A/N: hello all. Merry late Christmas, or whatever you do or don't celebrate. I guess this is late now, but I really did have this fine yesterday. But for some reason, FF didn't work right last night when I was trying to upload it, and I actually had to go to bed at a normal time last night because I'm going to Paris to visit my sister for the next ten days. So don't expect much of anything from me until I get back!

Finally, this was very hastily put together since I wanted to finish it before my laptop died. So I may go back and make some changes later. Either way, enjoy for now.

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Christmas means very little to a physician. People don't take a break from being injured or getting sick; on the contrary, such things typically increase during this time of year. Hirato doesn't expect his lover to be romantic on Christmas. He learned better long ago. But he is still able to coax Akari into his bed, and that's enough for him.

To be able to lie next to the other man and just watch him sleep is a beautiful thing.

Akari must have felt a sudden chill; he shivers and instinctively draws himself closer to Hirato's warm body. Even in the dark, Hirato can see the myriad of bruises covering his skin, remnants of the night's escapades. He fights the urge to kiss the slumbering man's marred skin, knowing full well that would cause him to wake. Instead, he cautiously wraps an arm around his partner. He can feel bones sticking out of slender limbs as he holds Akari tight, but chastising him for letting his work get the better of him would do no good. Besides, Akari is a medical professional; he mustknow he has to take care of his body.

Still, it's a bit worrisome to see his joints jut out. Even his breathing, which is usually so light Hirato has awoken to think his bedmate to be dead before, is heavy and deep. It's enough to be concerning.

Hirato sets his chin atop Akari's head and gazes into the darkness where the quiet lights of a Christmas tree twinkle in the corner, just blurry balls without his glasses. Ah, it is almost Christmas. Tomorrow is Circus's holiday festival in Vantnam, designed to entertain and soothe any community unease. He and his crew are expected to show up tomorrow evening, with Yogi as Nyanperona and Tsukumo as a snow goddess. Hirato is only forced to go because it's his crew, and the last few times Circus attempted to put on this sort of thing it was somewhat of a fiasco. It's far from the most enjoyable festival for him. He'll be stuck in the cold with Tsukitachi, who will undoubtedly be drunk before any of the celebrations really begin. If Akari had to go too, it would be much more fun. Hirato smirks slightly at the thought.

Actually, that's not a half bad idea.

Hirato knows full well he has to work quickly. He starts off with the obvious: asking Akari if he's willing to go. When the morning light creeps through the window and Akari stirs and wakes, slipping silently from his bed, Hirato simply calls out a cheerful "I don't suppose you would care to come to the holiday festival with me tonight?"

Akari's face says all that needs said.

That option down, Hirato switches to the next: calling in a favor from his brother.

"No."

"I haven't said anything besides 'hello,' Tokitatsu."

"I can hear it in your voice. Akari is busy right now, and I'm not going to mess with him during Christmas. You ought to leave him alone too."

"You may be right. But I tease him for his own good. He'll have a heart attack before he's 40 if he doesn't loosen up."

The younger man hears an amused chuckle from the other side of the telephone. "Goodbye, Hirato."

With that, Hirato decides it's time to call in the big guns. Or more specifically, the little guns. A pacifist, if he is to be technical.

He finds Nai lying on his stomach on a couch with his arms tucked up under his head, watching the snow fall through a nearby window. He jumps as Hirato sits near him, eyeing him suspiciously. "Hello, Nai. I need to ask you to do something for me," Hirato greets pleasantly.

"What is it?" the boy asks, sitting up with perked ears.

"You know there's a Christmas festival tonight, yes? In Vantnam, where your friend lives." He pauses to let Nai nod, his interest fully on Hirato now. "I need you to convince Akari-sensei to go. I'm sure you remember the time Tsukumo nearly drowned at a Circus event. I would hate for something like that to happen again. If Akari goes, he'll be able to help if something bad happens. But I can't persuade him to go. I guess he just doesn't care so much for Tsukumo."

Nai's eyes widen and fill with tears. "But I don't want Tsukumo or anyone else to get hurt!"

Hirato frowns. "Exactly. That's why I need you to convince him that he has to go. You'd better hurry. He's in the dining hall right now."

Nai jumps to his feet and scampers away, and Hirato leans back with a very self-satisfied smirk, eyes closed.

Somewhere along the line he must have fallen asleep, as he's awoken by Akari rudely hitting him rather hard on the head. "You told Nai to force me to go to that damned festival," the doctor states bluntly as Hirato rubs at the growing lump on his head.

"And was he successful?" Hirato asks with a grin, earning him another smack.

"He came in the dining hall while it was filled with people, crying and accusing me of not caring about Tsukumo. I didn't have any choice but to say I would go." Akari sits across from the captain and rubs the bridge of his nose. "I'm busy, Hirato. I don't think you understand how busy the holidays are for doctors. Every year I'm reminded of how there are some people who are stupid enough to catch trees on fire because they put actual candles in dry branches. I have to deal with burns, broken limbs, alcohol poisoning, everything at this time of year. I don't have time to play games with you right now."

Hirato reaches out and sets his hand on Akari's knee in a rare moment of sincerity. "You've lost so much weight. You're going to work yourself to death. I don't want that to happen. You aren't the only physician; there are others who can take care of people who get injured. You can afford to take a break for a few hours."

Akari meets Hirato's eyes for a few seconds before looking away. "I don't have a choice now."

The rest of the day passes by in a blur until the evening, when Hirato knocks on Akari's door. The blond peers out through the crack irritably, apparently still not over Hirato's backhandedness. "Ready to go?" Hirato asks with a raised eyebrow, and Akari sighs and steps through the doorway. "We're going to be let down in the city, and we'll meet Tsukitachi and his crew there."

"Joy."

Hirato is quite proud of how his men look when they reach them, gathered in the main area of the ship. Yogi has already donned his costume, and he looks, as always, more at ease in the suit than in his own skin. He's trying to catch one of the Sheep for Nai, as the Niji has apparently decided they all need to be wearing Santa hats. The Sheep, however, don't appear to be too fond of the hats covering their ears. Nai doesn't seem to mind, however, as a bright red hat is covering his own white hair. Gareki stands nearby, leaning against a wall and tapping his foot in annoyance. Hirato is mildly shocked to see that the bratty kid has reindeer antlers atop his head, and he has no doubt that was Nai's doing. Gareki holds a glowing red ball in his hand; apparently, not even Nai was able to get him to wear Rudolph's nose.

It takes Hirato a few seconds to see Tsukumo. She stands in the corner with her fingers wrought together nervously. Her dress is one of pure white silk that shimmers slightly when she moves, which isn't often. She has wings sprouting from the back of her dress, and she seems to disappear entirely when she is immobile, which is likely intentional. When she moves, though, she holds everyone's attention. When she notices Hirato, she approaches, and he kneels to plant a kiss on her hand. "You look beautiful," he says fondly, enjoying the way his words make her face colored.

"Th-Thank you," she stammers. Suddenly, the intercom announces their arrival in the city, and she pulls away gratefully.

Akari watches her go with a bemused glance at Hirato. "You shouldn't tease her like that."

"Jealous, are we?" Hirato inquires, and Akari closes his eyes with a deep sigh.

The crew scatters the moment they reach the ground. Yogi and Tsukumo trot off to their assigned locations, and Nai's eye is caught by the giant, shining tree in the center of the square, so Gareki is forced to run off after him lest he end up kidnapped. Their quick departure leaves Hirato and Akari with little to do but wander and search for the 1st Ship's captain.

Tsukitachi is already in high spirits by the time they meet up, no doubt because he has already beenimbibing spirits. He greets them with a cheerful "merry Christmas" and does a double take when he catches sight of Akari. "You were able to convince him to go? You sly dog!" he says, punching Hirato lightly in the arm.

"It took a bit of convincing, but having a small child call him out in front of a large group of people for being cold-hearted usually does the trick," Hirato informs the other captain.

"Oho? I should try that sometime!"

"Please don't talk about me as if I'm not here," Akari interrupts, still none too pleased to be stuck there. It's cold and it's icy and it's loud. All in all, it's just very unpleasant to the doctor.

"Sorry, sorry," Tsukitachi laughs. "They have hot chocolate down that way." He motions with his free hand. "And hot wine, whiskey, and beer that way."

Hirato isn't too surprised that Akari heads toward the alcohol first. He knows the doctor's reasoning is that if he must be here, he might as well splurge. Hirato is more than willing to let him. Alcohol makes him less grumpy, after all.

It takes a few drinks, but Akari begins to warm up. His smile grows less forced, and his words flow more easily. Hirato likes him like this, with a loose tongue and a willingness to be in close capacity with the captain. This way, Hirato doesn't have to worry about a straying hand getting slapped away.

Hirato gazes across the courtyard, watching children play and adults kiss. Christmas is typically a romantic time of year, he considers. Not that Akari would know such a thing when he's always holed up in his office or the operating room.

Out of the corner of his eye, Hirato sees Tsukitachi running toward them, and he turns just in time for the other captain to grab both his and Akari's hand and pull them forward. "We need people to sing karaoke because the townsfolk are too embarrassed to do it themselves, so I offered up the two of you to be examples," he explains breathlessly, shoving them onto the stage before either man has time to react. Microphones are thrown in front of them and an announcer—who turns out to be Tsukitachi—introduces them and the song they are to be forced to sing.

As the familiar Christmas carol starts up, Hirato eyes his partner. Will he actually accept this? Much to his surprise, Akari takes a deep breathe and starts singing first, leaving Hirato scrambling to do his part in time.

"I really can't stay…"

"Baby, it's cold outside…"

"I've got to go away…"

"Baby, it's cold outside…"

And on and on until the song is complete. Akari's eyes glow in the light of the crowd as he ends on a long note, his mouth open wide and his voice pure. It takes all of Hirato's willpower not to lean forward and kiss him right there in front of everybody.

They're gifted with a few seconds of stunned silence, even from Tsukitachi, who somehow always manages to forget how wonderful their voices sound together. Then the applause starts, uproarious and congratulatory. Akari's grin is a pleased one, and Hirato nods his thanks at the 1st Ship's captain. He pushes Akari down the steps to get him off the stage at last, as the other man seems to be enjoying basking in the applause a little too much.

"You have quite a lovely voice," Hirato intones as Akari stumbles against him in the snow.

"You too" is the mumbled response.

As they rest, a carriage is pulled by, bells jingling from the harnesses of the trotting creatures at its head. Akari, who has been staring into his drinking for a few minutes now, snaps his head up to look at the carriage as it goes by.

"Would you like to go for a ride?" Hirato asks in a teasing tone, and Akari nods mutely, cheeks flushed from cold and alcohol. Hirato takes his hand and pulls him up to lead him to the carriage stop.

It takes only a few minutes to get themselves a ride, as one of the workers recognizes both of them. Hirato has to help Akari up into it, the doctor having apparently had more to drink than either of them realized.

It's cold once they settle in to the faux leather seat, but it's incredibly pretty. The snow falls softly, masking many of the sights and sounds around them until it gives the impression of being in a snow globe. It lands in small clumps on Akari's hair and eyelashes. He leans against Hirato with a sigh, shivering slightly until Hirato snakes his arms around him.

"For protesting so much, you certainly seem to have had a good time," Hirato murmurs, placing a gentle kiss on the other man's brow. "Who knew you were such a fan of singing?"

Akari snuggles—the only word Hirato can think of to describe such an affectionate movement—against him with a faint smile. "I… must admit, I am grateful you dragged me along with you," the doctor says quietly, and Hirato tightens his hold around Akari's waist. He gazes upward; the stars are still a little visible from the city, and that's when he notices.

Mistletoe.

He doesn't have to wonder who put it there. Tsukitachi was no doubt responsible. Still, he can't really complain. It's part of the Christmas experience, after all.

"Akari."

The blond turns his head slightly, and Hirato motions to the small hanging leaves above them. "That's not—"

"Yes."

Akari straightens up, casting a wary glance at the man guiding the carriage, then leans forward to press his lips against Hirato's. They're warm, Hirato notes, something he can be grateful for in the cold, and he will never cease to love the way Akari's lips fit perfectly against his. He resists the urge to nip at a lip or to slip in a tongue, keeping it chaste and plainly romantic. Not an act of passion, it's a kiss that means far more than any amount of words could say.

When Akari pulls away, breath misting in the cold, he lets his head rest against Hirato's chest. "Merry Christmas," he says softly, and Hirato smiles.

"Merry Christmas, Akari."