A/N: I wanted to write a quick simple fic for this rarepair. Now it's time for me to go pray for a season 2.
1.
"And it was so cute when Maria—"
Yuki abruptly cut herself off with a sharp gasp and slapped a plastic menu underneath her nose. Wide eyes concentrated somewhere ahead and to the left, she hunched her shoulders and raised the menu further in some poor attempt at hiding.
Maria, whose face had flushed red at Yuki's gushing, forgot her embarrassment as she turned her head to look at Yuki in confusion. Across from them in the booth sat Ryuuichi and Hayato, with the shorter male showing visible concern and the other raising a questioning eyebrow.
"What's wrong?" Ryuuichi started to turn in his seat, intending to see what had caught her attention.
Yuki rapidly waved one hand. "D-Don't look or they might see!"
While Ryuuichi paused but was no less perplexed, Maria's mouth set into a firm line. "Is it that guy who won't stop asking you out?" she demanded, eyes sparking.
"Can't be. I took care of him," Hayato waved off the possibility.
"No, he hasn't bothered me in a while." Yuki cast one more glance around before leaning forward. "At a table over there…" she began in a loud whisper.
Maria and Ryuuichi leaned forward as well, holding their breath, but Hayato only rested his elbow on the table and calmly waited.
"Usaida and Saikawa are sitting at a table together!" she revealed.
Giving a small relieved laugh, Ryuuichi sat back. "That's not so strange, is it? We know they're friends. It makes sense they'd hang out and eat together sometimes."
"I'm more surprised Saikawa took a long enough break from work to eat out," Hayato commented.
Yuki vigorously shook her head, hair swishing across her cheeks. "B-But that's not it! They aren't…they're not acting like just friends."
"…you think they're on a date?" Maria concluded.
A tangible, intense curiosity blanketed the group. Ryuuichi peeked around the side of the booth, and Yuki peered from behind her menu once more. Maria, usually timid about sharing personal space in public, pressed herself against Yuki to gain a better look. Hayato remained seated and finished the last of his fries.
At a small square table, Usaida and Saikawa sat across from each other. Due to the chatter of other patrons, the teenagers couldn't catch the conversation, but that did nothing to deter them.
The pink-haired male grinned and nudged the remnants of his food around with his fork as he spoke. His crumpled napkin lay on the table beside his plate, unlike Saikawa's, which sat neatly on his lap. Although they could see only a portion of Saikawa's profile from their position, they gathered from the amused upward quirk of his lips that he was equally enjoying his chat. Both were clad in their normal attire: a pristine suit and casual sweater-jeans combination.
"You're looking too much into this," Hayato insisted.
Maria tensed and bit her lip, realizing how ridiculous they must all look. Red threatened to tinge her cheeks again, but a murmured exclamation from Yuki had her gaze snapping back to the adults' table.
"Is Usaida offering him his drink?!"
A contemplative finger rested on Saikawa's chin as he examined the half-full smoothie Usaida nudged toward him. Then, dragging the drink closer, the bespectacled man wrapped his lips around the straw and sipped.
"I-Indirect kiss?!" Maria blurted.
"…still doesn't mean anything," Hayato claimed, suddenly on his knees and head twisted around to observe.
Ryuuichi started—he hadn't even noticed the other move. "Ah—well, it is just sharing a drink…"
"Are you all paying together or separate?"
Everyone jumped, varying degrees of abashment coloring their faces as the tired waiter watched them scramble back into their seats.
"Separate," Ryuuichi hurriedly answered, and he released a sigh once the worker nodded and left. Wary of being caught again, they spent the rest of their meal fighting the urge to sneak another peek. But that didn't stop the gossip flowing between them, even after they fled the restaurant.
2.
Ryuuichi shifted Kotarou in his arms and glanced up at Saikawa. "Are you sure you don't want me to help clean that side of the house?"
"I appreciate your offer, but your homework takes precedence. I need to return something to the library anyway," Saikawa politely declined, already donned in his cleaning apron.
"All right." Smiling gratefully, he watched the man turn and head toward the storage closet. Only then did Ryuuichi notice Saikawa was carrying a book at his side. A glossy black card stuck out of the novel, dutifully keeping the reader's place. He caught the first half of the title, which was printed in flowery cursive: How to Woo the.
Woo? As in, flirt? But why would Saikawa—
"They're not acting like just friends." The memory of the diner returned to his mind.
He hadn't put much stock in what Yuki said before. Neither Saikawa or Usaida had acted any different from normal, and sharing meals was common between friends. Perhaps the book didn't mean anything either; he may have just found it somewhere and wanted to put it back in the library.
…but then why was Saikawa's bookmark in it?
3.
"I told you to go to sleep early, brat," Hayato muttered under his breath. Walking toward the daycare room, he carried a snoring Taka against his chest. Drool dampened his shirt. For a reason he couldn't fathom, the child had refused to go to sleep until midnight. When their mother woke Taka up to prepare him for daycare, he was even more cranky than usual, and of course she asked Hayato to drop him off. After several minutes of watching the kid stumble around, he irritably picked him up. Taka protested for a good thirty seconds before promptly falling asleep.
Upon reaching the daycare room, he slid open the door. No other children or Ryuuichi greeted him; maybe Kirin's mother was showing them the new costumes the drama club bought.
Facing away from the door was Usaida, lounging on his side with a cell phone pressed to his ear. "My place? You sure, Keigo? It's a lot messier than the last time you were there. Yayoi asked me if I could fix a tear in Kirin's favorite witch dress, and I didn't have time this morning to put all the sewing stuff away."
Hayato stepped into the room. "Oi."
Craning his neck upward, Usaida finally noticed the other male. He sat up, lazily waved, and pressed the phone to his ear once more. "Oh, and I found your belt. It was under my futon. You can get it when you come by. Anyway, I gotta go. See you soon."
After Usaida ended the call and slipped the device back into his pocket, he awkwardly rubbed the back of his neck. "Uh…is there a reason you're glaring at me like that?"
"I'm not." His eyes were narrowed out of suspicion, not glaring. There was a difference.
"Right…well, sorry I had to make you wait. I forgot you hadn't brought Taka yet. The others are with Yayoi right now."
"I figured." Hayato handed over Taka, who didn't stir whatsoever. Usaida bid the teenager a laid-back goodbye when he left, but he didn't notice. Instead he closed the door behind him, marched down the hall, and tried to block out his traitorous mind's reasons for how Saikawa's belt ended up under Usaida's futon.
4.
Surrounded by uniform black text and dull gray space, a black and white photo of the museum stared back at the chairwoman. She read over the picture's caption—the museum recently received a huge grant—before turning to the next page of the newspaper.
As she started reading an article about how pollution affects children development, the phone rang. She set down the newspaper, reached over, and picked up the insistent receiver.
"Chairwoman Morinomiya speaking."
"Good morning, ma'am," Saikawa's deep tones greeted. "I wanted to inform you that I may not be at the house until—"
She sighed heavily. "I told you countless times before: you are allowed to have a few hours off on the weekends. So before you even think about it, don't apologize for coming late."
"…if you insist."
Having successfully chided him, she realized the oddness of this situation. Every morning he began work long before she woke, regardless of how many times she told him to take time off. It was extremely strange that he wasn't even in the house right now, at ten in the morning. Confusion, and perhaps a hint of worry, creased her brow.
"Are you sick?" Her strict tone turned the question into a demand.
"No. I've been occupied and neglected to watch the time." Beneath his composure she detected his self-disappointment. Then she heard soft rustling, and his next words sounded far off, as if he had moved the phone away from his mouth. "…Usaida? I'm sorry, but you can't fall asleep on top of me again. I need to leave shortly."
She nearly dropped the receiver. Pulling together the strings of her composure, she pondered over the last few weeks. There must have been clues about Saikawa and Usaida's relationship. How had she not noticed?
Her fingers drummed against the desk. Usaida. Decent worker. Too laid-back for her tastes, but not an unpleasant person. If he was receiving some of Saikawa's devotion, then the caretaker better not be lazy in returning affection.
"I should be there within ten minutes," he said once he returned the phone to his ear.
"Okay. One more thing."
"Yes?"
"Value yourself, and if any of the school staff cause you trouble, send them straight to me."
Before he could question her impromptu, forceful advice, she hung up the phone.
5.
When the doorbell rang, Koutarou excitedly shuffled toward the door. Saikawa followed behind, dutifully on watch since Ryuuichi had left an hour ago.
"I apologize, Koutarou, but your brother is not due back yet. I believe that's someone else." Saikawa opened the door to find Usaida, one hand covering his mouth as he yawned.
"See? It is a rare pink sloth," Saikawa matter-of-factly observed.
The pink-haired male huffed in amusement. "Yeah, I'm an endangered species." He crouched down to address Koutarou. "So you should protect me from Taka when he starts beating me up with his sword."
Koutarou stared at Usaida, slowly rubbed his eyes, and then looked up at him again.
"The gears in his little head are churning," Usaida surmised. "I must be one strange looking sloth."
"Indeed." A small smile lifted the corners of Saikawa's lips. "I apologize again, Koutarou. Usaida is, unfortunately, not a sloth."
"What do you mean, 'unfortunately?!'"
The boy relaxed, as if he had been seriously comparing the caretaker to one of the animals he'd seen at the zoo.
Usaida stood. "Sorry I didn't text you I was coming until the last minute."
"That's all right. I changed your text tone this morning, so I was able to hear it for the first time."
"You changed my…?" Grinning, he shook his head. "And you sound so pleased about it, too. Sap," he fondly teased.
Saikawa whipped out his phone with far too much enthusiasm for Usaida's liking. "Sap? May I remind you of the series of drunk texts—"
"Hey hey!" Usaida swiftly interrupted, raising his hands in surrender. "I give. Let's not bring those out in front of a kid."
Koutarou, meanwhile, tilted his head slightly and wondered why adults and not-so-adults, his older brother being one of them, were constantly invested and reacted strongly to phones. He liked looking at pictures, too, but he didn't understand what was captivating about sending lines of kanji—which he was still learning most of—to other people.
A pleasant breeze gently tousled rose bangs, which the caretaker swept back into place with his fingers. "Let's go to the park. Does that sound good?" he asked, looking down at Koutarou.
"Un!" He nodded, head bobbing so far forward it was incredible he remained balanced.
"The park it is then. I'm sure you need some outside air, too, Keigo," Usaida added.
Saikawa hesitated. Since the chairwoman was out on business, he had intended on watching both the house and Ryuuichi's brother until her return. But Koutarou wished to go, and he remembered reading that children needed outside playtime and exercise to remain healthy—something Usaida surely agreed with.
…and perhaps hearing his first name in Usaida's easygoing voice was affecting his judgement, too.
So he expressed his approval, returned inside to turn off the lights, and locked up the house.
When they reached the sidewalk, Usaida leaned down and held his hand out to Koutarou. "Do you remember what we do when we're walking somewhere?"
The boy confidently grasped Usaida's pinky.
"Good," Usaida praised. "Don't let go until I say we can."
The secretary's gaze lingered on the other adult's free hand. An idea popped into his mind, along with the book advice encouraging it: Wooing Tip #304 - Don't be afraid to be spontaneous! (Note: within reason.)
Summoning courage, Saikawa wrapped his fingers around the other adult's free hand. "Understood."
Usaida stared at their joined hands in mild surprise. Then, giving an appreciative whistle, he returned the grip. Despite his blasé attitude, faint pink dusted his cheekbones. "That was smooth. Not gonna lie."
"Thank you—" Saikawa's voice broke on the last syllable.
Usaida snorted a laugh as the secretary sheepishly cleared his throat.
They started down the sidewalk. Koutarou led the way, and the men behind him gave directions. A few minutes into their walk, a pair of women headed toward them spotted the chain. Moving to the left side of the concrete, they beamed at the child in front.
"You two have such a cute son!" one exclaimed.
"Oh, he's not…" Usaida started to speak, but the pair had already strolled past them and well down the street.
"They moved remarkably fast," Saikawa noted.
"Yeah, no kidding." Shrugging off the experience, he reassured Koutarou to keep going. A bashful flush reddened the boy's face—it seemed he hadn't expected the female's praise—but by the time they reached the park, he had calmed and immediately started searching the ground for anthills.
+1
On a sunny Friday, most of the teaching staff were called into an urgent meeting after school. So Hayato, Yuki, and Maria gathered in the daycare room to assist Ryuuichi, and to no one's surprise Usaida nodded off on the other side of the room. Flat on his back, his breaths stayed calm and even despite the noise nearby. Midori lay on his torso; though she grew enthusiastic while watching the others play, she seemed content with staying there for now.
"All done!" Kirin declared as she presented a plate of plastic food to Yuki.
The teenager tentatively accepted the dish, and she scrabbled for something to say to the younger girl's expectant, proud smile. "Um…thank you! It looks delicious."
"Good! Make sure you eat it all up." She held out a tiny head. "Now you have to pay."
"Right, of course." Ryuuichi made a show of digging into his pocket. Then, holding his fingers a few centimeters apart as if he were holding something, he pretended to hand her some yen. She eagerly accepted the money and walked off to put it in her toy register.
Ryuuichi glanced around. Near more pieces of fake food stood Taka, the main chef of Kirin's restaurant. Tongue sticking out of his mouth in concentration, he stabbed a cooked egg and fish with his sword.
A book held in her hands, Maria read a book to Koutarou, who sat next to her. Though she spoke a little quickly, the boy didn't seem to mind, and whenever he pointed at a picture on the page she would stop and explain what it was.
Nearby Hayato watched Takuma and Kazuma "fix" a firetruck. Nothing was visibly wrong with the toy, but Takuma offered instructions on how to repair it nonetheless. While he talked, Kazuma moved various parts of the vehicle in an attempt to follow his brother's words. Several times Hayato told them that they knew nothing about how an actual firetruck worked, but Takuma always countered with "our truck is special! It's better than the ones you seen."
Usaida was, of course, still asleep. Midori chewed contentedly on a teething ring.
"Have you noticed Saikawa acting any differently?" Yuki inquired.
Ryuuichi turned his attention back to her, and it took him a moment to realize what she was talking about. He understood her vagueness; they didn't want to risk the kids repeating what they said.
"He started work late last weekend. He's never late," Ryuuichi admitted.
"Hey! This isn't proper conversation for in here," Maria hissed, pointedly looking at Usaida. She must have finished the book since Koutarou had left her side to search the bookshelf.
"As if he'll hear us. He's a rock until someone hits him," Hayato pointed out. He ignored Takuma's tug on his shirt as the child attempted to regain his attention.
Before they could speak further, the door slid open. Saikawa bowed at the entrance before stepping inside and closing the door behind him. "Good afternoon, everyone."
"Saikawa? Why are you here?" Ryuuichi asked.
"You have a dentist appointment soon, and the chairwoman suggested I pick you up and drive you there."
"I forgot I had an appointment," he sheepishly confessed.
"We can take over here if you need to leave," Hayato offered. Yuki and Maria also gave their agreement.
"If you're sure…I suppose I should wake up Usaida and let him know."
Hayato pushed up his sleeve. "I can take care of that."
Ryuuichi quickly gripped the other male's shoulder. "Wait, Hayato! We should choose a less violent way, don't you think…?"
"May I?" Saikawa chimed in.
That caught all the teenagers' attention. Ryuuchi could only nod and watch as the secretary headed over to Usaida.
"Hello, Midori," Saikawa greeted, kneeling beside the caretaker. Gurgling happily at her name, she dropped her teething ring and waved. After returning the wave, he placed a hand on the pink-haired male's shoulder.
"Usaida? You should wake up."
"Hm…?" Releasing a soft hum of protest, he blearily opened his eyes and looked up at Saikawa. He blinked once, twice, and then gave a dreamy smile.
Hayato, who Ryuuichi was still holding onto, tensed. Yuki slapped a hand over her mouth, and Maria's ears burned at how intently everyone watched the pair—yet she didn't look away either. The children continued to play, oblivious to the students' anticipation.
Usaida reached up, placed a hand on the back of Saikawa's neck, and mumbled a sleepy "hey." Just as he started to tilt his chin up, the bespectacled male apologetically pulled away.
"I'm afraid we have an audience," Saikawa revealed.
"Huh?" Usaida's brow furrowed in confusion. Midori ecstatically babbled at seeing him awake, and the caretaker froze as realization washed over him. Instinctively wrapping his arms around her, he closed his eyes again and released a resigned sigh. "We're in the daycare, aren't we?"
"Yes." Saikawa shifted his legs, the only movement which betrayed his own restlessness.
Yuki suddenly latched onto Maria's arm with a death grip. "I knew it! I told you," Yuki whispered, but her words sounded far too loud despite the kids continue to chatter around them.
Maria, face red, hurriedly shushed her.
Hayato crossed his arms, as if he hadn't been just as invested as the rest of them. "Check before you start to make out next time."
"What are you guys talking about?" Taka demanded. The children had finally grown weary of being ignored, it seemed.
Kirin placed a finger on her chin. "Make out? Like, makeup?"
Kazuma shook his head and sniffled. "I-I heard, once…daddy s-say it about kissing someone in movies."
"Kissing? Ew, gross!" Taka stuck out his tongue.
Usaida sat up and moved Midori to his lap. The blush tinting his cheeks matched his hair. "Let's quiet down, all right? I'll let you play attack the monster as much as you want tomorrow if you do."
"Okay! I'm gonna practice to beat you, monster Usaida!" Taka grabbed Koutarou's hand and dragged the boy off. The other kids followed suit, picking up various toys and waving them in the air.
Guilt washed over Ryuuichi. Prying into the adults' relationship was bad enough, but they had almost caused a scene. "We're sorry, Usaida, Saikawa." Yuki and Maria bowed their heads as well.
"About what? It was kind of my fault," Usaida responded, and he halfheartedly glared at Saikawa. "But you shouldn't have let me get that close to kissing you."
"…I was caught up in the moment." Apology humbled Saikawa's polite speech.
Usaida gently nudged his knee against the other adult's leg. "It's fine," he reassured, offering a relaxed smile.
The lifting mood was contagious; the awkward, tense atmosphere dissipated. Ryuuichi finally released Hayato's shoulder, and Yuki loosened her grip on Maria's wrist. Maria bit back a sigh of relief; she had been starting to lose circulation in that hand.
"We're happy for you two," Ryuuichi confirmed, smiling as well. Saikawa and Usaida both were important to him, and he wished them happiness in their relationship.
Midori bounced in Usaida's lap with a delighted squeal.
"I think Midori is too," Yuki observed with a giggle.
A few more minutes passed before Saikawa announced he, Ryuuichi, and Koutarou needed to leave if they wished to make it to the appointment on time. They said their goodbyes and, if anyone noticed Usaida's hand lingering on Saikawa's arm, no one chose to mention it.