A/N: Semi-crack once again. Akari's bedhead is the cutest thing on earth. To me he looks like he should be in some yaoi anime from the 90s. And no, I don't mean that as an insult.
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Akari is, frankly, adorable when he first wakes up, hair mussed from sleep and sex and attitude subdued. His bangs falling in front of his face make him look both younger and less professional, so it's clear to Hirato why he usually keeps them pressed back. Add in sleepy eyes and an undone shirt collar and the doctor seems almost harmless. It's all Hirato can do to hold himself back when the other man looks so compromised.
When Akari's eyes open more and he fully awakes, he's greeted immediately with a kiss. He accepts it for a few seconds then pushes Hirato away with an exhausted groan. He's not one for talking in the morning, preferring to keep his peace for awhile after waking up so as to not say anything Hirato can use against him.
"Still tired?" Hirato teases, his fingers playing through Akari's hair. The doctor sighs and pushes himself up off the mattress, and the captain takes the opportunity to admire his handiwork as Akari takes one quick glance at the clock and hurries toward the exit.
"You know, I rather like your hair like that," Hirato calls with a smirk, and the slam of the door is Akari's response.
He's late. His first surgery of the day was scheduled for precisely 8 AM, and it's 8:02 when Akari hurries into the operating room without bothering to do anything about his bedhead. There's no point, really, when it's hidden beneath the surgical cap anyway.
It's no surprise when the surgery is done and the cap is off that the nurses start whispering amongst themselves. They often do so regardless of the state of Akari's hair, and by this point he's learned to pay them no mind. What they think about his appearance is no concern of his, so they're free to gossip as they wish.
Besides, today Akari is busy. A number of Circus officers returned from a mission last night, all beaten and bloody, and the doctor hardly has a chance to catch his breath between surgeries and check ups.
His messy hair is entirely, blissfully, forgotten until Hirato tracks down Akari while the blonde prepares to take his lunch break. Akari isn't exactly happy to see him; when Hirato meets up with the doctor during the day, it's almost always to taunt him. "Did you need something?" he asks before Hirato has a chance to speak.
"Yes," Hirato replies amiably. He pushes back Akari's bangs, and the doctor hits his hand away with a confused glare.
"Would you stop? You're annoying. I can fix my hair myself."
"That would be for the best." Hirato's voice drops, and he leans in closer. "You may be blind to the looks people are giving you, but I, for one, am not. You don't look like a doctor at all. I've heard more than just one or two of your subordinates say you look like a two-cent whore with your hair so messed up like this. I don't like having to listen to people make fun of you behind your back, so you ought to fix yourself up."
Akari finds himself slightly stung by the words, and he stands in offended silence as Hirato turns and walks away with a wave over his shoulder. The blonde self-consciously touches a strand of hair hanging over his eye and tucks it behind his ear. "'I like your hair like that,' he says," Akari mutters under his breath, his appetite all but gone.
When he returns to his office, he can overhear a group of nurses not far from his closed door. The logical side of him tells him to ignore their voices, to tuck back his bangs and fill out his paperwork, but the rest of him is begging for him to listen. Giving in, he presses his ear against the door, realizing with an internal sigh that this is far from professional behavior.
"—should have his hair like that more often. He looks so much nicer that way, more like a kindly psychology than a cold-hearted surgeon."
"I nearly fainted when he came in this morning!"
"I don't like to get involved with relationships in my work, but I would make an exception for him. Even though his personality isn't great, he's just so sexy."
Realization crosses Akari's face, and he can't help but smirk as he sits back down at his desk and takes up a pen and paper.
Hirato;
Next time you get jealous and over-protective, you might want to make sure I can't hear what other people are saying about me. I think today's look was very well-received, based on the conversations I listened to. You aren't the only one who likes my hair like this. Maybe I should keep it this way?
P.S. You aren't as clever as you think you are.
- Akari
Hirato pinches the bridge of his nose, his glasses lifted up slightly, and tosses the letter in the trash. "I don't believe I should be faulted for wanting to protect him from imminent sexual harassment," he murmurs to Tsukitachi.
The red haired captain, who had been leaning over Hirato's shoulder to read the contents of the letter, merely laughs. "Nice try. I think Akari won this round," he says, tipping his hat respectfully to the thought of the doctor.
Sometimes Akari comes out on top.