The Trip

Waking up Alex at dawn for their planned flight wasn't even half as hard as she expected.

A soft call of his name was all that was needed for him to jump from the bed and immediately jump in the shower.

Well, someone is eager. Mia thought to herself with a smile.

Taking the time to prepare a decent breakfast for both of them, she was also feeling equally excited about this.

After her last call with Yuzuru, she seemed even more eager to see him in person once again. She lost count of how many hours they ended up staying on the line. The only thing she knew was that the line was still up when she woke up the next morning, finding the man on the other side asleep as well.

It turned out that his call didn't come out of nowhere, he had genuine trouble sleeping on the previous night and fell asleep mere minutes after she did.

Explaining everything when they both woke up was a bit weird but it ended in laughter as most things usually did with them.

Now, watching her son run down the stairs with his backpack was both adorable and exciting. She had never seen him like this and it was becoming quite a constant in everything that involved Yuzuru.

He ate far more quickly than she expected, but there was no doubt that he wanted to arrive in the other country as quickly as possible.

What the poor child probably didn't anticipate was the 13 hours of flight that awaited him.

Not that she didn't warn him, but he had his tablet fully charged and hoped to watch some movies while he could.

They had a very smooth check-in experience, something expected on such an early flight. What Mia didn't anticipate was that the tickets that Yuzuru had gotten were both first class.

For someone that lived most of her life on limited money and went through university on scholarships, flying first class was not something that a young Mia expected.

Alex didn't seem to understand any of his mother's surprise. This was his first time flying on a plane and he was already getting used to luxury.

The flight attendants were incredibly nice, asking constantly if she needed anything. It was so intense that it made the woman question if he didn't have something to do with it.

Alex and Mia watched a few movies together through the course of the flight, eating every once in a while and enjoying all the privileged perks of the ANA first class.

The whole experience seemed to go far faster than both of them expected, maybe all the luxuries and commodities of flying in the first class made the whole thing go by faster and easier. Who would have guessed that 13 hours would go by so fast?

As they landed and Mia turned off the airplane mode on her phone, she saw a text from Yuzuru.

'Call me when you land'

Of course, he knew that she was arriving soon, the man always managed to surprise her.

She still did as he asked, calling him as she waited for her baggage to come, Alex was now back to jumping excitedly.

"We are in Japan, mommy!" He said making a few people smile around them right as Yuzuru picked up the phone.

"Someone seems excited" his voice greeted her bringing shivers to her body.

"Hey, we just landed."

"Where are you?"

"Baggage claim"

"Can you find your way out of arrivals?"

Mia looked around and saw that there were a few signs in English, making it easier for her to do as he asked.

"I think so."

"I'm already here so I will see you soon."

"You? You're here?"

"Yes... Who else?"

"Huh... I figured you would send someone instead of coming yourself."

"I'm disguised, don't worry."

"And can I recognize you?."

"All black, cap, glasses, and mask. Shouldn't be too hard." He said with a chuckle, making her imagine the scene right away. She wondered if he didn't stand out even more like that, but Yuzu probably knew best.

"Ok. I will see you soon."

She disconnected the call as her bags finally showed up.

"Was that Yuzuru, Mom?"

"Yeah, he's waiting for us."

"Here?"

"Yes, apparently."

"He's crazy."

Well, if even her child was smart enough to understand this, maybe Mia wasn't hallucinating after all.

They eventually found their way to arrivals and she spotted him in the corner almost right away. Mia had to admit that even if he looked ridiculous the disguise worked in making everyone ignore him and wasn't as flashy as she imagined given that everyone still wore masks in Japan. It was still easy to spot him because she knew what to look for.

"Alex, we have to be discrete, ok? Avoid saying his name and make a scene. Just say hello, hug, whatever, but no screams or too much excitement, yeah?"

The little boy nodded and much to her pride, managed to keep all of his excitement inside as they approached the man in black.

When Yuzuru spotted them he smiled widely, visible even through the mask, and his arms were spread wide for Alex, who quickly and happily took the hug.

"Hey, buddy. Welcome to Japan."

For a few seconds, all those two saw was each other and it made Mia chuckle. Her son had fallen for Yuzu just as much as she did. Maybe even more.

Yuzuru's attention eventually shifted to her as he heard the soft chuckles and his arms opened once again. This time, for here.

"Come here."

And contrary to every single instinct of her brain she did, allowing the warmth of his embrace to fully consume her and his smell to fill her nostrils pleasantly.

She missed him.

"Hey beautiful" he whispered. "I missed you, thank you for coming."