"I know you've been following me around like an obsessed, hungry for bones, panting dog and all, ya know."

"... I would've been fine with just 'stalking.'"

"’Course, didn't know why you were pullin' that, though. I thought maybe you just wanted to fuck, but, nah."

"Hn. Either you're exasperatingly coy or just truly an imbecile."

"Hah. Trying to seduce me with fancy words. ...You gonna do something about that, anyway?"

"If we have to be so blunt about it, yes, I do intend to use this on you, in any case."

"Figures. Just don't fucking tell any of them 'bout this -- 'specially not Kenshin, okay?!"

"Idiot."

+

It was immoderate enough that they'd been doing it every day/night, but they'd been doing it almost everywhere, too. If it wasn't Saitou's place, it happened to be Sanosuke's. Even Saitou's office couch did at times. Then there was also the woods. They hadn't spared the temple by any means, nor even, at least once, the Kamiya dojo, although this one -- even Saitou would admit as much -- had mostly been a foolish, impulsive move. (It had to have been the sake.)

Once dinner had ended the two stumbled out to the back porch, and from the Kamiya girl to the old doctor, everyone was too occupied to notice, except, Saitou would later sense, for Himura. Even though Sanosuke was only half-soused and hardly made animal noises, Saitou had little doubt Himura could hear everything from where he lurked, still as a post against the adjacent wall, and if he had always been accurate about Himura's intentions toward his young friend, Saitou wouldn't have believed it if the poor bastard hadn't obliged himself with a desperate hand for every raspy sound out of Sanosuke as Saitou thrust between his hitched legs and took him up against the smooth bamboo until they came. And if partly because he was certain that Himura knew he'd been sensed, Saitou fucked Sanosuke again immediately after, although halfway through it the little man was already forgotten altogether when the cop slid his lips up from Sanosuke's throat to Sanosuke's mouth, and then Sanosuke responded hard enough to make them both realize that this was their first kiss in the five months they'd been sleeping together. Then Saitou had to tear his lips away and grunt out to the boy how his hug was too fierce for his taste.

+

It seemed as if Sano could only lounge in his apartment all day stroking his lips with the nail of his thumb. He'd hardly even noticed it, actually, if not for Kenshin barging in and asking if he was all right. Even though he'd rather carry on thinking about cigarette-stained mouths and never be interrupted by overreacting redheads, Sano caught himself before he could tell Kenshin to scuttle back to his laundry.

Then again, maybe he should have told him, because apparently Kenshin had a lot more to ask: about the crap Sano would never bring up, things that concerned the state of his...involvement...with Saitou. And while the questions, in true Kenshin style, lacked neither tact nor concern, they still consummately annoyed the young man and just ended up unanswered, weighing like a hundred zanbatou, settled in the pit of his chest. Should he really give a fuck that Saitou was possibly not even serious with him? Would it matter either way? Because hadn't Sano planned to dump the bastard cop before things got too fucking crazy, anyway?

+

"Wha? Whatya doin' in my neighborhood, ol' man?"

"I was passing by. Himura was at your door earlier."

"Oh, you saw him? That was nothing, ya know."

"Nothing. I see."

"What."

"It took you two nine minutes to talk about nothing."

"I told you it was no-- hell jeez, cop, I ain't even making you jealous on purpose!"

+

Jealous wasn't entirely the appropriate word, although it did irritate Saitou how that idiot could've even conceived such an obscene thought. He was slighted, perhaps, that whatever preposterous thing Himura had come to the kid to talk about Sanosuke wouldn't start to open up with him, as though he hadn't the license for it, or some asinine reason like that. All the same, Saitou was convinced he couldn't possibly be jealous of Himura, and had no reason to believe he should be, especially as it was he who had Himura's friend under him, around him, and beside him more often than he really needed. Himura had none of that to drive him to jealousy, which was why Saitou could fathom, at the least, how the redhead could be bothered enough to pay him a visit and ask that he stop using Sano. It seemed the little bastard wouldn't outgrow his pesky habit, spouting admonishments in an attempt to talk people out of being 'evil.' Saitou would've told Himura then to fuck off, only he wasn't the crude talker like the roosterhead was, besides the fact that Cho had come knocking at his office door just in time to clip their lovely conversation.

+

"...you make me fucking happy."

+

Sano hadn't meant to blurt it out at all. Never in bed, not while they exactly engaged in the act, and certainly not right into those golden eyes, at least not that openly. Saitou hadn't uttered anything back, but that was nothing unexpected. It was after the fact, when Sano woke up in the early morning finding the space next to him on the futon perfectly bare, plus himself perfectly alone in the room, that things started to feel fucked (and not in the literal sense). Something suddenly tore at the young man, and as much as he felt the beginnings of regret, ire took the better of him, as it always did, and Saitou, Sano vowed, wasn't getting off the hook that easily.

Scarcely any surprise took the cop's face when Sano came rushing into his office, tripling the boy's ire, as though Saitou'd already been expecting this, even. A single, awkward question lay dangling from Sano's tongue, just waiting to be posed, until the young man finally grew aware of his surroundings, particularly the police chief in the visitor's chair who was almost gaping at him. So Sano had to turn back for the moment, still enraged and humiliated moreover, until, just as he yanked the office door to shut behind him, the police chief asked Saitou who the boy was, and Saitou offered his matter-of-fact reply, My companion.

Sano was sure he'd never frowned-grinned as ridiculously as he did when he swaggered out of the police station. Saitou was a crazy guy, and not the most affectionate most of the time, nor transparent, and his companion wouldn't have it any other way, really.

The rest of the day saw Sano in the brightest of moods whatever he did, with the lone exception of his daily stop at the Kamiya dojo, when Kenshin revealed to him that he feared Saitou still loved his wife. Anyway, Sano wasn't going to be bothered and so just told his little killjoy friend to fuck off.

+

"What the hell was that 'companion' shit by the way. You coulda just said 'boyfriend,' or, or--"

"You do realize I was talking to the head of the entire precinct. Not someone who regularly squealed in delight."

"Yeah, whatever. So how long've you been in love with me, anyway?"

"You're delusional."

"Hey, pull that dick outta my ass and I'm leaving!"

"We're in your place, idiot."

"Oh mnnngnhhfuuuck...why you havta feel so fucking good, ol' man??"

"Hn."

"I love you, Zai-tohhh."

"Idiot."

"Goddamit...are you actually smiling?!"

END