to the showers. Once the water was nice and steamy, I stood under the spray and let the hot water dissolve all the tension in my back. If there was time before our next competition I might ask Coach Brian about bringing in a physiotherapist again to do something about the knots in my neck.

I took my time getting dressed because I could and I was feeling lazy, and just when I was done wiping my hair so I could put my shirt on, my phone rang. It took me a while to find it and I chuckled when I answered.

"Hello Mama."

"Javier." She grunted roughly. "Why don't you answer your phone?"

"I just answered it now." I said and she sniffed.

"Laura said she spoke to you the other day. About your birthday."

"Mmm..."

"We haven't seen you in so long..."

"I know."

"Your Papa is - "

"I'm really busy with training, Mama. You know how hard it is to leave." Skipping even a couple of days this close to the beginning of the next season would be crazy. I did miss everyone back in Madrid though...

"I know, but ... " There was coughing in the background and my mother sighed. "I have to go, Mijo. Behave, OK?"

"Always, Mama. I love you."

"I love you too." There was a click as she hung up and I leaned my head against the tiled wall. I hadn't been wallowing in guilt for long when a small squeak of sneakers on tiles made me look up.

"Sorry." Yuzuru said as he came further inside. I've noticed that Yuzuru said sorry a lot and sometimes there wasn't even a particular need for it. What had he done that he needed to apologize for?

"It's OK." I said, grabbing my towel and wrapping it around my neck. "I was just leaving."

"Oh." His mouth settled into a pink shaped oval and for some reason it was adorable on his face. Yuzuru wasn't quite someone I would have considered cute before, but then again most of the times we'd met had been under the stress of the competition and his game face had been set. Except that one time at Worlds...

He was swinging his bag onto his back when the words flew out of my mouth like vomit.

"Do you want to go out tonight?"

"Excuse me?" He blinked at me. Jesus, he had long eyelashes too.

"I mean..." I stammered as I moved closer to him. "I'm going down to the bar tonight...with some friends. It's...just a thing. But you can come with? If you want?" I finished lamely and he stared at me without expression for a few moments.

"I can't." He said and I deflated slightly.

"You can't?" Maybe he was just weirded out by the date-like invitation from a rival and didn't feel like saying no outright...

"My mother. She's flying in from Japan tonight. I can't." He replied and I was a little relieved.

"Oh...your mother. Oh, yeah. Of course. I get it."

"I'm sorry." I waved away his words and grabbed my own gym bag.

"No, it's cool. Some other time, right?"

"Some other time..." He repeated and I got out of there quickly.