Old-Fashioned Heroics

bunny-barnaby:

-Pulling out a third pillow from Kotetsu’s closet, he hugged it close, chin resting on top as he tried to make a mental count of how many pillows and other cushions he had in his apartment—the number failed to even break ten. Holding back a sigh of disappointment, he looked to his partner, still with a slight smile curving his lips.-
I’ve got a few at home…and we could try using the chair in the living room too.
-He wanted to help, as much as possible, even if it was just something as basic as a pillow fort. He knew Kotetsu was trying to keep the blonde’s mind off of what had just happened downstairs, and he wanted to help…he wanted to forget, just as much if not more than his partner. Besides, the novelty of the idea still appealed to him, and as much as he didn’t like not knowing about something, if Kotetsu was the one who taught him then he didn’t mind learning.
-As they trekked back downstairs, Barnaby carrying another pillow while the older man hauled the rest at his own insistence, the blonde glanced to the couch and, after a reluctant moment, spoke again.-
Did…did you want to use any more, like the couch cushions or anything? 

“I was actually planning on using that as our starting point, we can drape the blanket over the top of it,” he explained, nodding as he began to picture it in his head.  It seemed like it would work and given that Barnaby suggested it even before he’d voiced any ideas was a good sign, since his plans tended to work a lot better than Kotetsu’s own.  The fact that he was honestly giving it thought in the first place simply reaffirmed that the episode from a few minutes ago was fading to the back of his mind, or at least Barnaby was making conscious efforts to shove it in that direction.  Either way, Kotetsu saw it as progress.

Walking back downstairs he was inwardly glad that he knew the stairs so well.  He didn’t have to look to know where they would be.  “Mhm, grab the pillows that are on top of them for now though, we can make another trip up for those,” he answered, balancing the stack into one arm as he reached for the door.  Dumping the first load into the back of his suv, they returned for a few last pieces before departing for Barnaby’s apartment once more.

revenge-boy:

“Someone could have heard me,” Barnaby quickly retorted and was squirming lightly in place when the movement hadn’t completely stilled around the ribs. “Could you stop that, please? I have teeth and I am not afraid to use them on your shoulder,” Barnaby soon commented as a last resort before he would go through with his threat. Even though the movements could hardly be felt. That was just how ticklish he was there.

“Have you stayed out of trouble while I was away? I don’t want to come back and clean up after you. Did you stay on good terms with judge Petrov? How about the other heroes? They still talk to you, right?” he continued to voice his worries for once. Normally it was the opposite - Kotetsu worrying over him in any way possible.

His hands were gently rubbing over the broad back, before they stilled again and his palms rested against the shoulder blades. “The food didn’t taste that well either. I think it lacked something,” and it was now Barnaby’s turn to lightly jab at Kotetsu’s side, while he leaned away and had his signature smirk on his face. That was something he refused to voice aloud and he was sure Kotetsu knew just what lacked anyway.

“Y’know that’s just motivation to keep this up.”  Part of him was tempted to unzip his jacket so he had better access to him - the leather had to be taking the brunt of the tickling, and he knew the close fitting black shirt he wore underneath wouldn’t be so helpful in protecting him against it.  “Mah, I’ll wait ‘til later when your defenses aren’t so high,” he declared, letting his arms settle comfortably around the blond’s waist instead.

Resting his chin on Barnaby’s shoulder he tried to resist pouting, but he knew even if the blond couldn’t see it, surely the tone was reflected in his voice.  “There’s not exactly much trouble to get into in the second league,” he muttered.  He bit his tongue to keep from saying more.  Yes he was still saving people and doing hero work it just…was incredibly lackluster.  “I still drop by the training center, even though I’m technically not supposed to.”  He gave a small shrug.  There was a separate one designated for the lesser heroes, but he could never bring himself to do anything there worth his time.

The mention of the food drew him out of brooding thoughts, returning a small smile to his features.  “Y’don’t say,” he snickered.  “Is that a subtle way of asking me to cook for you tonight, Bunny-chan~?”

revenge-boy:

“I gave you a perfectly valid reason. I wanted to hug you,” he pointed out, and did just that, once his arms ended up released. That was the kind of warmth he’d missed and Barnaby didn’t mind at all that Kotetsu hit the button earlier. Loneliness with the person you’d missed the most is also a perfectly valid reason to do something.

“To let you in on a bit of a secret, I can’t honestly say I enjoyed my time off without you. It was too quiet.” Barnaby openly admitted, with his chin resting on the shoulder, and eyes cast against the wall of the elevator. The poke had him flinch though, since that was one of his ticklish spots, and had him growling, before he spoke again, “That does not mean I want you whine and complain all the time, though. I missed having someone to talk to whenever I wanted. Funny how one grow attached to someone so quickly. I used to favor solitude over you, and now it is the opposite.”

His voice wasn’t sad the slightest bit. One could hear the amusement in his tone, and his position hid his smile that seemed to have etched itself on his face.

Well, okay, he had a point.  It was rare for Barnaby to ever openly voice something like that.  “I didn’t want to change your mind,” he defended, wrapping his arms around him securely.  Oh he missed this; the familiar warmth, the quiet creak of leather under his fingers, the scent that was unmistakably Barnaby. 

Listening to him speak, he couldn’t help but let a grin spread over his features, gloating almost over the fact that he managed to get him to admit to missing him.  “Thought you said you couldn’t admit to something you hadn’t felt~” he remarked liltingly, noticing the flinch instantly.  “Told you I’m awesome like that,” he tacked on, ghosting his fingers against him in the same spot.

Of course he’d missed the same things; going back to being alone every evening had been horrible.  It brought back memories he didn’t want to think about, the loneliness encroaching on his thoughts.  Even Kaede pointed out the difference over the phone, reassuring him that Barnaby would be back soon enough and to stop being so gloomy.  “Totally uncool, dad.”  But, that would remain a secret for now.

bunny-barnaby:

-He tried for a smile, expression sheepish and distinctly embarrassed, and got to his feet; he teetered for a moment, but the slight dizzy spell passed and he glanced at Kotetsu. Gratitude replaced some of the embarrassment in his eyes, but it was tinged with confusion as he followed his partner back upstairs. After a minute or two of silent pondering, he spoke aloud.-

…A fort? Out of pillows? You can do that?

-He’d had no idea that such a thing could be done; when he lived with his parents, he’d always been too well-behaved to even think of such a thing, and afterwards, well… He hadn’t done anything that could really be called “fun” in quite some time. As confused as he was, trying to work out the mechanics in his mind, he was also excited at the novel idea—some would say, childishly so.
-Another smile spread across his face, much wider and lighter as the nightmare flashes of memories were hidden for the time being as he focused instead on how one could possibly make a stable structure out of soft objects.-

To say he was relieved that the fear and horror were gone from the blond’s jades was putting it lightly.  Honestly he wasn’t sure how his words could have such an effect - he was used to blank stares or exasperated sighs after such a pep talk - but he wasn’t about to complain at their sudden effectiveness. 

Grabbing the two pillows off his bed, he dug out two more from his closet, setting them next to the others.  Retrieving a blanket, he set that on top before grinning and nodding towards his partner.  “Yep!” he chirped in reply.  “It might not be a very big one, but I think we can manage to make one all the same.  Kaede’s usually better at it than me, but I’ll do my best!” he laughed.  Seeing the smile on Barnaby’s face only helped fuel his own.  It wasn’t exactly the most thought out form of distraction, but it seemed to be doing the trick regardless.

revenge-boy:

Frankly, to be honest Barnaby never wanted to go anywhere from the start, which is why little to almost no resistance was made but rather teased the older hero. “I am doomed,” he sarcastically voiced to the simple actions and smiled at Kotetsu.

“Is it that boring without me? Here I thought I was bad for not doing anything without you, but you might just take the prize this time.” Barnaby soon leaned closer until their foreheads touched, praying that no one took notice of his arrival. Actually, they wouldn’t this time, considering they hadn’t gone off bickering loudly upon first glance. That brought a thought out from the ever so calculative one, “Did you run out of energy? You haven’t raised your voice or openly complained yet.”

Yet he had a feeling that Kotetsu might just be so at ease that he couldn’t bother anymore. At least that was how Barnaby himself felt.

“So, elevator to ourselves. Could you please release my arms at least, so I can hug you?”

Pulling back, he released his arms, crossing his own over his chest.  “Well, you’re not exactly cute yet, but you’re at least making progress.  You haven’t given me a reason to yet,” he added to clarify, smiling as he let Barnaby sit up, nestling himself closer as soon as he was able.

Oh, he had complaints of course.  But he didn’t want to voice them; Barnaby had just come back, he wasn’t about to burden him with his whining.  It’s not like anything he could say would change his situation anyway.  “To answer your other question, yeah, it is really boring.  More work, no one to tease..” he trailed off, nudging the other lightly in the ribs.  “Not my idea of a good time.”

revenge-boy:

Was it any surprise that Barnaby made the slightest of protest, hands on Kotetsu’s shoulders for a moment, until all the tension and his act was broken down once more. There was a different with having his partner acting stupid, but once the doors closed and Kotetsu decided to show how missed Barnaby had actually been, he’d obviously realized how much he missed his lover Kotetsu.

Proven when he returned the gentle, but a kiss that filled him with warmth he’d forgot how it felt.

“I am still announcing my arrival. You need to tackle me to the ground if you want me all to yourself,” he teased upon parting.

It felt so nice just being able to have him here like this.  To be able to touch him, listen to his voice without the distortion of a phone.  Saying he missed him was putting it lightly, to say the least.

Pulling back with a sly grin, he reached out, hitting the emergency stop button, the elevator pulling to a sudden lurch of a stop.  “C’mon really?  That’s all?” he scoffed, unable to keep the laugh out of his tone, as he pushed playfully at the other’s chest.  Without waiting for an answer, he brought the blond down with relative ease, pinning his arms down.  “Mission accomplished,” he snickered.

revenge-boy:

He glanced to the side, only to notice how Kotetsu couldn’t be still, even for a second. The brunette was given a simple eyeroll at that, as the elevator dinged its arrival, and the younger of the two and the more stoic of them, entered the small boxed compartment, followed by his partner.

“For your information, I wasn’t gone that long,” he explained, because he refused to admit that Kotetsu still meant a lot to him. It’s like Barnaby regressed back into his old behavior for a moment there. “And doing paperwork alone can’t be that bad. I did it all the time,” the younger hero dryly remarked, just as the elevator doors closed and gave the two privacy for a few minutes.

Crossing his arms behind his head, he ignored the eye roll as he stepped inside the elevator after him.  “Long enough,” he argued, scowling.  “Besides, you never really completely alone.  I was around, helping.”  Sort of.  Regardless, he had been present, which felt like a lot more assistance than an empty chair provided.  As soon as the doors clicked shut he turned to face him properly.

“Well if you’re not going to say it, I still will.  I missed you.  It wasn’t the same not getting scolded,” he grinned, stepping closer to him.  “As for that ‘warmer welcome’,” he began, voice dropping a bit as a hand slipped over and around his neck.  “Hold still and you’ll get one,” he smirked, leaning in to connect their lips. 

Doing paperwork on his own was one thing; this was entirely something else, and was missed sorely while he was away.