Moment of Truth

Chapter 39: Valentine's

"It is Valentine's Day here at the Gangneung Ice Arena in beautiful Gangneung, South Korea and we can see young love on the ice. Well, at least one person is on ice."

"That's right. We have the young couple of Yuzuru Hanyu and his translator/mini-manager, Marie Vincenté. Miss Vincenté is holding Pooh-San while conversing with Hanyu while he is on the ice. There has been some excitement stirring about these two as they have been seen together a lot on social media. I can confirm they are dating."

"Well, Tracy, you do get first-hand experience as you see them everyday. But there is no doubt that this couple is taking the ice world by storm. I love seeing them together. They were so cute at the Grand Prix Final when she sat with him in the Kiss & Cry. I'm sure everyone had their eyes on them."

"I do see them everyday back in Toronto and I can tell these two love each other very much. Just last month Marie surprised Yuzu with a belated birthday celebration at the rink. There were smiles all around that day. Sometimes, Yuzu will go to Marie for input before going to Coach Brian. And we all can't help but smile watching them together. It definitely a different atmosphere since Marie came into the Cricket Club."

"I'm glad this young lady has made such an impact on Hanyu. Since I've seen her coming to these competitions, there has been a change in Hanyu's skating. He's more passionate and he's harder on himself for getting less than perfect scores. It's almost like he's doing it for someone else than just himself."

"I can agree to that. She has made the best impact on him and I'm sure we'll still see them all the way to PyeongChang."

"There is no doubt about that."

"Do you like romantic things?" Yuzuru asks me back at his hotel room. We just finished his practice and are allowed to relax now.

"I would like to say so, but I don't like surprises," I admit lying in Yuzuru's bed. "I like surprising people, but never being surprised."

"Oh. Okay."

"Do you have anything planned? I mean, it is Valentine's Day. I'm surprised we haven't done anything yet or have given each other anything."

"Did you get me anything, Mai?"

"I may have. It's in my luggage. I wasn't sure when I would be able to give it to you."

"You didn't have to give me anything."

"I know. But it is our first Valentine's Day together, so I felt like I needed to get you a little something."

I go to my hotel room next to Yuzuru's and grab his gift from my luggage. I hide it behind me back so Yuzuru won't see it. I go back to Yuzuru's room with the gift behind me.

"Yuzu, close your eyes and hold out your hands," I instruct him.

Yuzuru does as he's told and holds out his hand. In his hand I place a little plush heart pin that reads: 'Pooh-San loves Yuzu.' I had ordered it last month from a handmade site called Etsy. I saw it and thought it would be great to put on Pooh-San for Yuzuru. Yuzuru opens his eyes and looks at the item I placed in his hands. He examines it and his eye widen at the message on the pin. He quickly grabs Pooh-San from his bedside table and sticks the pin on Pooh-San's back. He puts Pooh-San down and gives me a tight hug.

"I love it," he murmurs into my ear.

I hug him back right and whisper back, "I knew you would. I'm glad I got it for you."

"Now I need to do something special for you." Yuzuru pulls away from the hug and holds into one of my hands. "You deserve something special."

"Getting to be here with you is more than enough, Yuzuru. You don't have to get me anything or do anything for me."

"But I will. Just you wait. You deserve the world for all you do for me. I can never thank you enough, Mai."

"Oh shush."

I kiss Yuzuru on the cheek and in turn Yuzuru kisses me on the lips. I deepen the kiss as Yuzuru places a hand on the back of my neck. We continue kissing for a while before I feel a tongue flick at my lips. Yuzuru and I have never gone past simple kissing before so I don't know what to do. I just follow his lead. I part my lips, allowing Yuzuru's tongue to slink into my mouth. His tongue laps at mine, turning this simple kiss into a passionate tango of tongues. Our tongues play with one another and our bodies seem to pull towards one another. Suddenly my back is to the bed and Yuzuru is hovering over me, maintaining our mature kiss. It is only when Yuzuru started to lose air does he break the kiss. Yuzuru and I huff and puff as we regain composure after that kiss.

"Um... Not to ruin the mood or anything," I murmur as I gain control over my breath. "But where did you learn that from?"

"I didn't learn it anywhere," Yuzuru admits bashfully. "Javier tried to explain it to me and I decided to try it."

"Wow. Remind me to thank Javier when we get back."

"So was that good?"