Nightmares

Mia ate under his watchful gaze. The last thing Yuzuru wanted was for her to starve herself and not take good care of her body.

She smiled at him when she noticed his watchful eyes and his mouth instantly turned into a smile as well, it was just inevitable.

She placed the dirty dishes on the counter and took his hand.

"Let's go to bed. You need rest too."

"I'm ok"

"No no... You have a show in the next 2 days and I won't be the one to blame if things don't go well."

He wanted to fight that he would never blame her for his own actions but he just allowed her to drag him to bed again.

As it was becoming more and more usual, Mia cuddled into his chest almost immediately after they laid down and he gladly took her warm body in his arms.

"You're beautiful" he said as her eyes stared her down "You deserve to be treated like a queen."

"Shut up and sleep before I jump you."

He chuckled softly and kissed her forehead gently.

"Goodnight, Mia"

"Goodnight, Yuzu."

He fell asleep first but it didn't take her too long to follow, even if she had a couple of hours when she arrived at the hotel.

🌸

The peacefulness of both their sleep was interrupted when Mia felt shaking beneath her. She woke up and saw Yuzuru tremble with crazy intensity, a few soft mumbles leaving his body in a language she didn't understand.

"Yuzu" she called, trying to wake him up.

When calling his name was clearly not going to work, she chose to shake his body.

In a few seconds, the trembling stopped and his eyes opened, noticing her alarmed face almost right away.

"Mia? Are you crying?"

She barely noticed, but she was. This man had a way to make her shed tears, something that barely happened since Alex was born and that had now happened twice in just a week.

"You were shaking so much, I was so scared."

The headache made Yuzuru realize what happened. He knew about the nightmares for a long time, they didn't happen often but were often triggered by certain things.

The earthquake during the show was probably the reason behind these.

"I'm okay, I promise. It's over now. Thank you for waking me up."

"What was that? Why...?"

"Nightmares. I don't remember most of them, but I know they happen sometimes."

"It didn't happen before..."

"It was probably because of the earthquake today. I'm sorry you had to see that."

They noticed Alex stirring slightly and Yuzuru slowly signaled her to move to the couch where they could talk without waking her son.

It was almost in the same position that they ended, Mia cuddled against his chest as his arms enveloped her in his warmth.

It was in that position that Yuzuru told her about 2011 and the earthquake that affected his hometown. He didn't avoid any of the details as he recalled the day it happened as well as the days that followed.

Mia gasped when he told her about being on the ice as it happened and the tragic memories of leaving the building in his blades, damaging them beyond repair.

Still, the thing that surprised her the most were the stories of the rescue center, the small number of resources they had to share, the fight for survival, and all of the things that she had no idea this man had been through up until now.

Once again, she wished she had googled him, even if the internet would never be the same as his recalls of the event, it would have prepared her to hear all of this now.

Yuzuru told her about the struggles to continue skating after that and all of the motivation that it required to keep skating. He explained how the next summer that been, that he had done over 60 shows to be able to have the funds and ice to skate.

She wondered just how much he had to fight to get to where he was now.

Sure, it was clear that Yuzuru had far more money than what he knew how to spend and his fame and success were clear to anyone with eyes, but no one could imagine just how much he struggled before.

If she thought that his asthma was a struggle, Mia couldn't even think of how much effort and motivation it took to get here.

"I had no idea." Was all she said as he finished speaking. Yuzuru merely smiled at that.

"I don't want to be a victim, but you deserve to know about it, it shaped me into who I am today."

"As if I couldn't admire you even more."

"Admire me? I followed my dream when people were suffering. I was selfish."

"Shut up. You probably did more for those people than you would ever do if you didn't follow your dream."

"It gave me opportunities to pay back, help with the reconstruction..."

"And make people smile and be proud of you. You underestimate the power of hope and pride, Yuzu."

"I don't know..."

"It's no wonder you're so loved by the country."

"I am not..."

"Shut up, you're like the Ice Prince of Japan, most people love you."

He chuckled at her play with words and Mia kissed his lips. "I'm happy you fought through it and it's okay to show your vulnerable side, especially to me"

"Thank you for listening."

"Thank you for sharing. I can't even begin to think how hard it is to recall all of that."

"It's okay when it's you. It's always okay."