Serendipity - A Yuzuru Hanyu Fanfic

xxxvi.

The next day

Third Person's POV

It was chaos. Luna had not been able to sleep and now, she kinda regrets she didn't. There were a lot of reasons why she was restless but the main reason why is because of her short program score yesterday. She was sure she had it in the bag. And she did. Yesterday's event concluded with Luna sitting on the lead with Alina and Zhenya right behind her. However, this was not her plan. She wanted to be in a comfortable lead in order to have, in case of emergencies, tiny room for errors in her free skate. Now, Luna realizes that her skate today must be utterly perfect in order to get her hands on the gold. 

And what she did was sneak out last night from her room and practiced by herself. By herself, meaning Yuzu followed suit because he knows how Luna's mind works and he expected her to act that way. Throughout the night, Yuzuru never stopped insisting that Luna should rest. He was practically begging her. But of course, Luna being Luna, she didn't listen. Now standing and warming up backstage, Luna looks like a lost puppy, gazing into nothingness and her mind empty of any thoughts. 

However, she was pulled away from her trance when Yuzuru tugged on her wrist gently and pulled her away from the cameras. 

"Y-yuzuru?" Luna stuttered in confusion, wondering where the man is taking her. After a few minutes of walking, they stopped at the park just outside the stadium where there are no people since the Ladies' free skate had already started a while ago.

"Sit." Yuzuru said, pointing at the bench in front of them. Luna obliged, still confused as to why Yuzuru brought her here. 

"Don't talk okay? Just listen." He said and Luna nodded in reply. "You looked like you were getting eaten alive by your own thoughts. Also, the cameras focusing on you weren't helping so I pulled you out here. You still have about an hour left before your group anyway." He explained as he sat down beside Luna. Yuzuru breathed deeply before continuing. 

"I may not know how you truly feel but I understand. You may feel like you NEED to win gold or whatever medal it is but there's something I want you to remember. Win or lose, I'll always be right here. We all will be. It was you who taught me that, yes winning is fun, but what matters most is that we're having fun doing the thing we love the most in the world. It's heartbreaking to see you crumble down because you feel like you're carrying the world on your shoulders. But Luna, look around you. We're all here for you. The people love seeing you skate. We love seeing you perform. You are glowing and shining when you skate. That's what make you stand our from the others. So please... You don't have to do anything special. Just be yourself." Yuzuru said with his voice filled with care and sincerity. 

Of course he is worried. Yuzuru knows Luna has been feeling pressured ever since a few months back because of the Olympics. Luna tried hard to hide the fact that she feels like she has to win. After all, she's certain this will be the first and last Olympics of her life. But alas, as the days pass by, it seems that it's impossible to compose herself anymore especially since she's injured.

As Yuzuru talked, Luna had tears streaming down her face. Yuzuru is right. She had forgotten why she's truly here. She unconsciously had become greedy. By the time Yuzuru finished speaking, Luna is already trembling. In Luna's head, she found it funny at how many times she cried in Pyeongchang. But what can she do? In front of everyone else, she is known to be a skater that do not show any kind of weakness. With Yuzuru though, it is completely different. She's an open book to him. He can read her so well that he knows her more than Luna knows herself. 

Luna buried her face in her hands, covering it as she sobbed uncontrollably. She needs this, Yuzuru thought to himself. And so, he gently held Luna's head making her lean on his shoulders. Yuzuru also knows that Luna hates crying in public places so he covered her head with his jacket.

"Go ahead. Cry and don't hold back. I'm here." Yuzuru whispered as he held her hand in a comforting manner. With those words, Luna cried harder. He noticed how she's still trying to hold it back which made his lips form a small smile but he felt tears threatening to fall from his eyes. She's trying to be strong, huh?

Thoughts ran round and round inside Luna's head. Indeed, she feels a whole lot better as she continues to cry her heart out with Yuzuru beside her. But at the same time, she can't help but feel bad for him. He's still trying to be strong, huh? She knows how Yuzuru never stopped thinking about Luna's condition. She still can't believe how he's holding up despite knowing she'll be leaving soon. Luna doesn't feel sad for herself anymore. She feels bad for Yuzuru. He did not deserve this. 

Luna mumbled something which made Yuzuru quickly wipe his eyes before asking. "What's that?" 

Luna removed the jacket on top of her head before meeting eyes with Yuzuru. "I-I'm sorry..."

Yuzuru's eyes widened for a second before tears started to fall one by one. He knows what she's talking about. Of course he knows. How could he forget? All this time, he tried taking his mind of off it, insisting that a one in a million chance, a miracle, can happen. 

"Don't be. Don't hold back out there, okay? You're the most passionate skater I've ever known. Whatever happens don't hold back. More importantly," Yuzuru faced Luna and held her shoulders before continuing, "don't hold back because of me. I'll be okay. We'll all be okay." Yuzuru said before engulfing Luna in the most comforting hug he can do. With every word he said, his heart ached. Yuzuru wants Luna to hold back. He wants her to stop and continue to live longer so they can grow old together. But he knows that if he said that, it would just hurt Luna instead. Yuzuru remembers every single word Luna said to him a few months back before they left for Pyeongchang. It would be selfish of him to keep Luna from doing what she's passionate about. 

And so, he can't do anything but accept the reality. 

Luna's sobs died down after a few minutes with Yuzuru gently carressing her back as if trying to stop a baby from crying. Luna was the first one who pulled away from the hug. "I love you, Yuzuru. Never forget that." She whispered, her lips still trembling. 

Yuzuru looked down at her and smiled fondly. "And I love you, Luna. Never forget that." He said as he wiped her tears away with his thumb. "Ready to go back now?" 

This time around, Luna smiled for real. A sincere smile. Luna nods and stood up first, making Yuzuru chuckle before he stood up as well. "Well then, let's go!" Yuzuru said.

And the two entered the venue once again, this time both of them ready to conquer whatever is coming their way. Are they really prepared?

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HIII!

I'm so sorry for the late upload. I just decided to sneak this short chapter in. I feel like I still need some time to give you guys the best ending I can come up with. Worry not. I hope it will come to me in a few days HAHAHA just kidding. But I will update as soon as I can. 

Also, I want to say thank you AGAIN. We are at 8.2k reads and 474 votes! I appreciate y'all so much! From the bottom of my heart, thank you!

I hope all of your are safe wherever you guys are. 

Stay golden, lovelies! ✨