OTP week 2017
Pairing: Taichi and Yamato (Taiyama)
Prompt: Profession AU
A/N: Here's my second contribution to the profession AU (or, third, if you count the Jyoura one). This one's shorter than my other OTP week fics and was written fairly quickly. Nonetheless, I hope you enjoy it!
-o-o-o-o-o-
Yamato sighed in contentment as he settled into the leather chair. The chair was being tilted backwards until he could see a mass of chocolate-brown hair and the matching friendly eyes of his hairdresser.
Taichi smiled down at his client, moving his hands to cup the back to Yamato's head. He pulled the shoulder-length silky strands out from under the protective cape Yamato was wearing and into the washing basin. He ran his fingers through the hair, teasing out the tangles. He ran them through again, just to be extra sure the hair was knot-free. Third time's the charm, right?
Yamato's eyelids had fallen shut, so he didn't see Taichi's expression when the other said:
"Your hair's gotten long again."
"Mmm, yeah, it tends to do that when I'm out of town."
"You live out of town."
Yamato heard the amusement in Taichi's voice and opened his eyes, giving Taichi a mischievous grin.
"And?"
Chuckling over the running water, Taichi just shook his head fondly. He moved the hose over Yamato's head. "Is the temperature okay?"
"Yeah." Yamato closed his eyes again, letting Taichi wet his hair, and just enjoying the feeling of those practised hands running through his locks.
The one thing Taichi enjoyed about working on Yamato's hair was how it changed colour so drastically from one stage to the next. When Yamato walked in, hair unwashed, it was a darker shade of blond. When wet, it looked almost brown. But when dry and clean, it was more pastel-yellow. And airy. Taichi wanted to call it fluffy, but knew his client would never approve.
Taichi squirted shampoo into his hands, lathering it up, before plunging his fingers back into Yamato's hair. He always kept his nails short, so he wouldn't accidentally scratch his clients. Turning the water on, Taichi rinsed Yamato's hair. Then he lathered his hands up again and repeated the process.
After the second thorough rinsing, Taichi grabbed a nearby towel, wrapping Yamato's wet hair in it as he tilted the chair back to its upright position.
Yamato opened his eyes, standing from the seat and following Taichi to one of the identical leather chairs in front of a large mirror. He sat, watching Taichi sort his tools on the trolley.
"So how's it feel being the boss?" Yamato asked.
Taichi removed the towel gently, making sure not to pull at Yamato's hair. He shrugged in answer, grabbing a comb. "I'm not really the boss. Sora still is, but she's just at home, busy with the baby."
"Making you the boss."
Taichi chuckled at Yamato again, their eyes meeting in the mirror.
"Just a trim or are we trying something new?"
"Trim, please. And make it short; they've promised warm weather for the next two weeks."
Taichi nodded and grabbed another comb and a pair of scissors. He started snipping away at the split ends.
"So are you Jacque Cousteau, yet?" Taichi grinned, watching for Yamato's unavoidable blush.
"No..." Yamato's eyes fell to his lap, but Taichi kept his head up, not wanting to mess up the haircut. "No one will ever be as good or influential as him. Least of all me."
"I saw you on TV."
Yamato's blush deepened and this time he did duck his head. Thankfully Taichi had only been running the comb through a few strands.
"Oi, don't move your head unless you want a bald patch. It wouldn't look good on the TV screen, when you're being interviewed about your next discovery. Plus, you'd probably get sunburned on the deck of whatever ship you'll be cruising on next." Taichi's attention was fully on the scissors slicing through blond strands, but he mumbled: "Getting to go on cruises; you ocean scientists are so lucky…"
With an annoyed look, Yamato straightened up in his chair. "It's not a cruise like that."
"But you call them cruises, no?" Taichi's tone was smug.
"Well, yeah, but it's not exactly luxurious being seasick, or having salt in your hair, or digging through mud from the bottom of the ocean, or gutting fish to find out what they ate, or—"
"How about I gut us some fish for dinner tonight?" Taichi interrupted, attention on the hair in his hands.
Yamato took a few moments to blink in surprise, before his face split into an uncontrollable and embarrassingly large smile. "When do you get off work?"
Taichi shrugged a shoulder, still focussing on the hair. "Whenever, I'm the boss, remember?" At that, Taichi looked into the mirror, winking.
Yamato laughed, mindful of moving his head too much.
"Is that a 'yes?'" Taichi ascertained.
"Yeah." Yamato smiled. "I have a few errands to run, but I'll be done by dinner time."
"Is this length okay?" Taichi asked.
Yamato inspected his hair in the mirror; it was now off his neck. He had actually completely forgotten that he was even getting his hair cut. He nodded. "Yeah, it's good."
Taichi grinned, then pulled out the hairdryer, continuing their interrupted conversation: "Are you staying in town anywhere? Or were you planning on going back home today?"
With the hairdryer turning on, Yamato had to raise his voice to be heard over the noise: "I'm staying at my father's. I have a week off from work, so I can stay until at least tomorrow."
Taichi nodded. "Is it okay if I get your father's address? I can come pick you up and we can go out somewhere for a bit before dinner. We can even have dinner out, if you'd prefer."
"Why, Taichi, are you backing out of gutting a fish for me?"
Taichi's hearty laugh could easily be heard over the buzzing of the hairdryer. "Of course I'm not. I'm an excellent cook, I'll have you know." For good measure, he added a charming grin to his statement.
The hairdryer switched off and Taichi set it back onto the trolley.
"I won't believe it until I taste it." Yamato replied, turning his head this way and that, inspecting his new haircut.
Taichi ran his fingers through the blond hair, looking for any stray strands he had missed. He found none, but it was always good to at least double-check. Maybe triple.
"There we go." Taichi announced, removing the cape.
Yamato got out of the chair, this time following Taichi to the register. He paid for his haircut and scribbled his old home's address onto a piece of paper.
Taichi grinned at the paper, then at Yamato. "So what time will you be done with your errands?"
Yamato stifled a yawn before answering: "Sometime in the afternoon, three-ish, maybe."
"Cool. I'll come pick you up around four. Sound good?"
Yamato grinned. "Sounds like a date."