Saitou woke up cold. Somehow not only had Sano come in to bed dreadfully late and sick drunk, but he had been a bed hog. Saitou sat up and eyed the other two in the bed. Sano was rolled over on his left shoulder, a habit he had developed since the most recent injury. Saiko was tucked in next to him under the blankets and he was holding her tight. Saitou felt himself pout slightly before shaking his head and climbing out of bed. 'Why do I always want to feel like a jealous little girl?' he thought.
He was about to smoke a cigarette when it dawned on him how bright it was outside. "Damn" Saitou mumbled. If it was already this bright it had to be almost eight. Saitou thought for a moment and checked his pocket watch on the dresser. It was only 7:20 and even with his need to sneaking out of the house early he had plenty of time. He sighed and headed for the kitchen for something to eat.
The bowl of granola Saitou was munching on was half finished when he saw a sleepy looking daughter walk into the kitchen. "Da e work?" she asked before he pulled her onto his lap. "Soon Sa-chan" Saitou said as he ruffled her hair with his free hand. Saiko smiled and proceeded to try and smooth out the wrinkled black tee her father was wearing. "Winkly" she said bashfully. Saitou looked down and smiled at her, he really should change before work. Before he went to get his clothes he remembered the state of his boyfriend. He might as well dress Saiko as well before he left or she would be in pajamas all day.
Saiko was still clean from her bath but she needed fresh clothes, a diaper, and her hair brushed. Carefully Saitou combed out the knots in the teary toddler's hair before changing Saiko's diaper and bringing her to her room. She was still rubbing her head from the brushing as Saitou went through her closet looking for something she could wear. Saitou chose a black yukata with a light blue obi to tie it. Knowing he would be hopeless to put her hair clip in he dug a few of the hair ties from the bag from the accessory store and put her hair up into two messy pigtails. Once Saiko was dressed Saitou gave her a soft kiss on the forehead and warned her to be good while he got dressed.
Somehow Sano managed to stay asleep through Saitou dressing in the bedroom, even though Saitou was trying to be loud so he could talk to the boy. "Ahou" Saitou finally said before nudging Sano gently with his foot. "Ahou, get up I know your still hung over, but I have to go to work and you need to watch Saiko if you can" he finished. Saitou did not intend to say the last word with such a nasty tone, but he was still rather angry at Sano for getting so drunk the night before. Sano slowly opened his eyes noticing the malice in the comment. Sano sneered at Saitou saying "I am not an invalid I can fucking watch my own daughter even when hung over all right."
"Hnn" was the only response Saitou gave before fetching Saiko and plopping her down on the futon. Right before Saitou walked out the back door he felt two warm arms around his torso and a smaller set around his right leg, Sano smiled into Saitou's back before saying "you know you cannot leave without a goodbye." Saitou felt his heart soften and he smiled before turning around and obliging the unspoken request for kisses. The last thing he could see Sano was holding Saiko on the porch with the door still open. Adjusting his coat a bit Saitou crossed the street stealthily and headed to the office.
Saitou had been leaving by the back door since the first night he spent with Sano, if only to avoid having to answer questions from other police officers. Lucky for him most officers hated being at the office off the clock and headed home immediately and got to work on time, never early, so Saitou's time at the Sagara residence went unnoticed. Sano had asked Saitou before what his cover story would be, but Saitou always responded with "they will not catch me and if for some reason it came up I would make up some story so do not worry."
The paperwork on Saitou's desk was only a small pile, for Saitou always did his work efficiently, so he was tapping his pen on the desk trying to think of a way to fight the latest ring of burglaries in one of the lower end neighborhoods in Tokyo for fun. A few minutes later there was a faint giggling, but than it got louder and louder. Saitou himself never minded the women that worked as secretaries in the office, though many people did not approve of women in a work place at all. The giggling however did tend to get on his nerves. Putting on his best Fujita Gorou face he got up from his desk and peeked his head out of the door.
What he saw thoroughly confused him. There was a little girl, with messy pigtails, a black yukuta with a light blue obi and was crying out "da e da e." Saiko however was not confused at all. As soon as Saitou left the house Sano had set Saiko down and ran to the bathroom leaving the back door wide open. Saiko looked around and proceeded to follow Saitou to work. As soon as she got to the front door she was accosted by one of the secretaries and they had been playing with her until Saitou made his appearance. Saitou was jerked out of his shock when Yuna grabbed his coat sleeve. "Gorou-san I didn't know you had a child! What is her name? How old is she? Are you married?" she asked as she dragged him over to Saiko.
Clapping happily Saiko squealed and reached out for Saitou to hold her. Nodoko handed Saiko over gingerly as they waited for his answers. "Her name Gorou-san what is her name?" Yuna asked again. Saitou blinked then shook off his shock and gave his infamous smile. "Her name is Gorou Saiko, my late wife was her mother unfortunately, and she is almost two years old" he lied through is teeth. Both girls grinned ear to ear and whispered to each other formulating an evil plan. "Can we see her for a moment Gorou-san?" Nodoko said with a mischievous grin. He raised an eyebrow but obliged adding "be good for them Sa-chan." Before the two ran off to the bathroom with Saiko.
Since his work was done more or less he stayed in the foyer plotting the things he would to do Sano for letting Saiko outside alone to cross a busy street and blow his cover when Nodoko and Yuna returned. They had wet Saiko's hair and pulled it back into a pony tail only leaving out a few clumps which they had twisted into pointy bangs to make her look like her daddy. Saitou forgot his plotting and laughed heartily. Giving in he exclaimed "Sa-chan you look just like daddy!" She cheered and patted her hair happily saying "like da e like da e." Yuna's eyes lit up thinking of something "Oh yes let's take a picture" rushing to retrieve the camera from the closet. Saitou could have sworn he was going to lecture her on wasting the film on the expensive camera, but before he knew it he was smiling while holding little Saiko who was posing for the picture.
Years later when Saitou would look on the picture where it hung on the wall he would smile and think thoughtfully of that day. The one day he got to see Saiko as 'his' own child. He knew it was when that picture was developed that he gained better control of the jealousy he felt about Sano's biological fathering of Saiko. Whenever he felt that pang he could go look at it or think of that picture and remember it did not matter who actually "created her" because she was Saitou's child, just as much as she was Sano's. He would trace his finger over the glass atop of Saiko's toddler face and smile whispering "my how you have grown Saiko." Sometimes when Saiko was there when he fell into his memory she would hug him tightly and whisper back "so have you da e" mocking her own toddler pronunciation. Then Sano would attack from the other side pulling them into a bear hug never knowing what was going on but happy to see the smiles on their faces.
A/N: Sorry I took so long to post, school is gonna be a pain for the next month TT I hope everyone likes this chap, please review!