Playing with Fire | Yuzuru Hanyu

54. Explore

All of Aria's fears turned out to be completely wrong when she first saw him after the performance. Yuzuru hugged her so tight that she wasn't sure what was going through his mind at the time.

"Yuzu? Are you alright?"

"I'm sorry I couldn't show you my very best."

It was only then that she realized that Saya had been right. Yuzu didn't blame her, not in the slightest. He was just worried sick that she wasn't impressed by his amazing skills on the ice and that he had somehow disappointed her.

"You do know that I only realized you made a mistake because your sister was right by my side? You could have told me that the knee on the ice was on purpose and I would have believed you."

The giggles that left him in reaction were the most adorable thing she had ever heard. Yuzu seemed to have a weight lifted off his shoulders.

"I still can't believe I screwed up like that."

"You didn't feel distracted because of me, right?"

"No, baby, not in the slightest. You're not to blame for anything related to my skating, don't you even dare to think you are."

"I always worry...How are you feeling now?"

Smiling, he took her hand and smiled widely at her.

"Far better now that I'm with you."

She couldn't help but laugh at his silly attempt to turn around the subject, but she didn't want him to feel bad by bringing it up over and over again.

Kissing his lips, Aria just thought of everything she could do to make him happy despite how things started.

"I know you're going to go out there in a couple of days and kill it. For me, the outcome doesn't matter, the only thing that matters is that I was able to watch you skate in a competition for the first time and the truth is that you're incredible despite the results you may or may not achieve."

"I knew I had brought you here for a reason." he joked right away, a kiss on his lips being more than enough to bring grins across their faces.

They were happy despite how the competition started and Aria honestly hoped it would be more than enough to make him relax and think of the positive things that were happening.

On that afternoon, Yuzu threw caution down the wind and decided promptly that they were going to the city.

Truthfully, Aria worried that he could be recognized, and deep down, she knew he worried too because he was far too aware of his status to suddenly forget about the obvious circumstances of his popularity.

"Are you sure you want to go? I'm fine with staying at the hotel."

His face told her everything she needed to know.

Yuzuru wanted some normalcy in their lives at that moment and she would eagerly provide if it meant making him happy. If somehow, at the end of this adventure, someone managed to catch them together, then all she could do was face the music and deal with it.

"Maybe we can just avoid big crowds?" he told her after some consideration.

"If you really want to do this, I have no problem in being by your side. I just don't want you to feel like we have to do it when we're here for your competition."

He silently took her hand, grabbed her warm jacket, and placed it on her body, not uttering a word as he guided her out of the door.

Aria noticed him pulling a black mask and a cap in silence, not bothering to tell him that it would probably be useless when everyone knew that the Figure Skating World Championships were being held there.

Still, she just allowed him to guide her through one of the back exits of the hotel as if he had planned for it in advance. You could almost believe that Yuzu had done some investigation work to make sure he could pull it off.

They got on the street and strangely enough, it seemed like no one was really around, making it easy to just sneak and walk out of the building without much effort.

Yuzu had a gentle but firm grasp on her hand as he walked, she saw him pull out his iPod and open Google Maps. At least on this one thing, he didn't know everything and needed a little help from the internet.

Her almost silent giggle made him look at her with a smile.

"I've been around here before but never really explored. Better make sure we don't get lost."

"That doesn't surprise me a single bit."

Aria knew him well enough to be aware of his usual nature and Yuzu wasn't one to just go out and explore the places he was at. She was pretty sure he barely knew Canada and Toronto despite living there for years. In a way, it only made her more thankful that he was doing this for her, even with all the risks it could bring.

They walked for a while until they reached a big and beautiful park, full of trees that were partially covered by snow given the cold weather of the Nordic country.

The park in question, Esplanade Park according to Yuzu, who had read it from his screen as they walked, eventually finding a small market right in the center.

From that moment on, he just turned the screen of the device off and focused on her and their surroundings. The place was crowded beyond what she was comfortable with but the reality was that with so many people, it was very easy to go unnoticed, despite the competition.

For a while and for the first time since arriving in Helsinki, she felt like they were just like a normal couple, vacationing in a foreign country, enjoying beautiful views and architecture.

Was it a good feeling? Of course. But it was an equally foreign one that felt weird to experience.

As amazing as it was being normal, part of Aria knew that this was one thing that they wouldn't always have and it was fine. There was nothing usual or normal about the man she fell in love with and if it meant sacrificing part of the normalcy of her life to be by his side, she would do it in a blink.

So if they got just a few small days like these when the mere sight of some cute items on a market with him by her side was enough to make her happy, there was no need to expect anything else.

Having him was worth every sacrifice.