Moment of Truth

Chapter 49: Serious

It's the first morning here in Sendai and I manage to be the only one to sleep in. The Hanyus don't want to bother me as Yuzuru explained to them how much I work as Yuzuru's mini-manager and how I never get time to myself so they don't want to disturb me from that.

"I already like Mai so much," Saya admits as the whole family is seated for breakfast. "She is too adorable. You manage to pick a cute one. And someone with such great manners. You would think she's Japanese from the way she acts."

"That is good to hear," Yuzuru says taking a sip of his water. "She was so scared to meet you all even though I told her everything would be fine."

"Why would she be scared to meet us?" Yuzuru's mother asks curiously. "She has already met me and I adore her."

Yuzuru swallows the food he just put in his mouth before responding. "She was worried you guys wouldn't approve of her. For her, the opinion of the family means a lot. If you didn't like her, she would feel obligated to leave me."

"Well she doesn't need to feel that way," Saya announces. "She is already part of the family as far as I'm concerned. I'd be happy to have her as a little sister. It's nice to see you be with someone that isn't the ice. You're at the age where you should be meeting girls and dating. Who knows, she could be your wife instead of the ice."

"I'll always love the ice. It's my home away from home. And I don't want to even think about marriage yet. Her family is already expecting her to get married soon. They think she needs to date to marry."

"Are her parents expecting you to marry her?" Yuzuru's father interjects putting his paper down. "We don't expect you to marry now either, but we welcome sooner than later."

"Kind of..." Yuzuru trails off. "But Mai doesn't want to think about that right now. She has too many things to be focusing on. And that includes me."

"Have you thought about it though?" Saya asks curiously. "You did bring her here to your childhood home to meet your family. That seems pretty big to me. And who knows if you'll ever get another girlfriend like her?"

"Onee-chan, that's too far into the future. I have so much ahead of me right now that I'm surprised I'm able to have a girlfriend. I was never looking for one in the first place, but now I have one. I don't know if I could ever get another one."

"Well, I think she's practically perfect for you. Okaa-san tells me all the time about how she takes care of you even thought she doesn't have to. She makes you lunches, takes care of your skating equipment, and makes sure you're healthy. And how she completely captured your attention from when she first met you and that you two have been inseparable from the moment you two started dating. This is the first time something other than the ice has captivated your heart. You can't lose a girl like that."

"Do you think she's the girl for me to marry?"

"I think she's someone you need to be serious about before someone else takes her away from you."

The whole family sits on what Saya has said. They continue to eat their breakfast in a comfortable silence. Yuzuru has thought about how I need to find a man and settle down with, but that's not what I want right. He knows that's what my parents want and I'm willing to wait for that time in my life. Right now I have a career and schooling I need to get through before any of that has to happen. Yuzuru can wait just like I am.

Yuzuru's father heads off to work and Saya goes to her classes. Yuzuru stays in the living room and plays some video games while Yuzuru's mother cleans up around the kitchen. It isn't until 10:00 am that I finally come down the stairs still in my pajamas.

"Good morning," I greet everyone as I am still a little groggy.

"Good morning, Mai-san," Yuzuru's mother greets me. "Would you like some breakfast?"

"Thank you very much, Hanyu-sama. I would very much appreciate that. Morning, Yuzu."

I sit at the kitchen table and wait patiently for the food. Yuzuru gets up from the living room couch and sits next to me. He takes my hand and kisses my knuckles. I smile sleepily at him.

"Good morning to you, sleeping beauty," Yuzuru greets jokingly. "It's already 10 am."

I become alert as I hear what time it is. "It's already that late?! Why didn't anyone wake me?"

"You deserve to have a full night's sleep after how much time you spend fussing about me," Yuzuru explains rubbing my knuckles soothingly. "And you looked so adorable snuggled into the bed."

"You could have at least woken me up a little bit earlier. Now my day feels off."

"Well, your day is not completely off as we have nothing to do today. So you can be as lazy as possible. We are not doing anything till tomorrow anyways."

"Are you taking me sight seeing?"

"That is my plan. You'll get a full tour from myself."

"Well that sounds great. I can't wait to see the city you grew up with."

"It may not be the same as when the earthquake hit, but it's still my home and I love it."

"I'm glad this is a place you can be proud of. Your home is your home no matter what happens to it. Thank you for sharing it with me."

"I am very happy to share it with you."

I smile at Yuzuru. Sendai is a very special place to him and to share it with me shows how much he cares for me to be a part of it. It may have went through a disaster, but it's still a beautiful place. Maybe one day I can share my own hometown with Yuzuru. We are both in each other's world and there's no stopping now.