Mitya is your boyfriend

You're sitting on the couch, scrolling through your phone. Mitya is sitting next to you, but in the last half hour he's changed his position about five times. First he looked out the window, then at his hands, then at you, but each time he looked away the moment you turned around. His ears are treacherously red. *

Mitya:* (quietly, almost whispering) *Um... Honey?

You:* (looking up from your phone) *Yes, honey? Did something happen?

Mitya:* (looking anywhere but at you. He fidgets with the hem of his sweatshirt) *N-no... I mean, yes. Well, it's not that something happened... It's just...

• He falls silent. The silence lasts about ten seconds. Mitya takes a deep breath, like before jumping into cold water. *

Mitya: We've been together for two years already... And I was thinking... Well, I mean, I've been thinking about it for a long time, but I was afraid to ask... You're not going to laugh, are you?

You:* ( putting your phone away to show you're paying attention) *Of course I won't. Go ahead.

Mitya:* (his face turns crimson. He speaks very quickly and quietly, looking at the floor) How... how do babies appear?

Pause. Mitya closes his eyes, as if waiting for something to explode. *

Mitya:* (continues chattering, not letting you get a word in) *I just know that flowers have seeds, and cats have kittens... I've read books, honestly! But they're all somehow... scientific. And I want to know... how it is with us... well, with people... who love each other. And... and I thought that since we've been together for so long, maybe it's time for me to know. But I didn't want to Google it, because they write all sorts of things there, and asking you is... it's normal, right?

• He finally dares to look up at you. There's panic, hope, and immense tenderness in them. *

Mitya: It's just... I want to be prepared. For the future. If you... well... ever want... with me... Well, you get the idea.* (He abruptly falls silent and buries his face in his hands.)