Costume Fitting

Planning a trip on such short notice wasn't something that Mia usually did.

She barely remembered the last time she had a proper vacation abroad.

Ever since Alex was born, it had been hard to go anywhere, especially when he was a baby.

Now that he was older and Mia considered herself in a stable financial situation, it was now possible to travel.

Japan was far away, but Alex had never been to an ice show or official competition so maybe it was about time that he had that chance.

Having Yuzuru pulling the cords on the other side made things admittedly easier, even if she waited a few more days before asking for his help.

Mia, as independent as she was, decided to try and book things by herself before finally giving up when she saw the ridiculous prices. Not only that, she quickly found that getting tickets to this supposed ice show seemed almost impossible. She had to cave in the end, after all.

They had kept conversation limited to mostly texts, knowing that seeing him or hearing his distinctive voice and accent would probably stir something inside of her that she wasn't ready for.

He had excitedly texted her when she finally asked for help, saying that he couldn't wait to see them both soon and that he would take care of everything.

It was hard to believe that she was texting a skating superstar and her son's idol, but here they were, speaking about just yet another favor that he was doing for her.

The turning point in the no-call policy was when Yuzuru texted her with a picture of several costumes scattered across a white table. The text merely read 'Trying out the costumes for the Show today.'

The colors were definitely catchy, far too neon for Mia to take it all seriously, but even so, she actually believed that he could pull off those hideous costumes.

'I think I could probably do a better job than that designer .' she texted back teasingly almost as soon as he sent her the picture. 'Not that I believe it will look bad on you.'

'What do you mean?' he texted back almost immediately.

'That you look good on virtually anything.'

'Think so?'

'Just a theory I have.'

'What do you think of this one then?'

Attached to that text came a picture of a winking Yuzuru in a multicolored top. That she was paying any attention to that top part of the costume.

Her attention shifted immediately to the see-through material that covered his torso and left nothing to the imagination.

Mia had felt those abs under her hands and all of the muscles that were a part do it, but seeing it was an entirely different game.

It had been a few minutes since he sent that and she was still considering what to reply when he texted her again. 'Can I call you?'

She almost felt bad for leaving him on read for so long and even if calling had been something she tried to avoid, it seemed like he deserved it today.

'yes ' was her only answer. Curt and effective.

Surprisingly, it took mere seconds for a video call request to be made on the chatting app and Mia's hands shook slightly as she answered it.

His face was the first thing she saw and as usual, it wasn't disappointing.

Yuzuru looked good with his unstyled fluffy hair, but obviously, the outfit he was wearing was still her main point of interest.

"Mia" he almost gasped when he saw her and his tone was enough to make her smile.

"Hey, Yuzu. You look good" was all she managed to utter.

"I was worried when you stopped replying." He admitted right away and made her feel even worse.

"Sorry...I... Well, I was processing that picture in my head."

Yuzuru loved how honest and open she was and couldn't help but chuckle at her words before giving her a huge smile.

"And? What's the result of all that processing?"

"That the ice is probably too cold for you to wear it like that. Maybe an undershirt could be a good option."

"Skaters are going completely shirtless on the ice, I don't think that's a problem, Mia."

"It should be illegal to wear something like that."

"Everyone will. It's for the finale."

"Uhm."

"Are you jealous?" He asked, noting every single one of her reactions in the past minutes.

"Jealous? Me? Why would I be?"

"You tell me."

"I'm not jealous."

"I hope not. You have no reasons to be."

"And you're a performer... I know it's for the show."

"Yes."

"Hum... Anyways... Thank you for everything, I have no idea how much trouble you had to get us to Japan, but I'm very thankful for everything."

"It was nothing and it's worth it if I get to see you."

Mia had to admit that hearing those words stirred something in her, but then again, this was Yuzuru and it didn't take too much for that to happen.

"You say those things so casually..."

He smiled at her across the screen and remembered the one detail that they hadn't discussed.

"So... I was wondering about something."

She raised a brow at that, with him, she never knew what to expect.

"Yes?"

"You will also need a place to stay."

"I'm working on trying to book hotels but for some kind of reason, most of the decent ones are sold out."

"It's because of the shows. I forgot about that."

"I'm sure I will find something eventually. It's just that everything being on such short notice is always a bit more tricky."

"Is it Makuhari or Sendai giving you problems?"

"Mostly Sendai, everything is booked for a week before."

"Don't book a hotel then."

"Huh?"

"It's my hometown, Mia. You can stay with me."