Playing with Fire | Yuzuru Hanyu

44. Arrangements

To say that Yuzuru spent a big majority of his nights at Aria's house would be an understatement.

Slowly but surely, she was teaching him all of the promised things that they had agreed upon months before.

It was kind of hilarious to see all of those things he never thought to be into become kinks of his.

Truth be told, Aria had this way of always convincing him to try new and exciting things and somehow make him enjoy it. Not that he could ever complain about their experimentation.

It seemed like even on those days when he was completely exhausted after training, Aria found a way to make him relax in ways that he had never imagined before.

More than anything, their little games always made sure that neither of them was left unsatisfied.

He was even proud of himself for being courageous enough to try some of the things she suggested. Then again, he had never been one to back down from a challenge.

It worked very well because they were respectful of each other's limits and always took extra care to make sure there was comfort in all of the craziness.

Even still, if anything, their explorations only made their connection stronger.

It was after one of those nights, while he caressed her naked back in soft touches that brought shivers to her skin that he asked her one thing that had been on his mind for a while.

"I was thinking... you could...if you wanted... come to Worlds with me."

There was no coincidence in his timing. Yuzuru had been thinking about suggesting it but he didn't want the answer to be an immediate no. Having her like that, slightly pliant after an evening of pleasure seemed like the best possible way to convince her.

Aria was clearly a bit wordless. He saw her open and close her mouth several times without a single word leaving it. Only a few moments later did she finally manage to say something.

"Worlds?"

"Yes."

"Remind me when and where?"

"Helsinki, in 2 weeks..."

Unlike what he immediately expected, Aria didn't seem to be focusing on saying no or finding any excuses to refuse. Instead, she seemed to be considering her options.

"I... I'm really curious about seeing you skate but I don't know if missing classes is good... Also, is it wise for us to be together in a public competition of yours? Isn't that bad given your celebrity status or whatever?"

"You won't have to show up in front of the cameras. I could make arrangements to make sure no one knew you were with me... And well, about missing classes, we both know you will probably miss them either way, it's just a week anyway..."

He made a very compelling case and it was easy to see her walls crumbling and slowly accepting the suggestion. Given how hard he expected this to be, her reaction was better than he could have ever predicted.

"I don't know..."

"Just think about it... Both of us in a foreign country, hotel room all to ourselves..."

Aria could only laugh. She could barely believe that this was the same guy that she had met almost a year before.

"How's that any different from having you in my bed, in the privacy of my apartment?" she questioned him with a smirk on her face, loving the teasing mood that had somehow settled between them.

"It isn't, but if I'm in Helsinki, I won't be in your bed."

They laughed in unison after those words left him but Aria already had an answer on the tip of her tongue.

"And you somehow think I won't be able to survive being without you for a week?"

"I know you're a very independent woman that needs no man and all of that but think with me for a bit... you wanted to see the costumes, remember?"

Now that was a convincing argument.

They had been talking about the possibility of her attending one of his practice sessions but the mere thought of Aria seeing Julia at the TCC and making the connection was too risky. He just had a feeling that she would say something and maybe cause a scene. As happy as Yuzuru was with things between them, he didn't feel the need to throw it all in his ex's face.

Ever since Aria saw the costumes in his closet, she had been begging for him to try them on for her. The curiosity was natural and obvious and the only reason why he didn't do it before was because he had a feeling it would come in handy for a time like this, when he needed all of the leverage to convince her to go with him.

"I guess I could go and see what's so great about you on that ice..." she joked right away.

"I promise you will enjoy it."

She had no doubts she would but it was always good to tease him about it.

"You do? What if I don't? What if I find it boring?"

"If you find the skating boring, I'm sure you can find entertainment in looking at something else." he answered with confidence, making her smile from ear to ear. Yuzuru might have been silly, but it was yet another one of his traits that made her love him so much, even if they hadn't exactly admitted that to one another just yet.

"Now that's always a great idea."

His face brightened as he realized that she was saying yes, Aria wanted to go to Worlds with him. 

He couldn't just cheer without teasing her a bit further.

"I'll even allow you to pick my training outfits."

That made her eyebrows raise.

"Baby, all of your training outfits look the same."

"Exactly why I'm allowing you to choose."