Chapter Text
Javi released a heavy sigh as he put his cup of coffee down on the wooden table in front of him. His eyes scanned the apartment he called home for the past years. Just a few days ago it had been occupied by two people and laughter had filled the now quiet rooms.
His current girlfriend had broken up with him. He couldn’t blame Ana for that. He had indeed been busy and had barely time to breath sometimes. He had been torn between his own skating club, which he had since two years, and making time for family. His skating club had finally begun to make some profit but he still did a lot for promoting his sport, such as participating in conferences and discussion committees in Spain, organizing training sessions with fellow coaches in various cities all over the country. He had tried to squeeze as much time as possible in his schedule for Ana and his family. It wasn’t enough and Ana wasn’t used to him being away as his family was.
From the beginning Javi had known it won’t be easy. Spain was a land of the sun, so to introduce it to an ice sport wasn’t an easy task. Once again Javier stood before the pieces of a failed relationship. What did it make so hard for him to keep a healthy, steady relationship? Was he that difficult to love? Javi wondered how all the other people manage to get their work and family under one hat.
He drank a bit of his coffee again. A minute later he started his laptop, in hope to find a distraction there. First he checked his mails. Javi tapped with one finger on the wooden surface of his table, thinking, while staring at the invitation for Fantasy on Ice. In the past years he had been way to busy with all the promoting to attend ice shows. Javier hummed. Maybe that was just the change and kind of distraction he needed.
Before he could think any longer he accepted the invitation. He quickly finished his coffee and got up to bring his cup to the kitchen. Said cup wandered in the dishwasher. Sighing Javi ran his hand through his hair. It had been 8 years since his retirement and he hadn’t seen any of his old friends for a while. Yes, Fantasy on Ice was a good idea, he decided. Javi was certain with that. He returned to his laptop and wrote an email to his manager, informing him of his decision.
Finally, the day had arrived, when he would fly to the Japan. He was excited like a child at Christmas. Sitting in his seat at the window, he stared down at Spain, which grew smaller and smaller until it disappeared behind the clouds.
His thoughts drifted to the past. The fun he always had had at ice shows, came vividly back to him. Soon a familiar image appeared before him. Yuzuru. Would he meet the Japanese at the show?
Javi bit his lip with guilt. After Yuzu had done the impossible, making history with landing his quad axel and winning his third Olympic gold, he had retired. Javi remembered vividly how joyful the younger had been, happy and at peace.
Javi regretted that he couldn’t share that moment with Yuzu personally. Of course he had called him and congratulated him but it wasn’t the same. Brian, Tracy and Yuzuru’s boyfriend, Akuhei, had the pleasure of being there with Yuzu.
After the Olympics, Javi and Yuzu had slowly lost contact. On Javi’s part he had moved back to Spain and was busy getting his teaching program started and promoting his sport. Yuzu had been busy as well, like always. In the beginning they had texted and called each other regularly. But the time difference and their busy schedules made it more and more difficult for them to stay in contact. Before Javi had realised it, they had drifted apart. After months their messages grew shorter, more often than not one worded greetings and the communication ended being scarce and insufficient, almost formal, the small talk unbefitting to their close friendship they once had. Then they both had stopped reaching for each other, stopped pretending that they could make it work. Honestly Javier didn’t even know who stopped first.
He really hoped to see the younger in Japan, to regain what they had lost. Javier definitely hated himself for his inability to keep someone as important as Yuzu close. He had failed to protect their warm friendship and, now that he thought of this carefully, he realised that something seemed to be wrong with him. Every relationship slipped out of his hands like water and he felt as blown away from the wind in unreachable heights. But maybe he could fix this with Yuzu now. He wasn’t sure if he would be there, but he hoped for it. He hadn’t actively followed what Yuzuru was doing, but he doubted that Yuzu wouldn’t attend the ice shows. Yuzuru lived for skating and he would probably skate until his body gave in.
Bits and pieces of Yuzuru’s life were known to Javi from the kids he coached as well as from common friends. Though Yuzuru had mostly withdrawn from the public eye, he still skated for charity and he continuously helped children with asthma who wanted to skate like him.
Of course Yuzu’s wedding had been a big thing. And it was another thing added to Javier’s guilt list. He didn’t attend Yuzuru’s wedding, because he was filming a long time interview. He couldn’t back out of the contract and so got stuck with reporters asking him dozens of questions and following him around for a week. From what Brian had told him, everybody of their old friends had fun with Yuzu at his special day.
The plane landed and Javi went to get his stuff. Afterwards he drove to the hotel with a taxi and checked in. Done with the arrival routine, he showered and put on some fresh clothes and then went to the welcome meeting.
Maybe seeing a few old friends could get his mind out of that deep hole of misery he currently was in.