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Javi picked up on the first ring. He didn’t need to check the name on the screen. “Yuzu?”
“I did it, Javi,” came from the quiet voice from the other side. “I’m done.”
“Oh, Yuzu,” Javi sighed. “I was watching the stream. You were so brave, cari, I’m so proud.”
There was a muffled sob. “I’m so happy, but is such a big thing. And now I can see you again.”
Javi felt a pang of guilt. While Yuzuru was organizing a last-minute press conference to announcement his retirement from competitive skating, he was laying on his couch in Spain with his cat on his lap and haphazardly clearing out half of his closet and dresser drawers. In the days leading up to the press conference, he was the only person Yuzuru told about his decision, and he felt the honor deeply. He had been as supportive as he could, sending texts and calls and even ordering a bouquet of flowers to be delivered to Yuzuru’s house, but it wasn’t the same as being there in person.
“Where are you right now?” Javi asked instead.
“I just got back to hotel,” Yuzuru explained. “Tomorrow morning I go on shinkansen to Sendai and start packing.” Javi could feel his smile from across the world, and he idly thought, he should greet Yuzuru with some kind of gift, to thank him for uprooting his life to move in with Javi across the world.
He bolted upright, dislodging the cat from his lap. She gave an offended yowl, but he grabbed his laptop from the coffee table and absently patted her head. He typed in the search bar, “jewelry stores near me”.
OOO
Two weeks later, the moving arrangements had almost been finalized. These days, when Yuzuru facetimed Javi, the blank white wall behind him was replaced by stacks of brown boxes and suitcases filled with everything he was taking to Spain. The night before his flight, he called Javi with his family in the room, too.
“Hiiii, Javi!” Yuzuru pushed his sister offscreen and added softly, “Hi.”
“Hi, Yuzu,” Javi greeted. “Are you all packed?”
Yuzuru nodded, his bangs bouncing. “All ready for flight soon.”
“I’m so excited to see you,” Javi said softly. They locked eyes onscreen for a beat of silence, and Javi's hand subconsciously drifted to the small velvet box in his pocket. Even though he hadn't had a chance to give it to Yuzuru yet, he'd taken to carrying it around with him in his daily life as a pleasant reminder of his partner's impending move.
Saya broke the spell and whispered something in her brother’s ear, then laughed as he turned red and elbowed her in the side.
“What did she say?” Javi asked.
Yuzuru frowned and looked down. “A dumb joke, that’s all. She said you should… how do you say? Put a ring on it.”
“What?” Javi asked.
Yuzuru gestured and glanced up briefly, then fixed his gaze on the floor again. “Like, to commit by getting married or engaged before moving in together. In Japan, people live at home until the wedding.”
“Have you thought about getting married? To me?” Javi asked. In the background, Saya had lost interest in their conversation and started talking to her parents, but the sound faded away, his world narrowing to Yuzuru’s face.
“Javi, I never thought I could have all this.” He pointed to the stacks of boxes behind him. “I used to think people like me… I don’t get to be happy.”
Javi didn’t need to ask what he meant. To some extent, he also knew the pressures of living in the spotlight, a man in a sport that was already perceived as too effeminate, too gay, even. He knew what it was like to tread the line between being too friendly with other skaters, and wearing costumes with too many rhinestones; he knew what the judges and sponsors whispered. Many years ago, he’d been pulled aside by a federation official who explained this all to him and warned him to be careful. So Javi had carefully chosen his friends and his costumes, and his girlfriends too, and walled off the part of his heart that thought too much about the bright dark eyes he saw at practice every morning. Until one day, when he’d woken up and decided he wanted something else.
Yuzuru laughed uncomfortably, a sharp, raw sound. “I never thought I could have all this. I never dreamed…” He shook his head. “Javi, I am happy. And I choose this life with you.”
It was a strangely intimate declaration to make in the chaos of his living room, but Javi was touched. He’d never doubted Yuzuru’s commitment to their relationship, but he’d also never heard his partner’s feelings laid bare like this before.
“I love you, Yuzu,” he declared. To lighten the mood, he added, “Do you want to get married? I could book an appointment for next week.” He was halfway joking and halfway serious.
Yuzuru laughed. “I take longer than that to unpack, Javi. And I still need to arrange ice time.”
Javi laughed too, but at the bottom of his stomach, he felt a curious mixture of disappointment and hope.
OOO
Living together was difficult, but Javi loved every second of it. He had worried at first, about fitting their separate lives together, and he had briefly wondered if their relationship would survive this new step, but Yuzuru took to life abroad with the same focused determination he applied to quad flips and curating the perfect playlist.
He had somehow negotiated for private ice time at Javi’s rink—just like home, he said, he just had to ask the woman at the desk—and spent two hours skating late at night, six days a week. He had a copy of the keys to the door and to the Zamboni, and he took great pleasure in resurfacing his own ice at the end of every session, leaving the surface smooth and perfect. Javi didn’t want to even think of how much it must have cost, but Yuzuru seemed pleased enough with the arrangement. So every night, Javi went to sleep with Yuzuru in bed next to him, close enough to touch, and every morning, he woke to the sounds of Yuzuru making tea in the kitchen and humming to himself when he thought Javier was still asleep.
They had settled into a routine of sorts. Every morning, Javi got ready to leave for the rink while Yuzuru, more often than not, took increasingly intense Zoom calls with dozens of collaborators for his shows. Javier never tired of hearing Yuzuru talk wildly about his shows, Prologue in the fall and what initially seemed to be the faraway pipe dream of Gift at Tokyo Dome. But as the weeks passed and Yuzuru’s plans began to come to fruition (“Jabiii, there will be giant hands, like, really really big ones, right next to the screen!”), he began to spend less time on the endless calls and more time on the floor with the coffee table pushed aside to make room for his yoga mat. More often than not, Javi came home—because his apartment was home now that Yuzuru was in it—in the afternoon to see him lying on his back, eyes closed, earphones in, so still he looked asleep.
“What are you doing, mi vida?” Javi would say, and Yuzu would always smile, startled, and sit up while pushing his bangs out of his eyes.
“Image training, Javi,” he’d reply, as if it were obvious.
As the leaves changed and the morning wind gained a chill, Yuzuru’s efforts intensified. He started spending more time at the rink, or simply dancing through his programs in their living room. After the rare times when he would make a mistake, he would punch the air in frustration and start over. He would look at himself in the mirror, adjusting the most minute angles of his fingers and neck and recording himself dancing from his phone propped on a bookshelf. Javi admired his efforts, but he couldn’t exactly relate. He’d always thought of ice shows as a way to make some money in the off season while seeing friends and putting on a good show for the fans. But Yuzuru treated his shows like another competition, preparing with the same mindless determination he had always shown at Cricket. And every time Yuzuru closed his eyes and moved fluidly through the choreography of his new programs in the semidarkness of the living room, Javi felt a swooping sensation in his stomach, just as he used to feel when watching Yuzuru compete from the boards and thinking, it’s like he’s from another planet.
Javi decided to plan a date night, to take Yuzuru’s mind off the shows, he told him. It was a testament to the strength of their relationship that Yuzuru didn’t protest, and instead, he just put on the navy-and-cream sweater Saya always said brought out his eyes.
Javi made reservations at their favorite Japanese restaurant—not sushi, though, since Yuzuru didn’t like fish—near a park Yuzuru had always said he wanted to explore. The box was burning a hole in his pocket. They had dinner and walked around, holding hands under the fairy lights lining the gravel path, and Yuzuru leaned his head on Javi’s shoulder and told him he had a wonderful night. And then they went back home, and Javi poured two glasses of wine, his hands shaking. He brought the glasses out to the couch and saw Yuzuru curled up against one armrest, shoes off, sleeves rolled up. When he looked up at Javi’s entrance and smiled, the most perfect, golden dawn spreading across his face, just because he saw him… Javi was lost. He couldn’t look away from Yuzuru’s smile.
“What is it, Javier?” Yuzuru asked, a frown beginning to take over his face.
“Um, nothing,” Javi replied, dazed. He sat down on the other side of the couch and placed the wine glasses on the table.
Javi reached out and took Yuzuru’s hand. “Yuzu?”
“Hai?”
“Yuzu, I…” Javi paused. Somehow, this was not how he had imagined the night to be going at this point, and having all of Yuzuru’s attention focused on him made it hard to think straight.
“Yuzu, you know I love you, right? I love you so much,” he finished instead, lamely. There was an awkward pause, and Javi looked down.
Yuzu reached out with his other hand and lightly touched his chin, angling Javi’s head up again to look directly into his eyes. “I do know, Javi,” Yuzu replied tenderly, his fingers still on Javier’s skin. He smiled again, and at that moment, Javi thought that he wanted nothing more than to see his eyes sparkle some more, forever.
OOO
As it turned out, that night was one of the last nights they spent together for several months. Yuzuru had to fly back to Japan the next week for an emergency meeting with the technician in charge of the light projections for his first venue, who was panicking about the equipment and the lights and shadows and what he called “the atmosphere of this place, Hanyu-san, the atmosphere is all wrong”. Yuzuru managed to soothe him and work on a solution, but then he was needed for a last-minute costume fitting with Satomi, and he was needed for a dinner with some of the higher-ups with one of his sponsors, and by then, it was almost time for Prologue.
Javi was busy too, traveling around Europe with his students, several of whom were competing on the junior Grand Prix circuit for the very first time. He picked up a few gigs doing commentary for Spanish broadcasting on the senior events and was invited to the opening ceremony for another seasonal rink on the other side of the country, but otherwise, he filled his time calling and texting Yuzuru whenever their schedules lined up, which wasn’t often. He reflected that even though they had had their fair share of long-distance dating, it was somehow harder now that they had been living in each other’s pockets. He had become so used to waking up to rumpled covers on Yuzuru’s side of the bed, two toothbrushes in his cup, a shiny plastic suitcase by the door, and a key ring with a Pooh keychain hanging on the hook by the door, that now that Yuzuru’s presence in the apartment was greatly reduced, the space which had once felt so cozy now felt empty.
Yuzuru was not doing much better. He spent his waking hours running around Sendai, putting out fires and making last-minute adjustments to his programs, and while he texted Javier from the backseat of taxis and cold, sterile hotel rooms, he was usually on three separate text streams with producers and sponsors and his creative director. Being back in Japan was also reminding him that his secret needed to stay safe for a while, anyway. He dearly missed being able to go outside in Spain with just a hat and sunglasses and be able to hold Javi’s hand in public whenever he wanted. At home, he got back in the habit of tilting his phone screen away from anyone sitting next to him to him, and even though it made him feel incredibly guilty, he changed his lock screen from a selfie of him and Javi holding Effie between them to a picture of fluffy, golden clouds he had taken from his seat over the wing of a plane. He comforted himself with the knowledge that he had taken that picture on his way back to Spain, anyway, so really, it was like having a piece of Javi with him, giving him strength. But it was just too dangerous to risk someone seeing a text message notification or overhearing him speaking in English on the phone and asking uncomfortable questions, questions he didn’t have acceptable answers to.
Eventually though, his Prologue shows came and went, Javi watching on the livestream and cheering him on via text. After he revealed Gift at the final show in Hachinohe, he hardly had a moment to breathe before he was thrown back into the swing of things, planning for the biggest solo ice show (and only the second in history) ever performed. Javier wasn’t able to come to the show in person, unfortunately, though Yuzuru had set aside tickets for friends, former collaborators, and even his coaches, just to make Javi being there less suspicious. But Yuzuru sent him pictures from backstage before the show started, and Javi responded with series of exclamation marks and emojis at every selfie of the Firebird costume or snapshots of the dressing room with its rack of costumes crammed on a wire bar. Yuzuru responded with a single blushing face and a heart emoji before he set his phone on silent for the next few hours.
Notte Stellata, his smaller show but one he held just as dear as the others, passed soon after, and even though Yuzuru was only able to assemble an eclectic collection of skaters who weren’t competing at or otherwise involved in the World Championships like Javi was, he felt satisfied with the show and touched by its effect on the spectators. Yuzuru had, he hoped, made Sendai proud once again. He didn’t skate for a full week afterwards, instead spending his time lying on the couch, napping, eating his favorite snacks, and resting anxiously, until finally he went to the airport, because Javi had arrived.
Yuzuru had to restrain himself from jumping into his partner’s arms, so he settled for a quick hug and stepping away reluctantly. Curious travelers in the airport eyed him, some undoubtedly recognizing him under the hat and mask, but for once, he didn’t pay any attention to their stares. Under his mask, he was smiling so hard his face hurt.
Yuzuru reveled in driving Javi home and carrying his suitcase in for him. The wind picked up as they walked up the driveway, and a smattering of cherry blossoms from the trees lining the street pushed them inside the house, landing on their coats and in their hair.
“Tadaima,” Yuzuru called, and at the sound of his voice, his parents came to the door to greet them. Suddenly, the narrow hallway was a flurry of motion, with his mother giving Javier a hug, his father a handshake, and both of them asking after his flight and offering him food. Yuzuru just laughed and pulled Javi down the hallway by his hand, leading him to the door of his own childhood bedroom.
“I thought we could share, if you don’t mind,” he asked self-consciously. His bedroom was a mix of Pooh memorabilia and old skating posters, one of which, Javier was delighted to see, featured him in his 2018 free skate costume.
“Yuzu,” Javi laughed, pointing to the poster, “Do you have something to tell me?”
Yuzuru blushed and swatted his arm. “It’s limited edition,” he countered. “Will be worth a lot of money when Javi is old and can’t skate.”
The rest of Javi’s visit was a whirlwind of visiting all of Yuzuru’s favorite places in Sendai and meeting his large extended family. Javi was delighted to learn that he had at least six cousins on each side, and all of them looked and acted much alike. Despite the language barrier, Yuzuru’s grandparents were well able to show Javi old photo albums and tell him embarrassing stories from his childhood, complete with pictures of his earliest skating costumes, while Yuzuru looked on and complained good-naturedly.
They even visited Yuzuru’s tree. They went in the middle of a weekday, so only a few people were around, mostly elderly couples visiting the park. Javi was touched to see one of the couples sitting serenely on a bench, holding hands and gazing at the trees in companionable silence. He imagined that they had been together for decades and had more years yet together, and he imagined him and Yuzuru sitting on a bench like that one day, then going home to a swarm of grandchildren and fluffy cats.
Javi gently touched the tree trunk. The cherry blossoms stained the air pink, and Yuzuru laughed as he reached out his palms to catch a handful of blossoms and throw them into the air. While he was distracted, Javi looked around again, and he realized that even the couple on the bench couldn’t see them from their spot by the path. He didn’t have the ring in his pocket, but he compulsively dropped to one knee.
“Yuzu,” he said, but Yuzuru did not hear him. He was looking instead at a flock of birds overhead.
“Look, Javi!” he pointed. He turned and saw Javi kneeling in the dirt. “Oh, did you drop something?” he asked.
The moment was lost. Javi lied on the spot.
“My shoelace is untied,” he blurted out. He looked down and saw both of his shoelaces tied as tightly as when they had left the house.
“Um, okay,” Yuzuru said. Javi tugged at his shoelace, and the knot did not budge. He stood up and dusted off the knees of his pants.
“I’m all better now,” he declared. Internally, he cursed. Would he ever be able to get up the courage to propose?
OOO
Javi and Yuzuru flew directly to Toronto after their idyllic vacation in Sendai. By then, Javi had become almost as valued a family member as Yuzuru himself, so they parted from the numerous Hanyu cousins and grandparents with many hugs and promises to visit again soon.
Javi could sense Yuzuru’s nerves. As the plane flew closer and closer to its destination, Yuzuru started bouncing his knee and drumming his fingers on the tray table. He startled when Javi placed a hand on his knee.
“It will be alright, Yuzu,” he reassured.
“I just worry that…” Yuzuru trailed off. “I worry it will be different.”
“How could it change?” Javi asked seriously. “Brian is there, and Tracy, and Jun and Jason and all the kids—”
“And Pooh,” Yuzuru interjected.
“Yes, and Pooh too,” Javi replied. Yuzuru just sighed and leaned his head on Javi’s shoulder, placing a hand over Javi’s. They stayed like that until the plane landed.
They took a morning taxi straight to the Hanyus’ former apartment, exhausted from jet lag despite the early hour. When Yuzuru unlocked the door and kicked off his shoes, he spared a glance for the living room, which was covered in a thin layer of dust, and headed straight down a smaller hallway to his former bedroom.
Entering behind him, Javi watched Yuzuru grab his Pooh plushie and cuddle it to his chest. Feeling like he was intruding on a personal moment, he instead looked around the cramped bedroom, taking in the cheerful purple bedspread and a garment bag with a shimmering costume hanging from the closet door handle. Javi could just barely make out ripples of blue and green tulle.
“I’m so happy to be back,” Yuzu whispered, his voice muffled. He continued speaking softly to the plushie in Japanese, and Javi smiled.
That night, after estimating the amount of boxes they would need to pack up the apartment and opening all the windows to let in some fresh air, Javi and Yuzuru were glad to take a break from sifting through the pre-pandemic time capsule and meet Brian and Tracy for dinner at a local restaurant nearby. After they finished the meal, the four lingered at the table, reminiscing on Javi and Yuzuru’s early days training together and sharing stories about the latest exploits of the Cricket Club’s junior group. But when Yuzuru quietly excused himself to go to the restroom, all conversation stopped, and Javi looked up to find two pairs of curious eyes on him.
“Javi,” Brian began in a hushed, intense voice, “we wanted to start by saying how proud we are of both of you.”
Tracy added, “We are so grateful to see both of you so happy. You know, I used to worry about you, especially Yuzuru, because he can be so, well… intense about skating and everything, but both of you are turning out to be such fine young men.” Her voice caught. Javi looked back and forth between them.
“What—I mean, what is this about?” he questioned.
“Javi,” Brian repeated. “We are so happy to see you two, well, together.” Tracy nodded vigorously and leaned conspiratorially over the table.
“But what are your plans for the future?” They both paused expectantly.
“Well, we were thinking about buying a house in a year or two?”
Brian shook his head. “No—I mean, that’s wonderful, but what are your plans for the future? You, and Yuzuru?” He looked Javi directly in the eyes, and unblinkingly tapped the base of his left ring finger.
“Oh.” Javi suddenly understood. “Oh.”
“We understand if that’s moving too fast!” Tracy interjected. “But have you ever, you know, thought about it?”
Javi grinned helplessly and pulled the box out of his pocket.
Eager to share, he explained, “I’ve been bringing it everywhere with me, just in case,” he rambled in a whisper. He popped open the lid and spun the box around to face them. “Just in case the perfect moment happens, I want to be ready, and I thought that being back here where we first met would be sentimental for both of us.”
“It’s beautiful, Javi,” Tracy exclaimed. “It’s perfect for him.”
“And I’m sure he’d say yes, whenever you ask,” Brian pressed. “You shouldn’t worry about that.”
“What is Javi worrying about?” Yuzuru asked suddenly from behind Javi. He slid into his seat and pressed a kiss to Javi’s cheek, while Javi scrambled to pull the box under the table.
“What? Nothing, nothing,” Javi repeated. He struggled to put the box back in his pocket with one hand while sitting down. “Nothing to worry about.”
Brian and Tracy exchanged meaningful looks with each other, and then both coaches directed their eyes at Javi.
“Oh, but Javi, are there any… questions you want to ask?”
“About coaching?” Yuzuru asked. “You know, Javi is doing so well with his new juniors,” he said, always eager to share Javi’s best points with an audience, even though he had already mentioned it earlier in the evening. “Maria is only twelve, and she can already do triple loop!”
“Maria is very talented,” Javi agreed firmly. “But we will work on adding the flip when the time is right.” He widened his eyes pointedly at first Brian, then Tracy. “When she is ready.” He sat back in his chair.
“Well, maybe she’ll be ready soon.” Brian tilted his head to the side. “You’ll never know until you try.”
Javi felt uncomfortably seen. He quickly changed the subject.
“Anyways, have Yuzu and I told you about the house?” Yuzuru squeezed his hand and added, smiling proudly, “We hope to close in August.”
The conversation quickly turned to exclamations of joy for their announcement, but Javi kept his other hand on the outside of his pants pocket, tracing the edges of the ring box, for a long time.
OOO
They did eventually buy the house, and move-in day brought a flurry of boxes haphazardly taped shut (Javi’s contribution) and labeled in a neat hand with the contents and location (Yuzuru’s). After a day of unpacking boxes all across the house, and succeeding only in spreading a mess of unpacked and packed objects together in every room, they agreed to take it one room at a time.
But they argued over where to keep the medals.
“I always store in sock drawer, in a sock,” Yuzuru argued, holding his two Olympic golds by the elastic of a black toe sock. The round metal distorted the fabric and left the toes dangling.
“Can’t we hang them on the wall, or put them on a shelf, or something?” Javi reasoned wearily. He changed directions. “What if something happened to them?”
“Like what?” Yuzuru scoffed. “We only keep socks and medals in there.”
“But it’s a sock drawer,” Javi pointed out. “It’s for socks only.”
“And medals,” Yuzuru added, an implied obviously hanging in the air.
“Fine, fine, then.” Javi threw up his hands. For his sake, Yuzuru restrained his smugness when they later unpacked their socks, each claiming half the drawer, and without being asked, Javi cleared the spot in the middle. In return, Yuzuru only quietly rolled his eyes when Javi carefully placed his own Olympic bronze in place of pride on a shelf in the living room.
But Javi quickly grew to love opening the sock drawer in the morning and feeling a familiar jolt of surprise to feel the medals’ weight, heavy and cold and solid as he pushed them aside to dig around for a matching pair of socks. He grew to love the other parts of living with Yuzuru in a house of their own, too, and he wished they could live together like that forever—but when he tried to say so, the words got stuck in his throat.
So he decided to write a romantic letter. It couldn’t be that hard, right? Yuzuru wrote a letter himself convincing David Wilson to choreograph a Romeo and Juliet program, and that had clearly worked out for him. So Javi started writing.
He tried typing up his ideas, but staring at a blinking cursor on a black page really impeded his focus. He tried handwriting a basic outline on a notepad, which worked a little better, until he tried sharing his writing with his friends and had to send them pictures of a crumpled half-sheet of paper which had spent the better part of a week in his pocket, as he was afraid of leaving it somewhere Yuzuru would see.
“This is ridiculous,” Laura told him when he texted her his first draft captioned with simply “???”. “Y r u writing all this?” He called to explain from the backyard, furtively scanning the porch for any sign of Yuzuru.
“Are you really planning to propose by giving him the letter?” Laura clarified. “Like, what, are you going to hand him the paper, all typed out neatly, I’d hope—and say, here, read this right now while I watch you, and let me know what you think? It’s not a business contract, Javier, it’s—”
“Thanks-Laura-bye!” Javi jammed his index finger into the “end call” button as Yuzuru approached.
“Was that your sister?” he asked.
“Yes,” Javi nodded frantically. “She wanted to ask me about… something.”
As the draft developed, he also tried speaking to friends, figuring that maybe his older sister was just teasing him. But Javier Raya agreed with Laura.
“Bro, what?” the other Javier sputtered incredulously. “Why did you write this? ‘I couldn’t live without you, you’re everything to me, I want to live inside your skin’—”
“I didn’t write that last part,” Javi muttered. “But does it really sound like that?”
“Like what, obsessive?” There was a rustle from the other end of the call and a muffled voice. “Listen, Javi, I’ve got to go, but I really think you should just say all this out loud, straight from the heart, you know?” He continued, “Honestly, it’s a little weird anyway and I think Yuzuru would appreciate you just saying it to him. For what it’s worth, I think he’d say yes, though.”
“You think so?” Javi asked quietly.
“Yeah, man, I do. Let me know how it goes, okay? Bye.” The call went dead.
Javi stared at the phone in his hand for a minute. He thought about Yuzu’s original letter about the choreography, back when he was young and fiery and only afraid of losing. They had only been training together for a few months, but Yuzuru showed up early to every practice and stayed late, always attempting jumps when Brian’s back was turned and signing up for every dance workshop Cricket hosted. Javi liked to think that he was just more relaxed, and that neither skater’s strategy was the one right option, but deep down, he had admired Yuzuru’s perseverance back then, to keep chasing a program he’d planned for all along and a jump he’d moved across the world to learn. Javi had been afraid of trying his best and failing, proving that maybe he just wasn’t good enough after all. Yuzuru wasn’t fearless, certainly, but he plunged headfirst with a kind of desperation that belonged to someone with nothing to lose. He grabbed his future, seized it with both hands, made everything happen according to plan—and brought Javi along for the ride.
These days, Yuzuru had lost his teenage self’s gangly innocence, tempered his pride with wisdom and the knowledge that even his carefully-constructed plans might not always turn out as he hoped. But he kept his need for more, always believing that he could bend reality to his will if he just tried hard enough, believed enough. His unshaking faith in his own abilities extended to those in the tight bubble around him, and Javi loved him for it. Yuzuru had always believed in him more than he believed in himself.
Javi shivered involuntarily and noticed that it was getting dark outside. He picked up his phone and the crumpled paper and headed inside. As he stepped through the back door, he saw Yuzuru curled up in the corner of the couch under a blanket. Javi’s stomach gave a pleasant flip at the sight of him in his round wire glasses. Even after living together for so long, he was strangely proud to see Yuzu like this, in a way no one else could. Yuzuru glanced up and smiled at him, then continued typing furiously on his laptop.
“Just two more emails, then done,” he announced distractedly. “Am booking rink for January.”
Javi said nothing in response, just stepping closer and kissing the top of Yuzuru’s head softly. As he headed to the bedroom to brush his teeth, he was struck by the thought that if all went well, he would get to come home to this sight every day. But Yuzuru was too special; he deserved a speech straight from the heart.
In the hallway, Javi turned back for one last glance and felt the words he wanted to say stick in his throat.
“Don’t stay up too late, okay?” he called instead.
“I might cut some music for my new program, but not too late,” Yuzuru said, blinking at Javi over the top of his laptop and returning his gaze to the blue glow of the screen. “I will go to bed soon.”
OOO
Javi jolted awake as the mattress dipped between him. He blinked blearily and saw a blurry outline of Yuzuru kneeling next to him. He closed his eyes and opened them again as Yuzuru called in a low voice, “Javi, Javi, wake up.”
Javi fumbled for his glasses. “What is it, Yuzu? Is everything okay?” His thoughts turned to Effie, or some horrible natural disaster that was coming towards Madrid.
Yuzuru’s figure came into focus. He was kneeling on the mattress, biting his lip and twisting his hands.
“Javi, do you want to get married?”
“What?” Javi was instantly wide awake.
“I was just thinking that—I thought Javi was proposing lots of times since last summer, but every time I was wrong. I want to be married to you. I don’t want to wait any longer. And I cutting the music and I thinking that I get to go to bed and wake up with Javi, every day, and I want to be with Javi forever. We can keep the secret if Javi want, or wait to get marry, but I just want to know if Javi want…” His voice trailed off as he processed Javi’s silence.
Javi’s brain finally went online. “No, Yuzu, of course I want to marry you!” He scrambled to sit up. “I’ve wanted to get married for ages. Actually, I’ve tried to ask before, but every time I’ve lost my courage because I was so nervous.” He looked at his hands in embarrassment.
“Really?” Yuzuru asked. His eyes grew wide, and a smile threatened to take over his face. “Javi want to marry me?’
“Yes, cari, yes,” Javi repeated. He took Yuzuru’s hand. “How long do you want to wait? We can book an appointment with the city right now, for probably sometime next week, and afterwards we would have to wait six weeks to schedule separate interviews, and then we would apply for the license… I did a lot of research.” He blushed.
“Six week? That so long. What about Toronto?”
“Toronto?” Javi was shocked by the suggestion. He pulled out his phone and googled it. “We could get married right away in Canada, but even if we booked flights right now…” He paused to switch over to his airline app and log in to his account. “The soonest flights I can book leave in a week.”
Yuzuru smirked. “I make some calls.”
OOO
Twenty-four hours later, they were married.
The previous day had been a whirlwind of action. While Yuzuru called ANA and pulled in some favors, Javi packed their bags and texted their cat sitter. They took a taxi to the airport as the sun rose and sprinted through the international departures terminal to make their flight, which left early in the morning, Spanish time. By the time they disembarked the plane in Toronto and Ubered to the courtroom, it was an hour before the building closed. They showed their passports to the bored clerk, answered a few questions, and were taken to a back room with the judge. Then and there, they swore their vows, and at last, Javi slipped the ring onto Yuzuru’s right-hand ring finger. Yuzuru produced another ring from his pocket, and Javi wondered when he had the chance to buy it, but when Yuzuru gently took his hand and slipped the ring onto his finger, he decided he didn’t care.
Afterwards, they took a minute to rest on a bench at the bottom of the steps to the courthouse. A breeze was blowing, and a perfect sunset painted the sky, throwing golden light across Yuzuru’s face. He sighed contentedly and leaned over to rest his head on Javi’s shoulder.
“I am so happy right now, Javi,” he whispered into the silence.
“Me too, Yuzu,” Javi replied, caught up in the emotion of the day. He put his arm around Yuzuru and squeezed him into his side. “I am so glad to finally be married.”
There was another moment of silence, which Yuzuru broke again.
“You know, Javi, today is very lucky day in Japan. August fourth is best day to be married to have luck for rest of life.”
“That’s wonderful, Yuzu. We will be lucky forever,” he replied contentedly.
He paused. Javi was struck by a realization.
“Yuzu, did you plan this?”
“What?” Yuzuru asked.
“Did you propose yesterday to be married today, so we could have a lucky wedding day?”
“No,” Yuzuru huffed, turning away in Javi’s hold. “I just want to be married and not wait.”
Javi smiled fondly. “Yuzu, mi amor, you don’t need to be embarrassed.”
“Is truth!” Yuzuru protested.
“Oh, so everything didn’t happen according to your plans?” Javi mocked.
“Fine, I did plan!” Yuzuru threw up his hands dramatically. “But plan worked. Now Javi and me have luckiest anniversary.”
Javi smiled. He didn’t know what the future would hold for him and his new husband—his husband!—but he knew that with Yuzuru by his side, the days ahead would be bright.