xxxix

3rd Person's POV

Life is indeed unfair. You're never going to know how fate is going to play with you. You can be the nicest, most hard-working, selfless person in the world, and fate wouldn't give a damn. At this point, it's your turn to ask.

"Why is it that it's always the good people who die first?"

It comes to a point that if the person leaving is someone who means everything to you, you'd plead and beg to take their place. You'd want to carry their burden and transfer all the pain they're feeling to yourself even though you know deep inside that it's not possible. You're desperate to keep them alive. 

Desperate for them to stay. With you.

Once you finally realize that you won't be able to do all of that, you'd say you'd go with them, telling them that life isn't worth living anymore without their existence. It will never be the same. Losing them would be like a huge scar that no medicine can erase. A hole that can never be closed. A deep, dark void you'll never be able to leave. 

These thoughts keep running and running around a particular man's head as he continued to pace back and forth in the hallway. He was scared. Terrified. Though he said it before, he didn't actually mean it. He wasn't ready to lose her. 

Along with the scuffling of his feet against the cold pavement of the hospital floors, his hands tremble not because of the cold temperature but because of the possible outcome of what just happened a few hours ago.

The free program commenced after about half an hour of being halted. Everyone inside the arena was taken aback. The whole world witnessed what just happened. They were shocked, nervous, and scared for the poor girl. However, they are still left speechless at the flawless free skate program she just did. However, no one knew of her true condition. They could easily mistake it as fatigue after pulling off a performance of such high difficulty and artistry. 

Yuzuru was pulled away from his thoughts when the doctor exited the room where Luna is in. As soon as he saw him walk out, Yuzuru ran towards him along with Sky, Brian, and Luna's parents. 

Luna's mom, who is being supported by her dad, immediately spoke up with tears flowing from her eyes. "How is she doctor? Please tell me she's okay. P-please tell me my daughter's fine."

Sky, attempting to hold back his own tears, reached out a hand to his mom to carress her back and attempt to calm her down. At this point, everything that Luna said to him that night is slowly coming back to him. It's too soon Luna. Not now. He thought.

Yuzuru look at the doctor expectantly waiting for him to smile and say that everything is all good. That's she's doing perfect. That she's no longer dying. 

But alas. The doctor could only bite his lip, his eyes trembling as he looked down briefly to avoid the gazes of Luna's family . To Yuzuru, it was not a good sign. 

"Doctor?" Sky asked again making the doctor heave a deep sigh before looking at each and every one of them. 

"I'm going to be honest. It's not looking good at all. Her condition has worsened as she's also hypertensive. It seems that she really just gave up at trying to get treated. The only thing we did for her was just to perform CPR and bring her back. But..." The doctor trailed off making everyong listening to them hold their breaths.

"But what doctor? What's wrong? She's okay, right?" Mr. Saito spoke up, tears already falling from his cheeks but he still attempts to calm her wife down. 

"But this is the last time we'll be able to do it for her. We don't know if... we don't know if we can bring her back if this happens again. I'm deeply sorry." The doctor says sadly as he bowed to everyone. "You can enter her room now. She's resting. However, it would be best to let her rest for a few more hours. If you have any more questions, just call me. I'll be taking my leave." The doctor continued as he bowed once again before he walked away.

And just like that, Yuzuru's world came crashing down. He's relieved that Luna is still with them. He can never thank God enough for not taking her yet. But that does not guarantee she'll stay forever. It was never even a question in the first place. Both of them took a chance and it is possibly the best decision Yuzuru made in his life. Once again, he wanted to be selfish. However, Yuzuru loves Luna too much to ignore her requests. 

One by one, Brian and their parents entered her room but his feet won't move. Yuzuru remains planted at where he's standing. He did not want to enter. Burying his head into his hands, he leaned against the wall beside door and slid down to the floor. He wasn't crying. No. But his heart is constantly, audibly breaking. Before he knew it, he feels a hand on his shoulder and he looks up to see Sky smiling softly at him. 

"Aren't you going to come in with us?" Sky asked and Yuzu just shook his head. 

"I don't think... I don't think I can take seeing Luna so fragile like that again. I don't know..."  Yuzuru whispered as he stared blankly in front of him. 

"I know. I don't think I can, too. But she needs us, Yuzu. Luna needs you. She's gonna want you to be there when she opens her eyes." Sky replied persuasively. Sky knows his sister the best. He has memorized her like the back of his hand. And he knows that Luna would want to see Yuzuru after what just happened. 

After a few seconds of silence and no sign of Yuzuru standing up, Sky spoke up again. "It's okay if you don't want to enter yet. Go outside. Get some fresh air first, all right? Then you can come back when you're ready." And with that, Sky taps Yuzuru's shoulder reassuringly before entering the room and closing the door behind him. 

He thought about going down to the lobby, or to the park nearby but he realizes it's a bad idea since media and reporters are probably flocking around. 

And so, to the rooftop Yuzuru goes. 

-time skip, 8 hours-

To be completely honest, Yuzuru cannot fathom how he was able to sit in silence for such a long time with nothing but his endless, countless thoughts. It would probably be a world record. 

Finally getting the fresh air he so much needed (yes, for 8 hours), Yuzuru finally gathers the courage to go down and enter Luna's room and wait for her to open her eyes. Knocking on the door first before opening it, he sees Brian, her parents, and Sky preparing to leave. 

"Oh hey, Yuzuru! There you are. I was just about to message you to stay with Luna first. We'll just get some food for us downstairs. It would be better for us to go instead of you since not a lot of people recognize us." Sky says as he smiles at Yuzuru who's standing at the doorway.

"Yeah and we have to talk to Luna first and ask for her decision of we announce to everyone about her condition or not. You know how hard-headed she is, she's probably still want to keep it a secret." Brian chuckles.

Yuzuru nods and smiles softly as the four of them headed towards the door. "You take care of my daughter in the meantime, okay son?" Mr. Saito said. Son... The word immediately warmed Yuzuru's heart, making him nod in reply. "You can count on me."

"Call us when Luna wakes up and if you need anything else, okay?" Mrs. Saito waves as they head out the door. 

Though it pains him to see her like this, Yuzuru walks towards Luna and sits beside her as he held her hand. 

"Look at you. We told you not to do it so hard... You really love skating don't you? We've been partners for almost a year now and you still surprise me every single time. I've never someone else before who's as passionate of the sport as me. Now I can say you beat me at that." Yuzuru chuckles by himself as he continues to rub circles on her hand. He looks at her peaceful face, the moonlight reflecting flawlessly on her skin. He continues. 

"I'm sorry I told you to stop skating that night. I was out of line. I had no right to stop you from pursuing your dream. No one has. At first, all of us may seem selfish. Can you blame us though? We only want you to stay with us for a little longer. For you to enjoy what the future holds for us. But in the end, we're happy with what makes you happy. That's all that matters to us now. Sky. Your mom. Your dad. Your uncle. Javi. Zhenya. Jason. Our friends. Me." One by one, tears fall from the corners of his eyes down to the back of Luna's hand. 

"I still want your last skate to be with me. You promised me. I don't care if it's next year, the year after that, 10 years from now, or even in the distant future. But... just not now. Not yet. I'm trying to be selfless but I don't think I'm ready to let go yet, Luna. I don't..." Yuzuru barely whispers as he choke back the sobs to avoid waking her up.

"But I want it to be soon..." Yuzuru's head snaps up at the sound of her voice. As soon as he did, he is left breatheless at the sight of the woman in front of him. Luna's eyes met his red, puffy ones as she smiles lovingly at Yuzu.

Yuzuru immediately engulfs Luna with a warm, tight hug, making Luna's eyes open wide before smiling and wrapping her arms around Yuzuru's waist to hug him back. She feels Yuzuru nuzzle his head on her neck as he cried like a lost child. "You scared us..." Yuzuru whispers. "I'm sorry..." Luna whispers back as she carressed his back in a comforting manner. A few minutes later, he pulls away from the hug and sits back down on his chair. 

"How long have you been awake?" Yuzuru asked with hesitation, scratching the back of his neck.

"I heard everything, love. It's okay. No need to be shy about it." Luna smiles at Yuzu thinking he is adorable as heck all shy like that. "So... did we win?" She asks him, visibly bouncing in excitement on her bed making Yuzuru chuckle at the cute habit of his girlfriend he noticed through the months. 

"Hmmmm... let me see. Your jumps were actually sloppy towards the end of your program. So yeah, they took some points from your GOE. I think they also made your quad loop into a triple since they thought it was underotated. So yeah. 4th place." Yuzuru pulled off the poker face of his life as he tried to hold back his laughter, hoping his plan would work. As soon as he finished talking, he looks at Luna who's eyes went from sparkling with excitement to dull. She visibly slouched at the news she just heard, the energy she had flying out the window. 

"Oh..." was the only thing she could say before continuing. "Well. That's understandable. I mean. Who am I to win, right? That would be unfair to everyone else. How could a dying girl win in the Olympics. Everyone else worked hard for the past 4 years, even for the rest of their lives. Meanwhile, I just came back from retirement so who am I to just show up at the party uninvited. I understand the judges. I don't deserve t-" Luna was cut off by the feeling of soft, plump lips on hers. Yuzuru's. 

Her eyes widen in shock before she finally gave in and kissed him back, her eyes closing slowly. There are no other words to describe the feeling other than butterflies fluttering wildly in her stomach; like riding a roller coaster. Even though they've kissed many times now, to Luna, it always feels like their first. The spark never faded. Yuzuru leaned closer as he deepened the kiss, placing a hand behind Luna's head as Luna's hand find its way to Yuzu's fluffy hair. Without hesitation, Yuzuru bit her lower lip to ask for entrance to which Luna gladly accepted.

After what seemed like forever which is just actually a few minutes, the two pulled away from each other panting and catching their breaths from the makeout session they just did. Leaning against each other's forehead, Yuzuru placed a hand on Luna's cheek and carresses it with his thumb while Luna holds his arm. 

"You won, hime." Yuzuru whispered, making Luna drop her hand from its place. Slowly, she pulled away from Yuzu with her eyes furrowed.

"That's not a nice prank, Yuzu-kun." Luna shook her head as she faked a laugh. Yuzuru feels sorry for pranking Luna like that. Now she thinks she doesn't deserve to win at all.

"It's not. You did it. You won gold." Yuzuru replied with a wide grin on his face.

"But you jus sa-"

"Forget what I said. I was just kidding. And don't ever, EVER think you don't deserve anything in this world. Heck, you deserve the whole universe, sweetheart. So don't ever say that about yourself again. Do not invalidate your own hardwork and blood, sweat, and tears you shed to get here. Imagine, the others trained their whole lives for this and you qualified within a year. This just shows how much extra effort you did to do so. And I'm so incredibly proud of you. You're the strongest person I know." Yuzuru said as he held Luna's face with his hands before kissing her forehead as he ended his speech. 

At that moment, Luna couldn't help it anymore as she finally pouted before breaking down, all while Yuzuru is still holding her face. She's sobbing like a little girl. Cute, Yuzuru thought. Luna could not describe how she's feeling right now. Yes, she's mad at how her boyfriend pranked her so easily but at the moment, she's feeling over the moon at what he just said. 

"D-d-did I-I r-r-really wiii-i-i-in?" Luna cried harder as she tried to speak.

"You're so adorable, you know? Yes. You won, love. I'm sooo proud of you!" Yuzuru said as he leaned in to place a gentle kiss on Luna's nose. 

"Oh mawh gawrsh. Fank yuuuh!!!" Luna could no longer hold herself as she attacked Yuzuru with a tight hug and talked against his chest. 

Yuzuru laughed at Luna as he wrapped his arms around her safely, placing his chin on top of her head and stroking her back in a calming manner. As Luna continued to cry her heart out with tears of joy, the door opened revealing Luna's family who went down earlier to get food. However, Luna doesn't pull away from Yuzuru's arms as if she didn't hear people enter the room. Yuzuru looked back at the others, mouthing to them that he already told Luna that she won gold, making everyone smile fondly at the two. Luna's parents just stood, hugged each other lovingly and gazed at their daughter being taken care of someone special to her while Sky and Brian nod and smile at each other in approval.

"Ne, Yuzu-kun?" She whispers, her face still nuzzling warmly on his chest. 

"Hmm?" He hums in response. 

"Let's skate together. At the gala."

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HIIII! I tried my best in this chapter so I hope you guys appreciate it :((( 

I just want to say, you are all so amazing. We have reached 10k+ reads yesterday and I still cannot believe it. Thank you all so much for supporting and reading this book. It means so much to me. I appreciate each and every single one of you. From the bottom of my heart, thank you all! 🤍

I hope you're satisfied with this chapter! Wherever you guys are, please stay safe. If you need anyone to talk to, I'm here. You're not alone. 😌

Stay golden, lovelies! ✨