Chapter Text
You wake to little sounds of exertion, and you're smiling before you even open your eyes. This is a familiar routine, and you plan to enjoy it for as long as you can. Sitting up and rubbing sleep from your eyes, your gaze trails to the end of the bed, to the little girl trying ever so hard to get herself up onto the bed. One small leg is kicked up onto the mattress, and one tiny grabby hand is clinging to the king size duvet. You press your lips together to suppress the laugh trying desperately to escape. She wouldn't appreciate that at all, and your heart can't take seeing her upset so early in the morning.
Her efforts have woken Chuuya too, and he takes pity on her, reaching over to drag her onto the bed and into his arms. He presses a kiss to her messy russet hair, falling out of the braid he tied it into before he put her to bed, "Good morning, little one. Sleep well?”
Kiko nods cheerfully, wriggling away from her father to collapse into you, giggling when you drop a flurry of kisses over her face. She settles into your lap, resting her head against your shoulder, "Mama? Can we go and see the fishies today?”
Her current obsession is sealife - she's been enchanted ever since she found a book on tropical fish at the library; it was actually a book on caring for tropical fish, but you're fairly sure she was only looking at the pretty pictures anyway. Her love only grew from there, and now, your little family are regulars at the local aquarium. It's useful, though, for days when Chuuya has been up all night on Port Mafia business or you were nursing assorted scrapes and bruises from a sale drifting off plan. You could just take her to the aquarium, and let her loose to chatter away to the turtles.
"Yeah, baby, we can go to the aquarium.” Your agreement is rewarded with a wet kiss to your cheek, before Kiko turns her best puppy dog eyes on her father.
"Sorry, little one. Papa has to work today.” Kiko's bottom lip slips out, and you know it's killing Chuuya to say no to her. He always blames you for that, hiding his joking smiles in the crook of your neck - apparently, it's all your fault that Kiko has your eyes, and also that it's impossible for him to deny those eyes anything. You know he's joking; know he would stare into your eyes for eternity if he could, and that he thinks your daughter is perfect. So when he laments his weakness to the two of you, you just hum in sympathy with a smile on your face, petting his hair as it tickles your shoulder.
Deciding to jump in and help him out, you wrap Kiko in a hug, "You and me can have a girls’ day today, then Papa can take you to the zoo next week, huh?”
That cheers her up immediately; if the aquarium is her favourite place, the zoo is a close second. You're certain she would go anywhere, though, if she was going with her Papa. You would be offended by how much she adores her father, if you didn't love Chuuya just as much.
"Go get ready for breakfast, Kiko. Me and Mama will be there in a minute.” She nods decisively, sliding off the bed with little arms outstretched to steady herself. The patter of footsteps trail away, and you and Chuuya have at least a couple of minutes to wake up fully before Kiko demands your attention once again. Chuuya flops back down onto the bed, and you squeak as he drags you with him, tugging you into his arms. Silent laughter shakes through him, his hand sneaking under your sleep shirt to caress the skin of your lower back.
"Kiko's waiting for us, Chuu.” You remind, but he doesn't seem all too concerned. Instead, his grip on you tightens, and he presses his face into your hair. For being one of the most feared men in Yokohama, he's very cuddly behind closed doors, especially when he wakes up next to you. You can't fault him for it - not when you're relaxing into his hold, nuzzling into his chest.
"She's probably busy deciding what she wants from the gift shop. I want to hold my girlfriend before we have to move.” You smile into his chest, patting his tummy. No one would ever believe you if you told them about this side of Executive Nakahara.
Wrapped up in each other as you are, physically and mentally, a thump by the side of the bed makes you both jump. Moments later, Kiko is climbing up once again, far easier than the first time - she must have retrieved her step stool from the bathroom. She deposits herself on top of Chuuya, getting comfortable before she tugs your arm over her.
"You didn't tell me we were having cuddles.” There's a little frown on her face, and you're sure she would have her arms crossed if they weren't already occupied clinging to her papa.
"Very sorry, little one. It won't happen again.” You can hear the amusement in his voice as he reassures Kiko, and you give her a little squeeze. This is certainly derailing your morning a little, and Chuuya will likely end up cutting it a little fine on getting to the office, but you're sure Chuuya minds about as much as you do - not at all.
***************
After your impromptu morning snuggles, everything goes smoothly. Kiko swings her legs as she eats her cereal, telling you which animal she's most excited to see in between bites. You have to smile at the scene - Kiko rambling about starfish while Chuuya hangs onto her every word. He's trying to make up for not being able to go with you, and the affection bubbling in your chest at the thought pushes you to press a kiss to his head as you gather up the bowls.
“Kiko, baby, go pick out what you want to wear, please.” You gently instruct, smoothing a hand over her hair.
She slips off her chair, "Okay Mama!”
Chuuya moves to get up too, "I better get ready for work. You okay getting her ready?” Yet another thing you love about him - he's always willing to share the load, no matter what.
"I've got her. Go get ready; the sooner you go to work, the sooner you can come home to us.”
He leaves a quick kiss on your lips as he slips past you. You clear up all of the breakfast mess before you follow them both down the hall, stopping in the doorway to Kiko's room. You find her deep in thought, one hand fisted under her chin as she stares at the two outfits she's spread out on her bed. What's going through her head, you don't know, but she makes her decision. Gathering up her favourite dungarees and a long sleeved t-shirt, she turns to run out of the room, looking absolutely delighted when she realises you've already come to her.
She holds out her clothes, "I want to wear these please, Mama.” She puts on her best puppy dog eyes, "Will you wear yours too?”
As if you would ever say no - you're all too aware that she won't want to match with you forever. Her bright grin at your agreement makes it all the sweeter. Chuuya is using the ensuite in your bedroom, so you take Kiko to the second bathroom. She's humming to herself as she gets dressed, and she gives you two thumbs up when she's done. Climbing up onto her stool, she brushes her teeth in the mirror, both of you dissolving into giggles when she gets a little bit of toothpaste on her nose.
You wipe it off and drop a kiss there to draw another peal of laughter from her. Another beseeching gaze, and another plea sees you sitting on the couch with her on the floor between your knees, carefully braiding her hair to match the one you did on yourself moments before.
Movement behind you signals Chuuya's approach, and you look over your shoulder, immediately transfixed by him rolling up his shirt sleeves. When you meet his eyes, his smirk tells you everything. Cheeks heating, you focus back on Kiko, finishing off her braid with a little bow. As soon as you're done, Kiko bounces up and off to her papa; she must have heard his approach too. He crouches down to give her a hug, squeezing her right and kissing her forehead before he pushes to stand again.
"Is my other girl going to give me a hug too?” You're moving before he even finishes his sentence, stepping into his outstretched arms and pressing your face into his neck, breathing in the delightful mix of his cologne and his favourite body wash.
Both of you are reluctant to pull apart, but needs must. He lifts your hand to his mouth, leaving a feather light kiss on your knuckles. Your lips pull up into a smile, and you give his hand a squeeze, "Be careful , Chuu. We'll see you later.”
He smiles back, soft and reassuring, "Always am, angel. I expect plenty of pictures of my girls, alright? I can't go too long without seeing those pretty smiles.” He reaches down to pat Kiko's head, "Love you both. Have fun today.”
"Love you too, Papa!” "Love you, Chuu.” Both of you watch as he shrugs on his jacket and leaves the apartment, Kiko blowing him one final kiss before the door shuts behind him. She looks sad for a moment, just like she always does when one of you leaves. Just as quickly, though, her expression brightens and she's bouncing around, gathering up her essential supplies for your adventure.
As she works, you pull out your phone and take the first of many, many pictures, sending it to Chuuya before sliding it back into your pocket. You need to get your own things together - it would be rude to keep your little princess waiting, after all.
Twenty minutes later, the two of you are ready to go, Kiko practically shaking with excitement, her favourite Tuxedo Sam backpack sitting on her shoulders.
"Ready to go, baby?” She nods so hard it looks painful, and you take her hand as you head out, locking up behind you and taking the elevator down. Just as you step out onto the street, Kiko decides that she needs to tighten the velcro on her shoes, crouching down to do just that. She's been learning how to do up her own shoes recently, and she's very proud of her new skill; redoing them several times a day.
As you watch her put every bit of her four year old mind into 'fixing’ her shoes, you begin to feel like there's eyes on you. A prickle on the back of your neck, and a bad feeling in your stomach. Subtly as you can, you scan the people around you, looking for anything even remotely suspicious. You come up empty, though the feeling of being watched doesn't relent.
"Mama? I'm done now.” Kiko is staring up at you, her hand now back in yours. You push a smile onto your face, pushing away the lingering worry. It's probably nothing - you can't see anyone, and you know you're paranoid when it comes to Kiko and her safety. You let her tug you down the street, focusing on enjoying your day out with the most important person in the world.