Should I Stay or Should I go

Even if Mia was constantly distracted by Yuzuru's presence in her house, she eventually managed to get dinner done and served.

The table was already beautifully set by the two boys when she placed the lasagna there.

"It smells good." she heard Yuzu say from her side.

"I do hope you like it... we can always order something."

"I'm sure I will."

They sat at the table and Mia helped Alex place the food on his plate, finding Yuzuru waiting for them before he started eating.

Once everyone was ready to start eating, she noticed him mumbling something with his hands in a praying position and a slight bow.

"Did you say anything?"

Yuzuru actually got red at the question and her curiosity only grew.

"Just a Japanese saying that we use before eating..."

"You can share it with us."

"It's itadakimasu. It kinda means 'Thank you for the food'."

"Itadakimasu..." Mia tested it on her tongue. She was a sucker for history and different cultures so this was fascinating to her. As fascinating as learning new languages.

Alex repeated it as well and Yuzuru had to smile at that. He often tried to ignore Japanese etiquette in the West because he knew that it made some people uncomfortable. Feeling like his culture was valued made him very happy at that moment, even if it was something small.

The food was delicious, and he could say he was usually quite a picky eater, even if he didn't admit that to her previously.

"Thank you so much for dinner," he told her as he helped clean the kitchen and table.

"You don't have to help. How about you go have a sit on the couch and watch a movie with Alex or something?"

"Mia... let me help."

"I can handle it."

"Doesn't mean I will let you do everything alone."

She just ended up rolling her eyes and accepting the help, even if she didn't feel like it was the right thing. He was a guest after all. It seemed to be a constant, Yuzuru convincing her to do something opposite to her beliefs.

The help ended up making the whole process far quicker and by the time they were done, Alex was already sleeping on the couch.

"He's usually in bed at this time." she clarified. "Give me just a few minutes to get him in bed."

"I can call my driver and he'll be here soon too. I'm sure you want to get some rest tomorrow."

"Oh... yeah sure." She said with hesitation, almost disappointed at his words.

Yuzuru stopped for a second to try to understand her reaction before she rushed to get Alex.

"Mia, wait."

"What is it?" she turned to him once again, not sure where this was headed.

"Should I stay a bit longer?"

"That's entirely up to you."

Yes, you should stay a bit longer...

"Do you want me to stay or do you want me to go?"

Mia had no idea what to answer to that. She barely knew Yuzuru, asking him to stay for a bit more seemed wrong and full of assumptions that she wasn't quite ready to face.

"Yuzu..."

"You have to tell me, I won't assume anything."

"I wouldn't mind if you stayed for a while more, but I understand if you have to go."

"I don't... I can stay."

"I'll put him to bed."

"You want me to carry him?"

"I can do it."

"I didn't say you couldn't." He made her stop in her tracks once again, getting closer far too quickly, and placed a hand on her cheek, making her flush. "You don't have to do anything alone. Let me help you, angel."

If she was blushing before, she got even redder when the nickname came out of his mouth. This man was making her feel too much and way too soon. The mere touch of his wandering fingers on her face was enough to slowly make warmth consume her. It was a heat that she couldn't describe.

Mia allowed Yuzuru to put her son to bed and couldn't help but wonder if this would be her life if Nyck was a better man, arriving home and having someone at her side for the most useless of things.

She watched him tuck Alex into the bed with care and her heart started beating just a bit faster. God, she was a goner merely by seeing his interactions with her son.

They went down the stairs side by side and settled on the couch in silence, none of them paying attention to the TV, but pretending they were.

Even if silence consumed the room, it wasn't necessarily uncomfortable for either of them.

It allowed them both to think about what was going on between them which was naturally new and foreign.

There was something there, something to acknowledge, but at the same time, they had a lot to learn about the other to even consider anything.

Not that Mia was considering anything.

Enjoying his company was one thing, but making it something more than that was a responsibility that she didn't want.

Yuzuru was great, he truly was, but bringing a man into her life meant dealing with all the bullshit that she put aside after Nyck and she had sworn to herself that she wouldn't allow any man to play with her like her ex-boyfriend did.

As perfect as he was, Mia had too many trust issues with men to allow anything to happen, no matter how tempting this particular specimen was.

"Mia?"

"Hum?"

"Can I ask you something?"

"You can always ask, I can't assure you I will answer."

"I just... I know it's none of my business but..."

"What is it?"

"Will you tell me about Alex's father?"