Moment of Truth

Chapter 41: Attitude

"I cannot lose," Yuzuru mutters to himself as we headed back to the hotel after the men's short program concluded.

Yuzuru popped out of his quad in his combination jump, causing him to lose points in that element. He came in third after Nathan Chen, an American skater in first, and Shoma Uno, a fellow Japanese skater in second. After coming off the ice, Yuzuru had shot me a sad expression before putting on a smile for the Kiss & Cry.

"I know, but you can't win everything," I say without thinking.

"But I want to win," Yuzuru responds almost aggressively.

I give him a look as if to not use an aggressive tone with me. "You can still win, but you can't let this get into your head. You need to be focused for the free skate."

"I will be focused. I can still win. There is still hope."

"Of course there is. And I'll support you no matter where you place on the podium."

I kiss him in the cheek before going to my own room. It's not always fun to be around Yuzuru when he's in a mood. He's so hard on himself when he doesn't get first. I know how much he wants to win, but he doesn't always have to be a champion. Life isn't always about being in first and that's something Yuzuru struggles with. I've talked it over with Coach Brian all the time and it's hard to shake Yuzuru out of that mentality. It's just best to not be around him when that happens.

"Mai, please look at me," Yuzuru practically begs as I am looking away from him. We're back in the ice arena for the free skate and I've subtly avoided Yuzuru and he finally noticed.

"Hm, did you say something, Yuzuru?" I ask turning my head to the other side, still away from him.

"I'm sorry for my attitude."

"You better be sorry for your attitude. I do not take kindly to you going into one of your moods."

"I'm sorry, Mai. Please forgive me."

"I will forgive you. I know how you are at competition and I know this isn't you normally so I'll forgive you. But no more attitude this trip or don't even think of taking me to Worlds. Cause I will stay back in Canada."

"Okay, okay. I will watch my attitude from this point on. I'm sorry, Mai."

"Good. Now, you have your six minute practice coming up and you need to finish stretching so get back to that."

"Okay."

Yuzuru walks over to his yoga mat and continues stretching. I plop down on a bench and lean against the wall behind me. I let out a huge sigh. Sometimes it's hard having a champion of a boyfriend who doesn't like to lose. The weight of the bench shifts as someone sits down next to me. It's Coach Brian.

"Yuzuru's being difficult still?" Coach Brian asks with a laugh in his tone.

"He was, but I set him straight," I answer back glancing over at the Japanese skater. "I told him if he kept up this attitude, I wouldn't go to Worlds with him."

"Ooo, an ultimatum? And it must have worked, he seems to be in a better mood."

"He better be. I'm holding him to it. I just hope he does well in this free skate."

"He will. We talked it over and I'm sure it'll work out fine. He has everything he needs to do well."

"Well, here's hoping."

So apparently Yuzuru decided with Coach Brian and Coach Tracy to throw in a quad-double combination and a triple axel into the performance so Yuzuru could gain the extra points. They weren't the best he could've done but they were still landed without him falling. That decision shot Yuzuru to first in the Free Skate but is still behind Nathan Chen by 4 points. That still upset Yuzuru. But it's better than being in third.

After Yuzuru comes off the ice from the medal ceremony, he comes up to me and hold up the silver medal lamely.

"It's not what I wanted,"Yuzuru mutters unhappily.

I roll my eyes at him. I have no sympathy for the Olympic champion. "You know, you got silver at 4 Continents right before the Olympics last time. Maybe this means that you'll get gold again at the Olympics next year," I tell him to give him a little hope.

Yuzuru looks at me and then a thinking look covers his face. "That is true. The last time I went to 4 Continents was before the Sochi Olympics."

"Mhmm. Now, we have to go to some press conferences and then we can go to back to the hotel. I'm getting tired and cold."

"Of course you're getting cold. Look at how thin your jacket is."

The jacket I'm wearing is stylish but it isn't meant to shield out the cold. Yuzuru takes his Team Japan jacket and puts it around my shoulders. It's warm and fuzzy on the inside.

"Wouldn't want you to get a cold now, right?" Yuzuru says with a cheeky smile.

"Yeah, cause if I get a cold, you'd miss me too much," I remark, putting my arms through the jacket. It's a bit large on me, but I like it that way.

"You look like you're swimming in my jacket."

"I like it that way. Maybe I'll just keep your jacket."

"You can't keep that jacket. It's one of my favorites. And I need that jacket. It's my team jacket."

"Too late. Didn't you know, Yuzu? Girls only date guys for their jackets. So I'm keeping this."

"Wait, what? You can't do that!"

"But I'm your girlfriend, Yuzu. And you're the one who gave it to me just now."

"That's not what I meant!"