Playing with Fire | Yuzuru Hanyu

50. Fall for you

The undeniable effect of seeing him skate was very well present in her head as she went back to their room.

Saya had asked multiple times if she wanted her to do anything else while waiting for him, only for Aria to dismiss her completely.

She was way too engrossed in the image of Saya's sexy brother to even be able to think of anything else.

Staying in the room, patiently waiting for him was all she could think about at that moment, mindlessly looking outside the window and the beautiful views of a snowy Helsinki. Aria had no idea if he would take too long or not but she wanted to talk so much about what she had seen on that nice morning that it was almost impossible to contain her excitement.

When Yuzu finally got back to her a few hours later, Aria was still in the same position, unmoved from the time she had arrived as well, still looking outside.  What she didn't know was that from Yuzu's perspective, seeing her like that after the session was scary as hell.

"Aria?" he called out, seemingly noting just how out of it she seemed to be. She didn't even answer him at first, too focused on all of those lingering thoughts in her head. "Baby, you're scaring me."

It was only then that she turned, finding his scared expression with a gentle smile.

"Hey."

Yuzuru had no idea what to do or what to even ask. Until that moment he had barely realized how overwhelming the experience could be for her. Watching him skate for the first time while seeing his fans get a bit crazy was something that could be too much for the girl, as normal as it was for him.

"Whatever is going on, we can fix it."

It seemed like only then did she realize the sheer panic in his face. Yuzuru seemed hyper-scared, reminding her of his words from before about being scared to lose her.

"What are you talking about?" Aria asked right away, now fully conscious of the situation.

"You just seem off, I thought it was about today."

"You were pretty amazing but there's nothing wrong."

Yuzuru looked like he didn't believe her for a second.

"It looked like something was wrong... the way you were just looking out the window..."

Aria stood with a big smile, approaching him slowly and cautiously, eventually reaching his closeness and hugging him tight.

"I really like you, you know that right?"

Somehow, that only seemed to make him worry more.

"Please tell me you're not about to break up with me with some nice words just before I compete at Worlds."

She couldn't stop the giggle that left her as soon as the words left his mouth.

"You're so silly, Yuzu."

His hold on her tightened and his fear was more than evident.

"Aria..."

"I'm not going anywhere, you idiot. It will take a whole lot more for me to let you go... I don't know if you're aware, but you're a pretty great catch."

The attempt at humor clearly worked when she finally got a laugh out of him, the mood clearly relaxing slowly.

"You're a pretty great catch too, beautiful girl."

Kissing his lips felt natural and almost expected, the tight hold on her waist never faltering. 

"I didn't mean to scare you. Watching you today gave me some perspective but it only made me realize how lucky I am to be in your life, how lucky I am that your crazy ex barely decided to give you a chance and brought you into my arms, and how lucky I am that you're able to overlook my past and see beyond my previous career. You're this superstar in your world and I'm just a pharmacy student who works in a random grocery store with a past of escorting. Luck like this doesn't happen in real life. I feel like I have been living in a dream for the past months."

That seemed to bring his full attention to her, focusing on her every expression as if trying to figure out just how serious she was. Not that he needed that much to know that Aria was speaking from her heart.

"No person is perfect. Fame doesn't make me any different than you and we all have our ups and downs in life. I'm very happy that in the middle of all of this mess, we have somehow found a way to one another and to be quite honest, even though I planned on doing this differently, the truth is that I've fallen for you. I've fallen deeply and utterly in love and every day I only seem to love you more."

Aria's eyes filled with tears as she truly realized what he was doing, confessing those feelings they had both avoided saying out loud for fear of ruining the whole thing. Admitting it made it real and it was scary as hell.

Yet, with his eyes on her, caring and loving, nothing seemed to be wrong.

When he looked at her like that, Aria felt almost invincible and ready to take on any challenge that dared to face both of them.

At that moment in time, being by his side felt right and more freeing than she could have ever expected.

It was in the middle of her tears that a few giggles came out as she fully realized the weight of the situation and words that he had chosen.

Aria pushed him away teasingly with the palms of both hands "Why do you always have to do these things in the most inconvenient of times?".

Seeing Yuzuru laugh, a bright grin on his face, was all she needed to be happy.

"Our relationship was never normal, why change now?"

She couldn't resist pecking his lips at that time, resisting the urge to pin him down on the bed and have her way with him just as she planned while watching his body move during the session.

Now, slightly calmer and less horny, Aria could see the importance of this particular moment. Yuzuru needed the rest for the competition but she also knew he needed this one thing as well.

"The truth is, handsome, I have fallen for you so easily that it scares me. You're not the only one who fears the loss of this bond we share. I love you with everything I have and somehow, it now seems impossible to live without you."

Just as always, Yuzu had to have the last word and not one to be taken lightly.

"Aishiteru."