Best Decision

"I think this should be the final one right?"

"Yeah that's the final one. Also you should have just let us set up since you're the guest today."

"It's fine, I wanted to help."

Yui shook her head at Mahiru's sentence and placed the bowl of salad in her hands on the dining room table. Simple dishes of different varieties covered the table and the three of them said their gratitude for the meal, especially to Mahiru who cooked it.

They picked up their utensils to begin eating and Mahiru couldn't help but glance at Yui to see her reaction to her cooking.

Yui picked up her chopsticks and placed the glistening slice of shogayaki pork into her mouth as it was the dish that caught her attention the most.

After taking the first bite, the sweet and tangy flavors complemented well with the subtle spiciness that came from the ginger making for a wonderful combo.

"This is very good."

Yui covered her mouth to speak and continued to chew since this was only the first dish and wondered how the other ones tasted. Mahiru gave a sigh of relief and visibly relaxed after hearing Yui's frank compliment.

Mahiru looked at Haruto who was beside her and noticed that just like Yui, they were eating with such delight that made her think that they were definitely mother and son.

'Ah they make similar expressions with their eyes…'

She began to giggle softly to herself since she compared the bright and expressive face Haruto always makes when eating, and compared to Yui who was neutral in her expressions.

But her glimmering eyes were the same ones Haruto always had which made her vividly happy

With the warm food gradually being devoured, the three of them chatted pleasantly and the atmosphere around the table turned cheerful with Mahiru asked more about Haruto's childhood. .

"Did Akane really force him to join her?"

"Hmm."

A curious look started to appear on Mahiru's face as she heard one particular story about Haruto and Akane during their childhood.

"Do you have any pictures?"

"I should have some."

Yui quickly took out her phone and started to dig through her photos trying to find some to show.

"Do you really want to see it that much…"

"I just wanted to see the face of a certain someone who was unable to deal with their sister's tears."

"Akane would do anything she can just for her hobbies."

Haruto crossed his arms and sighed as he remembered the amount of tears she shed just so he could join her.

Mahiru smiled sweetly knowing that even though he acted like this, him joining her will eventually happen as she knew he was weak when it came to his family members.

"Here I found it."

"Ah, can I see them!!"

Yui passed her phone with a smile and Mahiru saw the image of two kids in cosplays. One of them was a tall boy with familiar black hair and blue eyes. He wore a black track suit and a tattered up scarf near his neck and brown boots.

Beside him was a girl who was smiling wearing a white and red kimono and a white forehead covering. She wrapped her arms around the boy and if you were to look closely, you can see that her eyes were slightly puffy.

"You look really cute Haruto~"

"Just don't mention this to Akane or else she will end up dragging you into dressing into some cosplays."

"Hmm…"

Mahiru took in his words but she thought it would be pretty fun to try them out. If Haruto were to hear her thoughts, he might over circuit trying to imagine his girlfriend dressing up in a cosplay.

"I have some pictures of other times they did this. Want to see?"

"Yes please~!"

"I'll clean up the dishes…"

Haruto picked up the dirty plates on the table and quickly made his escape as he didn't want to hear them talk about his dark history.

Leaving the two of them at the table, Mahiru was able to see Haruto wear various cosplays and laughed at pictures that were taken when he was caught off guard.

They started to go off topic as it shifted over to some of his elementary school events and she saw pictures that captured some of his priceless moments.

They pleasantly reminisced on some of his childhood and Mahiru felt happy learning more about him.

'He seems to be a woman magnet even during his childhood.'

Mahiru squinted her eyes as she saw a picture of him surrounded by girls during a sports festival. However the next one was Akane and another boy with a bowl cut who seemed to chase them away making her giggle at the sudden development.

"It's lovely that you were able to get these moments on photos."

"Hmm...I wish I was able to get more though."

"Get more?"

Mahiru gave a puzzled expression as Yui seemed to have whispered the last bit of her sentence. Yui turned her neutral eyes on Mahiru and thought for a moment before speaking her mind.

"Well during their early childhood, their father and I were not really present during their early childhood."

Yui looked at Haruto in the kitchen who seemed to distract himself with washing the dishes and she felt a warm smile form.

She told Mahiru how because of work they left the majority of the care to the housekeepers that worked at their house.

They would still try and make some time by being there to teach them on certain topics that would help them in school but that was all.

But Yui remembered one certain night when she came home, that changed her attitude and thoughts.

It was deep into the night and she had returned home after a long day of investigating a particular case and was ready to sleep. Walking up the stairs she noticed that the light in one of the rooms was lit and she wanted to see why.

"Will mommy and daddy be able to go tomorrow?"

"I'm not really sure but you need to sleep or else you can't do your best telling others how awesome your art is at the competition."

Yui heard the faint whispers of Haruto who was trying his best to make Akane go to sleep.

"I wanted to show them how much I improved though…"

"But do you know what's even better? Showing them a 1st place medal alongside your improved art, so get some rest and wake up energized for tomorrow."

"Are you treating me as a child?"

"You are a child Akane."

"So are you!"

"What are you even trying to prove, just go to sleep."

Yui felt a small grin form as she listened to her children's banter and was about to tell them to sleep but stopped when she continued to listen.

"But I wish they weren't working all the time. I like it when mommy stays with us and teaches and how daddy drives us around to get some food…."

"Well they are working hard just for us so all we can do is show them that there is nothing to worry about. Just think of the shojo manga you wouldn't be able to get if they weren't able to give you some pocket money."

"That's blasphemy!"

"Wow, where did you learn to say that?"

"The anime that appeared a few days ago."

Haruto kept quiet for a while after hearing his sister's response and laughed, finding her answer pretty funny.

"Really? But I guess it is, so we need to do our best and not cause too much trouble for them."

"Alright…"

Hearing Akane's slightly lonely tone, Haruto gave a wry smile and ruffled through her sister's hair.

Yui who was by the door felt her heart sink as she listened to her children's words as she didn't realize how much they enjoyed spending time with her.

"Don't worry after your competition tomorrow I will ask them to bring us to an amusement park to celebrate, so go to sleep now and do your best alright."

"Hmm."

Haruto stayed for a while after hearing Akane's soft hum and left after seeing that she had fallen asleep. He walked out of her room and heard a small shuffle near a corner but ignored it as he was getting sleepy himself.

Yui peeked at the corner and watched him walk back into his room and their small conversation kept replaying in her head.

She felt a small feeling of apprehension in the back of her head that if she continued to do what she did with her children, she would deeply regret it in the future.

"That's why I try to spend time with them whenever I'm free."

Yui wrapped up her story and gave an even warmer smile as she remembered the faces they made when she told them that she and her husband would come to Akane's competition that time.

The happiness they radiated was something that was imprinted deeply into her heart and she realized how much she loved seeing that look on their faces.

"I still regret not being there sooner…"

"But I still think it's amazing with what you did."

Mahiru quietly whispered as she looked at Yui with a gaze of respect and appreciation for her actions.

"Even if you missed some of their moments, you still tried your best to be with them now and I can see it with the photos you showed me."

She remembered the photos she saw of them when they were children all the way up to the most recent ones, which was when she met Yui at that restaurant for the first time.

Yui caught the respect that she was getting through her eyes but also noticed the slight longing that tried its best to be hidden.

This clicked something in her head as she remembered the time where she asked Haruto if he met her parents. To which he said no and tried to quickly go past the topic not wanting to speak more about it.

'I see…'

Yui's eyes turned soft as she looked at the precious girl in front of her and softly brushed her hair, surprising Mahiru.

"Thank you for your words."

"It's just what I honestly thought…"

Mahiru shyly said as she felt unfamiliar with this feeling of being spoiled by Yui and felt like she began to understand where Haruto got his kindness from.

"You guys seemed to have gotten closer…"

Haruto came back to the table holding a tub of premium ice cream and didn't know what expression to put on as he saw his mother spoil Mahiru with a soft smile.

"You guys said you wanted to try the mangoes right? So the time for dessert has finally come!"

Haruto placed the tub in his hands on the table, alongside bowls and spoons that they would need.

"Mahiru do you mind cutting the mangoes since I don't trust myself with them."

"Sure, you just want me to cut it into cubes right?"

"Yes please!"

Mahiru giggled hearing his response and quickly stood up to get the expensive mangoes. However before she passed Haruto, she gave a coy smile and whispered something in his ear.

"I didn't know you were so precious when you were younger."

She smiled brightly and skipped her way into the kitchen before he could give a response.

"What did you tell her?"

"I don't know what you mean."

Haruto narrowed his eyes at the main suspect and Yui just shook her head fighting against his accusations.

She tried to fight against his prying questions and her eyes shined with happiness as she felt like her decision way back then was the best one she could have ever made.

***

I hope you enjoyed it. Peacu.