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Yuzuru Hanyu was a masterpiece when he was on the ice. He was an angel decended on earth, to bless us with his flair on ice, to entrance every living being with his fluid movements and gestures--it wasn't even an exaggeration, except well, the angel bit. In short, Yuzuru was born to skate.
It was another typical evening in Toronto--Yuzuru and Javier were going through their usual trainings at the Cricket Club before their next competition for the season. The other skaters had gone home already, leaving the two behind to continue their practice. Brian had reminded the duo to clean up after they were done with their practice before he left relunctantly, coming to terms that both Yuzuru and Javier were never going to budge until they had perfected their routine (least till someone physically removed them from the rink).
Javier had already wrapped up his routine for the day. He stood at the edge of the ice, nonchantly leaning his well-built body against the barrier. He gazed at the gliding figure on the ice, not paying attention to anything else. They were immersed in this little world of theirs, the both of them, where nothing else mattered at that very moment except the cold of the ice and the heat of his performance.
Though Yuzuru's was already close enough to perfect, he still thought it wasn't enough. He practiced relentlessly until the movements were carved into his muscles memory, made it so that his body would remember those movements, almost to the point where it seemed as easy a task, like breathing to him. Everything needed to be precise--every minuscule move to be at his very control.
"Beautiful," Javier muttered, not realising he had said it out loud, but even if he did, he really didn't care.
He was undeniably spellbounded--his breath held at every graceful move the young man made, his eyes focused on the curves and muscles of his well-toned body. Javier drank in all of his graceful motions, the way he turned his head, the way he bent his back, his spins and jumps as captivating as always.
Yuzuru's choreography was full of languid but powerful swaying gestures. He somehow managed to make his movements look elegant and delicate, yet commanding at the same time. He tilted his head, emphasising his swan-like neck, his eyes fluttering shut as if he was dancing by feel. It must be a crime to have eyelashes that long, Javier thought.
The biellmann spin was his personal favourite- which in this case, mind you, Yuzuru just conducted with ease-a one-foot spin that required a foot to be extended over and behind the head. This particular move was almost always performed by women but Yuzuru being the flexible ice-god he was, decided fuck the rules and executed it fabulously anyway. The position itself required immense flexibility and spinning ability, a task which was hardly a struggle for Yuzuru to accomplish. It was as if he had the ability to bend his body at any angle inhumanly possible. His every twist, every turn, ever so pliant and agile, so carefully executed, not a hint of mistake. Never mind that he just popped his quadruple salchow (it was his Achilles' heel, but there was always room to improve), the crowd would've swooned over it anyway.
Yuzuru was the kind of person who could entice his audiences into his every wim and fancy, having the capibility of reducing them to a hysterical screaming mess every time he landed a jump or so much as just looked at them. He benefitted from it anyway. The main source of his boundless energy came from revelling in the applause and cheers of those endearing fans, and anyone would've thought this kid was making a poorly attempted joke when he told Javier he had asthma when he first introduced himself, if their coach hadn't earlier.
No one should be that versatile and have that kind of effect on people... except Yuzuru of course.
Javier could spend hours just watching Yuzuru practice. Hell, he could dedicate his whole life just to watch Yuzuru skate. He had watched him for years, yet he still couldn't get enough of it. He had watched him bloom from a nervous, 17-year-old teen with promising potential to a dazzling, 20-year-old adult who wore an air of well-deserved confidence. It never failed to baffle him no matter how many times he watched the young man perform.
He often spent an awful amount of time mulling over Yuzuru's sheer willpower and determination, and his strive to win, to be perfect. This ensued Javier to question his own objective, but ultimately, it motivated him to become a better skater.
After a few more graceful whirls and spins, he landed cleanly on his last jump--a quad toe loop. He paused in a dignified poise before resuming his usual position. He raised his head slowly, panting, his chest heaving up and down. He lifted his sleeve and wiped the beads of sweat that trickled down his forehead.
At the end of his smooth run-through, he glided towards the edge of the rink where Javier was, smiling sheepishly. "My quad salchow," he huffed as he placed his arms on the rinkside, resting his head on them. "Still bad."
Javier looked affectionately at this adorable creature he called his friend and smiled. When he was off the ice, he was just Yuzuru Hanyu. Still the same brilliant figure skater, but just Yuzuru. Innocent, quirky, adorable Yuzuru Hanyu.
He handed Yuzuru a cold bottle of water (and in this moment, Yuzuru looked at him as though he was looking at his goddamned tissuebox) and the latter wasted no time and immediately emptied the entire bottle within a matter of seconds, not wasting a single drop.
"Really?" Javier said after he had finished his drink, ruffling the young man's hair fondly. "But i do admit it seemed a little rusty though." Javier joked.
"You bully me too much Javi," Yuzuru pouted so adorably that Javier couldn't help but melt a little inside. He was utterly defenceless when it came to Yuzuru and his little pouts. How was it possible that someone could be so talented yet be this sinfully cute? Oh, the unfairness of it all.
"I wasn't, I swear," Javier raised his hands in mock surrender, but he meant it. Yuzuru wasn't perfect nor was he infallible, but he was undisputedly one of the best figure skaters of their generation. Heck, he might even be the best skater that had ever existed, regardless Yuzuru acknowledged it or not. "But hey, I could always teach you." He continued jokingly and shrugged.
"I know you can." Yuzuru's mouth curled up in a bashful smile. "That's why i come here in the first place--learn from Brian and train with you." His eyes glimmered and Javier swore he could saw stars in them. "Your jumps and quad sal very beautiful, i really like."
Though he had heard it many times before, heat rised to his cheeks and a feeling of pride swelled in his chest when he heard Yuzuru's declaration.
"Let's not get ahead of ourselves." Javier coughed and Yuzuru gave him another pout. "It's getting late anyways. How about we wrap things up and continue tomorrow?"
"Ew, you sound like Brian." Yuzuru made a face and wrinkled his nose.
"Is that supposed to be a bad thing?"
"No...cause Brian is good coach and person," Yuzuru pretended to be deep in thought. "But you also start to look like him with your grey hairs and wrinkles."
"Hey, i'm only four years older than you!" It was Javier's turn to pout as he unconsiously brushed his own face. Yuzuru tried to stifle a giggle.
"But you so silly," Yuzuru said tenderly. "Silly Javi, silly Javi, silly Javi." He recited Javier's name like a mantra, and he thought about how awfully pleasant it was to hear his own name spilling from Yuzuru's lips.
He brushed the thought away quickly and blushed, hoping Yuzuru wouldn't notice. "What say we head to my place and play video games?" Javier offered. "I can make a pretty mean spanish dinner, too."
"Yes, I'd love that, coach." Yuzuru replied all solemn-like, but couldn't hold onto his composure and burst out laughing again.
Yuzuru's laughter was a melodious sound that Javier didn't mind listening to forever.
"Before that, one more race?"
Javier grinned. "You're on."
And with times like that, when Yuzuru was all smiles and laughter, was Javier happy, truly happy. He wished this little moment on ice wouldn't end, and as long as he was with Yuzuru, he didn't mind being trapped in this little sparkly ice-world of theirs.
That was all that mattered.