trusted
"I’ll keep that in mind," Saito says quietly—and why, he wonders, will he? It’s not as if he’s the children’s godfather or their uncle; Miles is here, too, and adding him to Cobb, there’s a perfect number of related adults to care for the two sleeping angels.
It’s none of his business, really, even if it seems James has taken a liking to him. It’s none of his business at all.
Once they stop once more in front of the building, Saito carries James, the boy’s rump supported by his arm and those scrawny arms wrapped around Saito’s neck. It might have been a better idea to give him to one of the other men, but then Miles is older, and Cobb must no doubt be preoccupied with Phillipa being asleep as well.
He’s very quiet as he walks, and once they’ve reached the penthouse proper (he’s not even sure if he’s staying the night, too), he puts James down onto his bed instead of taking him to the bathroom.
It’s none of his business, he tells himself again, waking up James and taking him to the bathroom and brushing the boy’s teeth for him because he’s so tired. But the paternal instinct he earned when his daughter had been born so many years ago never was properly buried after her death.
He ends up taking the boy’s toothbrush and toothpaste from Miles, maybe just a little jittery about it, and fills a glass with water, picking up a dipper from the bathroom as well.
He wakes the boy up and gently tells him about brushing his teeth, and he asks James to hold the dipper under his chin. Saito is very careful, certainly, cupping the boy’s jaw with one hand and brushing his teeth with the other, and when all is done and his mouth’s been rinsed and James has spat all the toothpaste out of his mouth down into the dipper, he ruffles his hair and tucks him in.
It’s the most bizarre experience.
He carries Phillipa inside, and when he sees the man care so warmly for James, his heart warms and he gets Phillipa ready for bed before tucking her in.
Miles wishes him a good night and heads to bed, leaving him alone with Saito.
"Thanks," he murmurs quietly. "For taking care of James. He really likes you."
And he is grateful, truly. THe exhaustion's hit him finally, and he feels bone tired, and yet...the curiosity about meeting the man's eyes has him seeking his gaze once more.
"I didn't know you were so good with children."
