Archive of Our Own

Barnaby could be a real asshole sometimes. Kotetsu had figured that out right away.

"Don't bother with me anymore. You can quit whenever you feel like it. I'll carry on by myself."

The thing was, Barnaby wasn't an asshole. That had taken him a little longer to figure out, especially since Barnaby kept acting like one.

"Wait a second!" As Barnaby turned to leave, Kotetsu went after him, resting a hand on his shoulder.

Observation had shown it to be a consistent pattern - when Barnaby was hurt, or felt insecure, he channeled it into anger, and he aimed it at whoever he thought was to blame, plus anyone who made a convenient target. A lot of the time when they were just starting out, that had been Kotetsu, thoughtlessly doing or saying something stupid. Like now.

Barnaby threw the hand off his shoulder with a glare. "I'm all for this."

"Huh?"

But, just like he'd figured out that Barnaby wasn't an asshole, Barnaby had figured out over time that Kotetsu wasn't as much of an idiot as he usually came off when he wasn't thinking too hard. They hadn't had any significant blow-ups for almost a year now, and maybe in part that was because Kotetsu had been careful. He knew better what Barnaby would and wouldn't tolerate, he'd learned when to push an issue and when to shut his mouth, he tried not to get in Barnaby's face with anything that wasn't important...

...and sometimes with things that were. Like his resignation. In retrospect, maybe that last one hadn't been such a good idea.

"Things will be much easier for me once you're gone." For all that Barnaby was snapping, he still sounded like he was trying to convince himself.

"Hey..." Kotetsu murmured. "Stop that."

The day had been... well, not going so well, if they looked at the big picture, what with Barnaby an emotional wreck, unable to eat, collapsing in public. But even so, Kotetsu thought they'd been bonding. He was trying to help Bunny, and Bunny was letting him help, and even if Bunny wasn't as interested in enjoying the here and now as trying to remember the past, they were making a new memory, just the two of them. In Kotetsu's eyes, any time the two of them were together and getting along was the makings of a good memory.

Then he'd gone and ruined it.

"I tried my best to let you handle things once in a while," Barnaby continued, ignoring him.

"Hey," Kotetsu tried again.

He knew Barnaby didn't mean any of the things he was saying now. Barnaby was a good actor, but Kotetsu had seen the forlorn, devastated expression on his face as Kotetsu tried to explain himself. Barnaby had seen right through his feeble excuses to the truth: Kotetsu didn't want to tell him the real reason. Only he'd read it wrong, unable to see clearly when he was wrapped up in his own pain, and the arrogant look on his face, irritating as it was, was just a cover for the fact that he was hurt. The one thing he'd said since then that he likely meant in complete sincerity? You don't trust me, do you?

Trust was a funny thing with Barnaby. It had to be proven before it was believed in - the kid had no faith - and apparently it was as fragile under stress as the rest of his psyche. All these months, Kotetsu had thought maybe they'd really, truly sorted it out... only to have it end like this?

But there was a secret Kotetsu had been keeping from Barnaby for longer than his intended resignation. It wasn't out of a lack of trust, just like this wasn't - his secret remained a secret because he didn't want Bunny to get upset. He didn't want their partnership to waver, because it had been tenuous from the start, and there was a good chance it would shatter rather than bend.

Barnaby had the nerve to smile, even if it was a brittle one. "If you retire, things will be much better."

...Damn caution and consideration - if it was going to end anyway, and end like this, then Kotetsu would go ahead and let it be known, and before Barnaby could say another word, Kotetsu reached in with both hands, bringing their mouths together in a firm, frustrated kiss.

At first, Barnaby just... froze. He didn't resist except that he was still, not reacting, not moving from his position... but Kotetsu had committed to this, he wasn't going to just back off so quickly - and before he could think too hard about it, Barnaby was kissing back, both his hands fisting tightly in the back of Kotetsu's shirt.

Kotetsu dared to let go, letting his own hands brush back through Barnaby's hair, when he felt Barnaby's hands on him. And the way Barnaby was kissing back, just as hard and as desperately as he was - Kotetsu felt like he'd been waiting for this his entire life. His left hand cupped the back of Barnaby's head, his right arm wound around Barnaby's back, and he leaned in closer, angling for a still deeper kiss. Barnaby unclenched his hands after a few moments, spreading them out flat on Kotetsu's back to steady himself and keep them close... not that Kotetsu had any intention of going anywhere. Everything about this was amazing, and perfect...

...And public. Which he only remembered because he'd been incredibly tempted to put a hand up the back of Barnaby's jacket.

Kotetsu stopped short at the realization and pulled back a little, dazed. Getting more touchy-feely right in the middle of the shopping plaza would be a pretty bad idea - and in fact this would have been a pretty bad idea, he had to admit, except for the part where it sure seemed like Barnaby was enjoying it. That made it an incredibly good idea.

An incredibly good idea that could have some pretty weird consequences. "...Uh." He wasn't going to apologize or anything like that - he wasn't even slightly sorry.

Barnaby seemed similarly dazed and a little breathless. He didn't have any idea what to say either, going by the wary way the two of them eyed each other, for what seemed to Kotetsu like hours. When he finally spoke, what came out was, "...You owe me an explanation."

"Can we go somewhere else first?" That... might have sounded slightly desperate. Kotetsu had decided it would be better not to look around and see if they were attracting attention; if they were, he couldn't stop it now. Also, he didn't want to look away from Barnaby.

"...that's a good idea," Barnaby said.

Kotetsu nodded, and kept his head down as he turned back towards the parking lot. He even pulled his hat down a little, just trusting that Barnaby was following... mostly because, if he looked at Barnaby again, he was going to want to pull him off into the nearest corner and kiss him again with a little more privacy. Better to wait.

As he walked, though, his mind started actually working again (it had obviously stopped at some point during the whole process), and Kotetsu became slightly uneasy about what, exactly, Barnaby was going to want an explanation of.

Barnaby followed in silence, his footsteps echoing Kotetsu's as they headed for Kotetsu's van - Barnaby had been in no condition to drive. Not that Kotetsu had said so outright, just suggested that, since his van was already there... and now he wasn't sure he was in any condition to drive, dizzy and distracted.

Even so, Kotetsu unlocked the doors, slid into the driver's seat... and let out a deep breath of relief. They had at least a little more privacy already. "Where are we going?" he asked Barnaby, looking over to him. But then again... they had a little more privacy already. "Are we going anywhere?"

"My apartment is closer," Barnaby remarked, and Kotetsu nodded. ...There was plenty of room in the back. He was not going to think about that, he told himself as he started the van, no matter how hard his heart was pounding.

The drive back was tense and silent in a way they hadn't been together for months. Maybe ever. The tension had been there months ago, but not the silence; Kotetsu didn't like silence, and usually took the effort to fill it. This time, the silence was mostly because if he started talking, he wasn't sure what he would say, or that he'd be able to stop, and it was entirely possible he'd wind up saying exactly the wrong thing again and mess this up too, if this wasn't already completely messed up and he was just too dumb to recognize it.

He kept telling himself that Barnaby had kissed back, that he'd been the one to back off - Barnaby definitely hadn't been pushing him away. But that led to the question of what could happen once they were actually alone, and Kotetsu wasn't going to think about it. Not only didn't he want to get his hopes up, but if he started thinking about it too much, he'd probably run a red light, or at the very least miss some important turn.

They had considerably more privacy in the underground garage at Barnaby's building. ...Nope, still not going to think about it. "Upstairs," Kotetsu muttered, reaching for the door. He was asking, more than stating, but no matter what was going to happen, it would probably be more comfortable in Barnaby's apartment. Except that there wasn't enough furniture there for them both to sit down at once. Unless the bed counted. ...Kotetsu thought it counted.

Barnaby didn't argue, and in fact went through the door ahead of Kotetsu, no hesitation at all. Once they were both in the apartment, door closed, Kotetsu still wasn't sure what to expect. Probably the safest thing to do was just... make no assumptions. Not go too far in, stay standing until prompted otherwise. Very much like when he was meeting with the sponsor companies' representatives, in a sense, which may have been why he removed his hat, fiddling with it as he followed a short distance after Barnaby. ...Everything had happened so fast. Even with the drive back, Kotetsu still had no idea where to begin, or where Barnaby would want him to.

Barnaby stopped short of the recessed area with the table and chair, and turned around to look him in the eye. "What's going on, Kotetsu?"

"What's going on..." Kotetsu wasn't sure how to take that. "What, uh, part of what's going on do you mean...?"

"All of it," Barnaby said, a little exasperated. "...You can start with why you're really talking about quitting."

Kotetsu had been afraid of that. "Bunny, it's..." Embarrassing? He was used to embarrassing. Personal? Yeah, but he was pretty intimately familiar with Barnaby's personal matters even before he was trying to stick his tongue in the guy's mouth. Terrifying? ...He might be on to something there. "I thought we were going to try to solve your problems today," he murmured. "It's nothing you can help me with anyway."

"I think I at least deserve to know," Barnaby said. "If you're planning to leave once I 'sort this out'."

"It's not about you," Kotetsu said quickly. "It's nothing to do with you... I mean, if I haven't already made it clear, I don't want to stop being your partner." To put it lightly...

Barnaby took a step closer, frustrated. "Then what is it about?"

Kotetsu hesitated, looking up at him, almost afraid. ...No, not almost. He was afraid. But Barnaby had been right earlier; partners were supposed to support each other when they were in trouble. And he'd been wrong to keep it a secret that he was in trouble.

Kotetsu's gaze dropped to the floor. "I didn't tell you because I didn't want to admit it... I've said it out loud exactly once, and that didn't make it any easier. So I came up with other excuses, so I wouldn't have to, and they all sounded good enough in my head, but... I guess not to someone who knows me."

Even someone who didn't know him would have recognized that he was stalling. If he was going to say it, he'd better just say it. "...My powers are disappearing."

Barnaby looked blindsided, like he hadn't been expecting that at all. There was no reason for him to have expected something like that, of course - something he couldn't rage against. "Disappearing? What do you mean?"

"I mean they're going away," Kotetsu said, slightly irritable. He didn't want to be talking about this - talk about killing the mood. "Every time I use them, I get a few less seconds... I don't know if it would help if I stopped using them at all, or if it would just mean in a month or two when I tried again, I wouldn't get anything."

Since they apparently weren't going anywhere right away, he let himself pace a little, over towards the window, still worrying his hat in his hands. "Ben, my old boss, warned me when he heard one of our interviews awhile back... he says he'd heard about it happening sometimes. The NEXT's powers start getting erratic, more powerful at first, then they just start slipping away..."

Barnaby followed him, sticking close. "Have you... done any research at all," he asked, "or talked to anyone who might know more about it, or..." There was a pause, and Kotetsu felt Barnaby's fingers brush against his hand - he almost shied away just by instinct. "This has been going on for a while, hasn't it?"

"About since the start of the new season. Ben said he'd look into it... He hasn't found much." Kotetsu changed his mind about the touch, closing his fingers over Barnaby's after all. They hadn't talked about the rest of 'what's going on' yet, but this was a good sign. Too bad Kotetsu felt too lousy now to really enjoy it. "I don't want to find out about it. Or hear about it or talk about it or think about it any more than I have to," he stated, his hand unintentionally tightening on Barnaby's. "But now you know."

Barnaby gave Kotetsu's hand a squeeze. "Kotetsu," he murmured, "if you..."

Though Barnaby didn't finish the sentence, Kotetsu had a few guesses. "I don't want to quit, but too much longer and I'll have no choice." He rested his free arm against the window, leaning on it and looking out. No one out there to see if his eyes were a little bright. "Guess it's good timing... with Kaede and everything. I meant what I said earlier, though. I'm going to stick around until you have everything sorted out, even if they're gone tomorrow. It's got nothing to do with being a hero. ...I mean, if you'll let me stick around," he added.

"Of course I will," Barnaby said immediately, resting his free hand on Kotetsu's shoulder. "We're... we're partners. I don't want you to leave at all." The hand on his shoulder crept toward the back of his neck. "...But I don't want to keep you away from your family, either."

Kotetsu closed his eyes, nodding faintly. "...I know I should be with Kaede. But she likes my mom better anyway, and my brother's been there with her too. They went through all this with me when my powers developed, they'll know how to take care of her." He brushed his wrist over his eyes momentarily before looking back at Barnaby. "But who the hell is going to take care of you?"

Barnaby just stared back at him for a moment. "Kotetsu..."

He was leaning in, probably without even realizing, and Kotetsu considered it, the fact that Barnaby's mouth was right there again... but no. He'd talked too much; he didn't feel like himself. It wouldn't feel right, when he didn't feel like himself.

So the thing to do was to start sounding like himself again. "Someone's got to, you know," he commented, letting go of Barnaby's hand and heading towards the kitchen. "You still haven't eaten today - it's no wonder you collapsed earlier. C'mon, it's almost dinnertime, and we still haven't had lunch."

"I'm not really hungry," Barnaby admitted as he followed. "But you're probably right..."

"Of course I am, you couldn't get much more obvious. You need to eat, and you need to sleep. Really sleep." It was much more comfortable for Kotetsu to take care of someone else than to take care of himself. "...And while you eat, maybe we can work on the other stuff we should probably talk about."

...Or maybe not, going by the lack of response from Barnaby. Kotetsu sighed and opened the fridge. "I put away the leftovers earlier... If there's anything you'd rather have than my cooking, though, feel free. I mean, just as long as you eat something, it doesn't matter what."

"I should save your cooking for when I actually have an appetite," Barnaby said, peering into the fridge and grabbing a bottle of something green instead.

Kotetsu smiled a little. This all seemed normal. At least, kind of normal. Comparatively normal. But now that he'd gone and reminded himself, he kind of wanted to just try kissing Barnaby out of nowhere again... see what kind of response he got. Barnaby was in no state for that, though. He needed food, he needed rest. Kotetsu could probably use a little of both too, so although he wasn't even remotely hungry himself, he dished up a little of the leftover fried rice. He could pick at it, if nothing else.

Barnaby was already drinking whatever it was he'd grabbed out of the fridge, some kind of smoothie - but even leaning against the counter to do so made him look exhausted. "Go sit down," Kotetsu told him, sticking the leftovers back in the fridge. "Take it easy. I'll join you in a second. And you get the chair - you're the one who collapsed earlier," he stated.

"All right."

Kotetsu didn't take much longer once Barnaby had gone, just getting himself a glass of water before heading back to what passed as a living room. He would have preferred something a little ... well, all right, a lot harder, under the circumstances - but this stuff was kind of important, he should be clear-headed. As much as the reminder about his powers made him just want to sink into a bottle of whiskey until he'd forgotten again.

There were better things to think about, though. Like Bunny. Kotetsu settled down on the steps not too far from Barnaby's single chair, putting the glass down beside him and balancing the plate in one hand. ...And after a brief hesitation, starting to eat, mostly because he wasn't sure where to begin on anything else.

Barnaby was doing no better on that count, just silently taking a drink now and then. Finally, Kotetsu decided to say something about it. Even though his mouth was half full at the moment. "So... earlier. ...I guess I can assume I didn't ruin everything."

Barnaby swallowed a mouthful of his drink. "...No," he said quietly.

"Good," said Kotetsu. "Because I'd wanted to do that for awhile... I just didn't want to mess anything up." He could acknowledge not messing things up. Trying to figure out what that meant, on the other hand, made his brain skitter off into the corner like stray grains of rice across his plate.

"I... same here," Barnaby murmured.

That wasn't entirely a surprise. There had been enough times when things just seemed a little off, enough to make Kotetsu wonder if he was imagining things. There were plenty of ways it still wouldn't work, though, even if it was mutual.

One in particular. "Thing is," Kotetsu admitted, after another couple of thoughtful bites. "I... I was never good at doing things casually." The fact he was still wearing his wedding ring might have made that obvious.

"...and I've never done things any other way but casually," Barnaby finished, not sounding very optimistic. That changed a moment later, though. "But I've... never had a partner before, either."

"And as for me, it's been a long time," Kotetsu said with a nod, brightening slightly. He tried to think how to phrase it... "I can't just assume that things would be the same anyway. I have to start from scratch."

"You know I've never had any idea what I was doing in the first place," Barnaby murmured.

"So we're roughly on the same page there."

Kotetsu hadn't had much interest in the food to begin with, and now what interest he'd had was entirely gone. He set the plate aside and looked up to Barnaby in the chair. "We haven't always seen eye to eye on things... and I'm not sure this is going to work out any different. No matter how much I want it, or you want it, it might just make things even more complicated. But I'd like to try it anyway."

Barnaby sat up in his chair, planting his feet on the floor again. "...what happens when you leave Sternbild?"

Kotetsu sighed. That was a fair question. "Guess that depends on a couple things... one of them being whether or not you're really planning on quitting too."

"I... don't know. I should at least... take a leave of absence or something, no one's life should be depending on me when I feel like this."

Kotetsu hated to hear him talk like that, especially when he himself had been fighting so hard to stay a hero. But Barnaby was probably right, so even if it did seem a little convenient... "You could spend some time out in the country with me," Kotetsu suggested. "Get some fresh air, get away from anything to do with your past. And when you were feeling better, then we could figure out what to do."

"...that sounds like a nice idea," Barnaby admitted.

"If you think you can take all the space and the trees and stuff..." Kotetsu was plenty willing to encourage. "My mom would let you stay with us. She'd have to - she watches the show out there, you know, and she's seen every time you've saved my ass. And Kaede..." Something occurred to him. "She'd probably think I was the best dad ever if I brought you home to stay with us. But if she realized I was sniping her crush..."

"I assume it'd probably make things worse to remind her that she's... ten years old, isn't it? And by the time she's old enough to date me, I'll be nearly your age." Barnaby pretended to consider the matter, obviously less than entirely serious. "...you saw me first?"

It was the first time, probably all day, that Kotetsu had genuinely felt like laughing. "Did I see you first?" he pointed out. "I think I had my hands over my eyes when you first showed up..."

Barnaby managed a small smile. "In that case, the first time you saw me you were already in my arms."

...And that just made Kotetsu wonder why the same wasn't true now. "You know," he said, getting to his feet, "it's a tempting idea, to steal you away and run off to the country. People still need help out there sometimes - just with different things."

"That's true," Barnaby murmured, setting his half-finished bottle on the table, and standing up himself. "I have no idea if it would work..."

"Hey, you don't have to get up," Kotetsu murmured, but reached for Barnaby's hands anyway. He'd declared his intentions already, but... "Just to be clear - there are already problems we know about with this, and there are probably going to be more we haven't even thought about yet. Still willing to give it a shot?"

Barnaby didn't hesitate at all, catching one of Kotetsu's hands with his own, looking him in the eye. "Yes."

That should have been all Kotetsu needed to hear, but moving closer like this - now, deliberate and knowing - was making him a little self-conscious. He hadn't really done anything remotely like this for a long time, he was even still wearing his ring, and even so...

"To be honest," he muttered, taking hold of Barnaby's other arm and just stroking from elbow to wrist, "even if I don't do the casual thing, even if this never goes anywhere, right now? Dunno if I care."

Barnaby shivered a little at the touch, swaying closer, and it had been so long since Kotetsu had touched and been touched like this, seeing proof that Barnaby was affected by it too made his own reaction that much stronger. (And since when, he asked himself, was he supposed to be the steady one? ...Probably since he started developing a crush on someone younger and more emotionally screwed up than he was. No letting himself get weak in the knees, then.)

As much as he did want to kiss Barnaby, seeing him like this made Kotetsu wonder what reactions he could draw out... probably Barnaby hadn't been touched like this before, if he'd never been with anyone he was close to. He touched Barnaby's face, tracing his fingers feather-light along the line of Barnaby's jaw to the underside of his chin, and smiled faintly as Barnaby turned his head into the touch. They were about the same height, Barnaby was even a little taller, so he didn't go on instinct, nudging Barnaby's face upwards like he used to do with Tomoe - he just let the touch trail off and his hand fall to one shoulder.

Barnaby closed the distance himself, murmuring, "Kotetsu," as he slipped an arm around Kotetsu's waist and kissed him, and despite the unappealing color of Barnaby's smoothie, the taste that lingered in his mouth was of fruit. There had been a lot of frustration and defiance behind the first kiss; this one was much softer and more gentle - or at least it started that way - now that they were kissing, Kotetsu never wanted to stop. It wasn't long before he wrapped both arms around Barnaby, pulling them together more tightly.

Barnaby made an approving 'mm' noise into the kiss and did the same, one arm angled so his fingers could find the back of Kotetsu's neck, sifting through his hair, working beneath the collar of his shirt. The unexpected contact made Kotetsu shiver. It seemed like he could feel everything, and with so much else going wrong, Kotetsu was more than willing to let himself be overwhelmed. If Barnaby was used to casual, then it probably wasn't such a big deal to him to get caught up in the moment, and as for himself? He was willing to think about consequences later. "Mm, Bunny," he murmured, moving only enough to break the kiss for the moment; his lips still brushed against Barnaby's chin when he spoke. "Have you been wanting this as long as I have?"

"How long is that?" Barnaby murmured, his voice a little rough.

"Months..." Kotetsu pressed another kiss to Barnaby's lower lip. "Maybe a year." Another to his cheek, and another a little closer to his ear. "Dunno. Can't pin it down."

Barnaby dipped his head to nuzzle at Kotetsu's jaw. "Then I have. Maybe longer." He freed up a hand to try loosening Kotetsu's tie, to little effect.

The tie was going to take two hands, and Kotetsu didn't want to bother with it yet when Barnaby was still wearing his jacket, and he could do something about that with one hand. "Don't usually think this way... well, not about relationships, anyway," Kotetsu amended, wriggling the jacket off one of Barnaby's shoulders, then the other, "but if we're both wanting to do this, then... let's really do this," he finished in a mutter. "How're you feeling?"

Barnaby was entirely cooperative, letting go of Kotetsu long enough to shrug his jacket off and let it fall to the floor, then going for the buttons of Kotetsu's vest. "Too many layers," he muttered. "I'm... a little impatient."

Kotetsu couldn't help laughing a little, as he pulled his tie free and started untying it while Barnaby got the vest, since Barnaby didn't have as many layers for him to remove. "Guess that means you're up for it... Just be careful. It would be embarrassing if you couldn't outlast the old man."

Barnaby laughed silently as he finished with the buttons and pushed the vest off Kotetsu's shoulders. "Maybe we should be dropping clothes all over the bedroom floor," he suggested.

"Or we could leave a trail," Kotetsu pointed out, backing up in that direction and dropping the tie while he started working the vest off. His hat was already... somewhere, probably on the floor... "Cause I don't feel like stopping this right now..."

"I like the way you think," said Barnaby, pulling Kotetsu close to kiss him again as soon as he was done with the vest.

"Mmm..." Kotetsu would have said something about Bunny acknowledging that he actually did think sometimes, but kissing him was more fun. And since the black tee was too tight to get off Barnaby comfortably while they were standing and moving, Kotetsu reached for the belt. Barnaby went for his shirt buttons with one hand, the other arm still around his waist as they made their way toward the bedroom door.

Kotetsu couldn't help a little awkward groping while trying to find the end of the belt he needed, which made him all that much more glad when he got it open. Somewhere while he was fumbling with the buckle he toed his shoes off by the door, then he just grabbed the front waistband of Barnaby's pants and pulled it towards him, wanting more contact.

With a muffled groan, Barnaby pressed himself against Kotetsu, and Kotetsu against the door. Abandoning the shirt buttons, he insinuated one of his thighs between Kotetsu's as he deepened the kiss. Kotetsu made a muffled, somewhat startled noise himself, letting himself slide down the door a little bit, bracing himself against it. If they were going to get direct, then he'd just reach around back, slip his hands down the seat of Barnaby's pants now that they were loose enough.

Of course, now they were in their own way, blocking the door like that. Enjoyable as it was to be backed against the door with his hands down Barnaby's pants and grinding against his leg, Kotetsu was going to get really impatient if they stayed that way for much longer. "Bunny," he half-panted. "You know how long it's been?"

"...even longer than it's been for me?" Barnaby guessed, breathless, backing off enough that Kotetsu could get his weight off the door and reach behind him to open it.

"For your sake? I hope so." Kotetsu stumbled a little in his hurry, but managed to get into the bedroom without tripping over his own feet. It was about as sparsely furnished and decorated as the rest of the apartment, no furniture besides the bed and a nightstand on the far side. Barnaby paused just inside the door to peel his black t-shirt off over his head, then leaned down to get his boots off. Kotetsu unbuttoned the rest of his own shirt's buttons, and wrestled his way out of that before pausing a little, starting to undo his own belt and watching Barnaby. With his shirt off. Bent over. ...Yeah, Kotetsu definitely wanted his belt undone.

Barnaby pulled off his boots and straightened up again, looking over at Kotetsu. "...Like what you see, old man?"

"You think I'm interested in a kid like you?" Kotetsu teased, stepping a little closer as he finally got around to pulling his undershirt over his head. "What do you take me for?"

Barnaby didn't reply right away, giving Kotetsu a good thorough look up and down, noticeably appreciating the sight. "...I like what I see."

This was... different. Kotetsu hadn't dared to ogle Barnaby in the locker rooms or anything. Being allowed now was sort of disconcerting, so he had to stop, let himself adjust to the idea that this was okay. Checking Barnaby out was okay. Finding Barnaby attractive in more than just a 'yeah, it's no wonder he gets on the magazine covers' way was okay. Being really turned on by seeing him like this, shirtless and breathless and walking closer toward him, was okay. "Good," Kotetsu murmured, "because I do too."

Barnaby reached out to run his hands down Kotetsu's abs and then start on the fastenings of his pants. Kotetsu had just grasped Barnaby's wrists momentarily, encouraging, and was about to start undoing Barnaby's pants as well... when in Barnaby's pants pocket, his cell phone started ringing.

Kotetsu rolled his eyes. "All the more reason to get rid of these," he remarked with a smirk, reaching for the fly, but Barnaby made a frustrated noise, reluctantly taking a step back.

"I'd better make sure it's not important," he muttered, fishing it out of his pocket, and then his expression grew vaguely dismayed. "It's Samantha. Let me just see why she's calling."

Kotetsu groaned dramatically, going to flop back on Barnaby's bed (hopefully in a way that looked inviting). "Tell her you can't talk, you're getting laid for the first time in years, it's exciting."

"That's not me, that's you," Barnaby retorted, taking a moment to compose himself before taking the call.

"So tell her you're busy doing your partner, because he hasn't gotten laid in years and he's reaaaaally impatient," Kotetsu called merrily. ...But not too loudly, because he didn't actually want to embarrass Bunny too much.

There was a muffled sound, kind of like Barnaby was trying not to laugh, then he was speaking to Samantha. Kotetsu didn't want to eavesdrop, so he just lay there on his back, mentally griping about cell phones and why they had to have them on all the time when they had those bracelets too, and how if someone had called him when he and Tomoe were up to something, he would've let it ring... and maybe he could do something obnoxious and sneaky and fun while Bunny was taking the phone call, like duck down and... well, there were lots of options for things he could do without being visible from Barnaby's shoulders up.

When he sat up to scope out the potential, though, Barnaby's expression told him that the call was apparently more interesting than anything Kotetsu had to offer - if obviously not as fun.

The conversation didn't last long, and Barnaby promised to call Samantha back 'once things settled down'. When he dropped the phone back into his pocket and looked at Kotetsu again, his expression was a little bit stunned. As tempted as Kotetsu was to moan something about how it just figured something would come up right then, he just settled down and beckoned for Barnaby to join him. Obviously it was serious. "What's going on?"

Barnaby sprawled out beside Kotetsu, propping himself up on an elbow. "She found a photograph that was taken that Christmas Eve."

If it was the one Barnaby had mentioned earlier, Kotetsu supposed he wouldn't look so shocked. "Not the one of you and Maverick...?"

Barnaby shook his head. "It's a photo of me and Samantha. It was taken that day, at the Christmas tree downtown... the same one I remember having my picture taken at with Mr. Maverick."

Kotetsu frowned, trying to figure that out. "So she was with you two?" At least that would maybe keep Barnaby from viewing her as a potential suspect...

"No... it's only the two of us in the photo," Barnaby murmured. "Mr. Maverick isn't there."

Kotetsu still didn't get it. "So where'd he go?"

"He didn't go anywhere," Barnaby near-snapped. "He was never there in the first place! I remember getting the picture taken with him... but I don't remember ever seeing the picture later, and now Samantha shows me this photo..."

"Bunny..." Kotetsu's first instinct was to recoil, but... there they were lying half-naked on Barnaby's bed together. Maybe he didn't need to be quite so worried he was messing everything up. Instead of backing off, he turned onto his side to face Barnaby, resting a hand over his. "I don't know as much about the situation as you do. What do you think this means? If you remember taking one photo, and find another photo..."

Barnaby buried his face in his hands, fingers digging into his scalp. "I don't know if the one I remember ever even existed..."

Kotetsu was discouraged for a moment, but then it occurred to him - after all that had happened between them today, he supposed he probably could do what he'd been wanting to do, and avoiding doing. He scooted a little closer on the bed, first resting his hand on Barnaby's shoulder cautiously, then wrapping his arms around Barnaby and hugging him tightly. "We'll sort this out," he murmured. Barnaby was all curled in on himself, tense and breathing heavily, but after a little while he managed to relax slightly, and even get an arm around Kotetsu.

So much for seduction. Kotetsu sighed faintly and just snuggled Barnaby, kind of the way he used to snuggle Kaede when she was little and was upset. Except, of course, that unlike Kaede, Barnaby was his size, very solid, and half-naked. Kotetsu tried to ignore that stuff, Barnaby didn't need that kind of thing now. Unless he wanted to get his mind off it. But Kotetsu sure wasn't going to say it, after the accusations Barnaby had made earlier about Kotetsu's motives for helping him out.

"Now I can remember Samantha being there after all," Barnaby mumbled. "But why..."

If he wanted to talk about it, then Kotetsu was willing to try to help. "...We already figured out that one of your memories wasn't possible. Now a second... both related to that day. But this one you've got proof of, and you can remember it. The other one you don't, so it keeps changing..." Kotetsu had no idea if there was something they could do with that.

"I thought I'd put all this behind me," Barnaby murmured, his voice strained. "Now, suddenly all this comes up... I don't know what to believe anymore. Why is my memory...?"

Kotetsu didn't know what to say, but he knew he wanted to try. "...Hey," he said, after a second, absently stroking down Barnaby's side with his thumb. "This thing with your memories must have been going on for awhile, if the memory of Jake was messed up. That happened months ago. So in the last couple days, you figured out that there was a problem, and now that you know there's more than one contradiction, you've already figured out what really happened in one case. So you're making progress. That's gotta count for something."

Barnaby sighed quietly at the touch, relaxing a little more. "That's true... it's just..."

"It'll be okay," Kotetsu insisted. "You'll figure it out. Might take some time, but you'll figure it out. And I'll do what I can to help." And because he could, he pressed his lips against Barnaby's forehead. "It's gonna be fine."

Barnaby relaxed a little more. "Thanks," he murmured against Kotetsu's shoulder.

Kotetsu didn't believe things would be perfect, by any means, or that figuring it out wouldn't lead to some unpleasant surprises. Especially now that he'd had a little time to think about the memories that were messed up, and the apparent resolution to one of them... If Barnaby hadn't already thought of it, though, Kotetsu didn't want to suggest it right that moment. It would just freak him out more, maybe set him off again. "No problem," he replied. "That's what partners are for."

"Well, then... don't you forget that either," Barnaby murmured, and kissed his shoulder.

...Kotetsu sort of wanted to. Or at least that there was anything Barnaby might need to see him through. "You should rest," he said, changing the subject. "I don't mind going. Or staying."

"Stay," Barnaby said immediately.

"...Was hoping you'd say that," Kotetsu mumbled with a little smile, nuzzling against his cheek. Barnaby tilted his head to touch his lips to Kotetsu's briefly... then apparently changed his mind and kissed him again, not so briefly.

Kotetsu had no problem with that at all. He was still worried about Barnaby, though... He supposed he'd just let Barnaby lead, and wherever he led, he'd live with it. Wouldn't exactly be hard to live with snuggling him all night, if that's what happened. But then again - Barnaby ran a palm down Kotetsu's spine, fingers splayed over bare skin, and Kotetsu inhaled sharply. The fact they were shirtless, with belts and his pants half hanging open, had never been too far from his mind.

And although he was kicking himself for it, he had to make sure. "If you're not up for it right now, Bunny, it's all right. We've got time." Even as he said it, his hand was feeling out the contour of muscle down Barnaby's side. It stopped short of the hip, though, because it really was all right if he wasn't up for it.

"We may have time," Barnaby murmured, "but lying here, both of us half undressed, and not touching you would drive me crazy."

"Well, yeah," Kotetsu acknowledged - and if Barnaby was thinking that way, then he'd slip a couple fingers down under the waistband after all. "But I know sometimes it's just nice not to be alone, too... so I thought I'd better make sure."

Barnaby's reply was to pull Kotetsu closer and kiss him more seriously, rolling half on top of him after a moment. Kotetsu was fine with that too - he didn't really know what he was doing, or what specifically Barnaby would want or need from him, especially under the circumstances. But he trusted Barnaby, and mostly what he wanted from Barnaby at the moment was anything that involved touching.

And since he didn't need either hand anymore to prop himself up, he could work them both between himself and Barnaby and see about getting those pants off like he'd been meaning to earlier. Barnaby was entirely cooperative with that, propping himself up enough to make that easier. His free hand ran down Kotetsu's body, exploring, and eventually got to work on undoing Kotetsu's pants again.

Now they were getting somewhere. They'd been pretty good and derailed by that phone call, but it wasn't too hard to get back to more or less where they'd left off, or so it seemed to Kotetsu. Maybe he was being a little gentler now than he would've been before, sliding his hands down Barnaby's hips once his pants were loose, cupping his ass and squeezing just a little instead of digging his fingers in. It didn't mean he wanted Barnaby any less than he had earlier.

Barnaby broke the kiss to map a path down Kotetsu's neck instead, and once the pants were unfastened, slipped his hand inside to cup him through his underwear. That made Kotetsu squeeze a little harder, and he caught his breath, letting it out in a low growl. "Bunny..." Even he wasn't quite sure whether it was approval or warning - not that Barnaby was likely to mind if Kotetsu did get impatient enough to start pushing them along himself.

Barnaby's breath caught, too, and he sat up on his knees just enough to free both hands to start working Kotetsu's pants and underwear down. Kotetsu raised his hips enough to help that along, and then had a better angle to do much the same for Barnaby, with a little help from gravity (though not much, since Barnaby seemed to favor more form-fitting clothes). ...Barnaby's pants weren't even all the way off yet, and Kotetsu was already taking advantage of his newfound permission to stare the way he'd never allowed himself to do in the locker rooms. He'd probably never had so much to look at in the locker rooms even if he had been looking, of course - and looking left him unable to resist the urge to touch, stroking down the faint trail of darker hair below Barnaby's navel until he was feeling along the length of him with a light, wondering touch.

The way Barnaby groaned, and his eyes darkened with desire, he looked like he wanted to tear the rest of their clothes off right then, but all he did was push his pants down to his knees, getting them further out of the way, and then held still so Kotetsu could keep right on touching him. With Barnaby amenable to letting him do as he pleased, he grasped and stroked a little more firmly. His breath came short and tight, and his other hand caressed along the outer angles of Barnaby's hip and thigh - angles, not curves. No matter how much Kotetsu teased him about a pretty face and pretty hair, Barnaby's body was hard and made of strong lines, not anything like the female body Kotetsu had been familiar with.

The reminder left Kotetsu a little disoriented for a moment. Remembering Tomoe, seeing and feeling Barnaby's body beneath the ring on his finger, and aching just the same way...

Another thing they had in common. "Damn, you're beautiful," Kotetsu murmured with a faint smile.

Another low groan at Kotetsu's hand on him, and Barnaby rolled onto his side to wriggle the rest of the way out of his clothes, kicking pants and briefs and socks off the edge of the bed. "You should see yourself," he countered.

"I see myself every time I take a shower," Kotetsu muttered, quickly shoving his own pants and underwear out of the way while Barnaby wasn't on top of him. "And you're welcome to anything you see, you know." Not that he thought Barnaby wasn't about to take him up on that anyway.

"Good," Barnaby murmured. "I spent a whole night watching you lounge around here half-undressed and I couldn't do anything about it then, after all."

Kotetsu groaned, even before Barnaby was crawling on top of him again - naked this time - just thinking back to that night. "If you had..." He didn't even know what he would have done; he and Barnaby had still been getting to know each other, he hadn't thought of Barnaby in that way. Then again, "...I guess we'd had a lot to drink, huh..."

Now, though, he was glad to wrap his arms around Barnaby, roll them onto their sides, legs tangled and eye to eye. Barnaby looked into Kotetsu's eyes, and then let his fall shut as he closed the distance between their mouths, and pressed even closer, moving his whole body against Kotetsu's rather than just his hips. Barnaby felt good all the way down, and Kotetsu wanted to just.. touch everywhere. He gave in to it for a moment, his hands roaming from Barnaby's shoulders to his back to his hips to his thighs and his arms...

One thing, though, that he'd noticed just before Barnaby kissed him. Panting, he rolled them over so he was on top, and broke the kiss long enough to take care of it; he reached down and plucked Barnaby's glasses off his nose with one hand. "Got some experience with these," he grunted, rolling over again to set them out of the way. "They can be troublesome."

Barnaby gave a brief laugh, murmuring, "I forgot them completely," before he pulled Kotetsu in again. Kotetsu could have told him a funny story, but why would he want to think about anything at the moment other than Barnaby, and how amazing Barnaby felt pressed against him? Being with Barnaby was different than anything he'd ever felt before, and he wanted to experience it all, what every inch of his body was doing and feeling, even the really impatient ones. One knee was between Barnaby's legs already, and Kotetsu worked a hand down there as well, to grope and caress and squeeze. He could guess that Barnaby might be a little anxious too.

Barnaby groaned into the kiss, and tried to get one of his own hands between them to touch Kotetsu as well. It was kind of awkward, trying to touch each other in this position, but Kotetsu didn't care much, and he'd expected some awkwardness, considering the last time he'd fooled around with another guy... okay, Barnaby's parents hadn't still been alive, but Barnaby would still have been in single digits. Kotetsu hadn't known what he was doing then, and he only had a somewhat better idea now because he'd figured out how to please himself pretty well over the last several years.

Of course, Barnaby's hand on him didn't feel anything like his own hand, it didn't move in the same way. For that reason alone, it was considerably better despite the awkwardness. And the awkwardness, Kotetsu thought, might have been the angle; he tried shifting them so they were both on their sides, and broke the kiss so he could put a little distance between them, more room to move. ...He wasn't sure that was an improvement, even if it was less awkward.

Barnaby, on the other hand, probably had plenty of practice at what to do in bed with another man, and it didn't take him long to decide to take charge. "Better idea," he murmured, rolling Kotetsu onto his back and shifting downward a little, kissing his collarbone.

"Right..." Kotetsu panted. He wasn't sure what Barnaby might be planning, but whatever he was planning, it was just as nice to have Barnaby on top of him as it was to have Barnaby under him. And in the meantime, he had the use of both hands... though Barnaby was now slightly out of reach. Kotetsu just caressed Barnaby's sides as Barnaby propped himself up with one arm, the other hand left free to stroke and tease. Barnaby's lips explored Kotetsu's collarbone for a moment longer before wandering lower.

Kotetsu thought he might be getting some ideas about what Barnaby was up to now... and the ideas he was getting were enough to make him really glad he was already flat on his back, because he was melting at the thought. A moan escaped him, and his hands grasped at Barnaby's shoulders.

"Told you it was a better idea," Barnaby murmured, and drew a circle around one of Kotetsu's nipples with his tongue before closing his lips over it.

The sound Kotetsu made at that was somewhere between a pained groan and a sigh, and his hands clutched tighter before running down Barnaby's spine and back up again. "Bunny, you're gonna kill me..." He hadn't been sure what Barnaby was going for, and for that matter, he wasn't completely sure they were thinking along the same lines, and if they were, then he should say something, but... waiting to find out for sure. Yeah. That was it.

Barnaby didn't quite manage (or didn't try hard enough) to hide a small smirk as he backed off for a moment, then just kept working his way downward, lingering to map the contours of Kotetsu's abs with lips and tongue. He really was, wasn't he? Kotetsu closed his eyes, setting his jaw, practically biting his tongue to keep from moaning again, and repeatedly, especially thinking of where Barnaby's mouth was going, and it already felt so good...

"Bunny, Bunny," he murmured, breathless. "Should probably know... last time I messed around with a guy, was in high school, and we didn't get very far... When it gets to be your turn, I dunno if I'd be any good..."

"I can live with that," Barnaby murmured, nuzzling down Kotetsu's treasure trail.

"Nnnngh, Bunny..." Kotetsu's hands settled in Barnaby's hair, combing through it anxiously, as his shoulders were a little awkward to reach by now. "Thought I was s'posed to be here to make you feel better..."

"You are," Barnaby murmured, trailing kisses down the line of Kotetsu's hipbone.

"...Dammit..." Kotetsu groaned through gritted teeth, drawing a knee up by Barnaby's shoulder, just to keep himself from moving too much in any other way. Barnaby was being a tease, and clearly enjoying it. "I can't kiss you when you're down there." Which was what he really wanted to do, if Barnaby was going to say things like that. But on the other hand, he couldn't complain too much about what Barnaby was doing down there. Damn, he wanted Barnaby's mouth on him now - he was so wound up he wouldn't have been surprised to find out he was vibrating.

That must have been about the point of anticipation that Barnaby was looking for, because he stopped teasing and licked a wide stripe up Kotetsu's shaft from base to tip, then let his lips sink down over the head, slowly. Kotetsu couldn't quite stifle a breathless exclamation, though at least he managed to make it come out less like a yelp, and more a startled "Aahhh..." One hand left Barnaby's head, clenching in the sheets, in hopes of avoiding pulling Barnaby's hair (although that was a kind of appealing idea... not one Kotetsu was going to think about now, though), while the left hand remained, restlessly stroking through.

Barnaby took Kotetsu in as deep as he could manage, then drew back, teasing at the underside with his tongue, then slid back down more quickly. It was already nearly overwhelming; not only had it been a long time since Kotetsu had been with anyone like this, but he'd wanted this with Barnaby specifically for awhile. Even if he hadn't dared to let himself think about it in detail, there was no getting around the fact that he had wanted this for months.

"Oh, Bunny," he groaned, his voice low and rough. "Bunny Bunny Bunny Bunny..." His fingers in Barnaby's hair grew more restless, until he decided that he'd really better grab onto the sheets instead. Barnaby would probably not appreciate it if Kotetsu twisted his hair out. Apparently he didn't have a problem with Kotetsu's reaction so far, though, because he kept right on doing what he was doing, quickening the pace a little. With Kotetsu's hands now somewhere relatively safe, he was free to pretty much maul the sheets beneath him, his breath hissing through his teeth as he tried to stifle...

...Why was he trying to stifle anything, anyway? The thought occurred to Kotetsu vaguely, through everything else that had captured his attention, that there was no kid to wake up, no neighbors next door through thin walls... and he had definitely gotten the impression that Barnaby was enjoying driving him crazy. The only thing he really had to hold back on was movement. ...And coming too soon, because it had been way too long since he felt this good.

The momentary distraction was helping him hold out, though, and it also helped a little when he let himself groan louder, squirming under Barnaby to try to keep from thrusting up into his mouth, and muttering the meaningless things he'd been holding back from saying. Mostly about how good it felt, and Barnaby's name repeatedly. Or at least the nickname, growing a little louder and rougher each time.

Barnaby wasn't through yet, though, and had a few more tricks up his sleeve. He wrapped a hand around Kotetsu's shaft to limit how deep he could go, and then shifted so he wasn't putting any weight on Kotetsu's hips at all. Even if he didn't say it outright, the invitation was clear, especially when he met Kotetsu's eyes.

Barnaby's hand felt just about as good as his mouth at the moment to Kotetsu, warm and tight, and Kotetsu couldn't resist the urge to push up against it. He closed his eyes, tilting his head back; the sensations and the sight of Barnaby like that were proving too much for him. He was almost beyond words now, his mutterings turning to a wordless rumble deep in his throat, rising with each movement. The only thing that could have been better, he thought, was if he could be making Barnaby feel this good too...

And that thought, the mental image of Barnaby writhing beneath him, gasping and moaning... was almost enough. The thought that immediately followed - that he was going to get to see Barnaby like that - was what pushed him the rest of the way. Kotetsu drew a deep breath, his hips jerking up uncontrollably, and if that wasn't enough warning, the low growl erupting into more of a roar should have been enough.

Kotetsu couldn't do anything more for a moment afterwards, except just lie there panting with his eyes closed. There was an awful lot of sheet clenched in his fists... he'd probably messed them up pretty good. More important things to worry about, though. Once he'd caught his breath, he opened his eyes and looked down to meet Barnaby's.

Barnaby met Kotetsu's gaze and held it as he drew back slowly, wiping his mouth with one hand, and then crawled back up the bed. The look in his eyes was mesmerizing, and Kotetsu was kind of dazed, yes, and the smile he broke into after a second was a little lopsided and goofy. But before Barnaby could get too far tangled in him, the smile twisted slightly into a mischievous smirk, and Kotetsu rolled them over in one sudden motion.

Pushing Barnaby down against the bed, Kotetsu kissed his mouth, then his jaw, then his neck... Barnaby groaned and wriggled a little beneath Kotetsu, resting his hands lightly on Kotetsu's shoulders. Kotetsu may have been feeling exhausted and satiated, but he hadn't forgotten what he was there to do. It wasn't hard at all for Kotetsu to keep the momentum going, leaving a somewhat sloppy trail of wet kisses down Barnaby's chest and (tight, amazing) abs. The thought of Barnaby as completely unraveled as he'd been? Great motivation. ...If he could be good enough. If not, he hoped Barnaby would be as good a teacher as Tomoe had been.

He wondered if Barnaby liked biting. She hadn't. But then, Kotetsu had found other enjoyable ways of marking someone. To that end, he took a little detour across Barnaby's stomach over towards the left hip, pausing there to lick and suck on just one small area of skin. As something of an apology for the hold-up (though not really, considering the way Barnaby had teased him), his left hand drifted over to take hold of him, surrounding and lightly stroking the base of the shaft.

"I really--" Barnaby drew in a sharp breath as Kotetsu's hand found his cock. "...hope that's not going to be... mmn... visible in a swimsuit."

Kotetsu stopped, and looked up, arching an eyebrow at Barnaby. And he thought he'd said some stupid things during sex. "We don't have a photoshoot scheduled." Wrong time of year, even. He paused. "...Do we?"

Barnaby gave him a cross, why-did-you-stop sort of look. "No, but I wouldn't put it past someone to decide I should be photographed in as little clothing as possible at a moment's notice just because you gave me a hickey."

Kotetsu just pinched his ass, and smirked at the undignified noise Barnaby made. "Shut up and enjoy it," he mumbled, and then got back to business. Really, did Bunny always have to think about things like marketing...?

"I didn't say you should-- ngk." Barnaby decided to shut up after all when Kotetsu's hand found him again.

Kotetsu's progress was momentarily disrupted by a grin he couldn't suppress - he'd been fighting the urge to grin like a loon for awhile anyway, even without those little noises. His teeth grazed the skin a little before he got himself under control again. Better now than later, he supposed. It probably wouldn't show too much in a swimsuit anyway - and maybe he'd be the one who decided to take photographs, in which case it wouldn't matter.

The familiar teasing, interspersed with unfamiliar and interesting sounds from Barnaby, made Kotetsu all that much more anxious to get on to the main attraction, though. Even though he'd never given a guy a blowjob before, he'd been on the receiving end a few times before the demonstration Barnaby had just given, so it wasn't like he didn't have any idea what to do... And damned if he hadn't thought, when he was first getting Barnaby's pants off, that he'd love to pop that right in his mouth, so that was a good sign.

He spent a little longer just touching even after he'd finished working on Barnaby's hip - touching, and looking, and appreciating. Barnaby's dick was as flawless and pretty as the rest of him, as far as Kotetsu was concerned. He lingered for a minute, examining (and no doubt driving Barnaby nuts by being so close Barnaby could probably feel his breath), before finally propping himself up a little higher, trying to find just the right position before sucking the head into his mouth.

A low moan slipped from Barnaby's mouth. The sound pleased Kotetsu, and he teased a little with his tongue, drawing Barnaby in and out, while preparing further. One thing he remembered liking... He'd propped himself up in such a way that his weight was mostly on one elbow, which left him enough manueverability that he could rub his hands together, warming them a little, before wrapping one around the shaft below his mouth. Pity they weren't in a particularly good position for him to make use of the other hand.

Barnaby propped himself up on his elbows a little so he had a better view. "Kotetsu..." he murmured.

Kotetsu glanced up - he'd been wanting to watch Barnaby's reactions anyway - and raised an eyebrow, the corners of his mouth turning up. Barnaby wouldn't want him to stop and converse, would he? To that end, Kotetsu just made a questioning sound. "Mmm...?" It was, of course, more fun than questioning.

Barnaby just groaned, his head falling back a little. "Mmm." That was what Kotetsu had thought. And damn did Barnaby look good like this. Although he almost wished he hadn't taken the glasses off; Bunny looked more like Bunny with them on. It was still amazing either way. Kotetsu started moving again, stroking with his hand and his mouth, his eyes up to see how Barnaby reacted.

Barnaby lifted his head again and met Kotetsu's gaze, groaning, restless, his hands clenching and unclenching in the sheets. Kotetsu may not have been practiced, but enthusiasm apparently was good enough, and a little experience with what he'd liked. There were other things Kotetsu had liked that he wasn't doing, mostly because he didn't want to bite off more than... didn't want to get in over his... okay, all the idioms he could think of were inappropriate under the circumstances; he didn't want to try too much at once. Even if what he had tried so far was fun.

He lowered his eyes for a moment, though, and moved his hand to take Barnaby in deeper, drawing back slowly, getting him good and wet and slippery before starting work with his fingers again. "Nnh, Kotetsu," Barnaby moaned in approval, and the way Barnaby moaned sent a little thrill right into Kotetsu's heart. Between that and the expression on Barnaby's face, Kotetsu was starting to think they might need another round. And here he'd thought he was probably too old for things like that...

Kotetsu had been teasing at first, but Barnaby's intensity spurred him on, and now he was stroking more firmly, taking Barnaby in deeper, moving a little faster. No more smirking - he was dead serious now.

Barnaby's breathing grew heavy and his eyes fell shut, his posture changing as if he could barely hold himself upright. Kotetsu really wished it were possible for him to be holding Barnaby and blowing him at the same time. Barnaby looked hot like that, sure, but also vulnerable - enough to bring back the protectiveness Kotetsu had felt earlier. What Kotetsu really wanted to do, he thought, was to kiss Barnaby everywhere at once.

He'd have to settle for what he was doing now, which was by no means a bad deal. The way Barnaby was moving, though, Kotetsu supposed he should try what Barnaby had done earlier, limiting the range of motion with his hand, but giving Barnaby the freedom to move if he wanted. Shifting around to better balance himself also had the side benefit of positioning his other hand to stroke along the inside of Barnaby's thigh.

"Kotetsu," Barnaby murmured again, fingers and toes both curling into the bunched-up sheets. Even with the invitation, his movements were halting, a little too cautious - obviously not trying to push him too far. It was a sweet sentiment, almost unexpected coming from Barnaby, but Kotetsu could take the movement. He'd been a fighter most of his life, after all, in some capacity or another, and he'd learned how to move with an opposing motion, blunting it rather than letting it strike at full force. This was... kind of like that.

Meanwhile, the way Barnaby was saying his name was almost as good as Barnaby physically touching him. Kotetsu was breathing a little heavier again now too, and it was too bad he couldn't say anything without stopping what he was doing, because he would have liked to return the favor. Barnaby definitely wouldn't have appreciated Kotetsu stopping there; a few steady thrusts turned into less steady ones as he was overwhelmed. "I-- nnh..." Anything Barnaby might have said was lost in a long, shaky groan as he came.

Kotetsu had seen a lot of amazing, beautiful things in his time. At that particular moment, he thought Barnaby in orgasm might just top the list.

...Of course, that left him a little distracted as to what that meant to him in his current position, and he choked a little, hurriedly swallowing to keep from coughing. Right... He had been uncertain of what he was going to do there, but that hadn't been too weird, he thought, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand and clearing his throat. Just sort of graceless, and he gave Barnaby a sheepish smile.

Not that Barnaby was paying much attention in the first place, just lying there bonelessly trying to catch his breath. Just as well, Kotetsu supposed, and watched him in silence for only a moment. It was a perfect opportunity to do what he'd been wanting to do just a few seconds before; Kotetsu pushed himself to his knees and crawled up the bed to flop down next to Barnaby, throwing an arm over him and curling his head against Barnaby's shoulder.

After a few moments, when Barnaby recovered enough to move again, he curled around Kotetsu as much as he could manage, sighing warmly. That gave Kotetsu the chance to snuggle against him more thoroughly, getting the other arm under Barnaby's head to hold him more securely. There were a lot of things he was thinking of saying. Some of them were maybe not the best of ideas, and most of the rest were so cliched even he recognized them as cliches. What he eventually mumbled was sort of a cross between the two. "...I needed that."

Barnaby gave a brief laugh that was muffled against Kotetsu's shoulder. "Me too," he murmured after a moment.

Kotetsu just smiled, nuzzling against him. Never could have guessed. Whether it was just sex to blow off some stress, or someone showing him genuine affection for once in his life, it was kind of obvious in retrospect that Barnaby needed something like that.

"...Wanna do it again?" he asked after a brief pause.

Barnaby laughed again, nearly silent. "I thought you were supposed to be an old man... give me a little while to recover, will you?"

"You're just that good," Kotetsu told him, wiggling contentedly against him. "And I needed it that bad." He wasn't actually ready to go again just yet, but watching Barnaby hadn't exactly helped him calm down, either. Plus, they were still lying there naked, wrapped around each other...

Kotetsu sighed faintly. "But what we really should do," he groaned reluctantly, "is let you get some rest. You needed it before - you definitely need it now."

"That's true," Barnaby admitted, "and I might just be worn out enough to get some sleep."

Kotetsu was pretty sure he was, considering everything that had happened. "Take a nap," he suggested. "It's not that late yet... and then when you wake up," he added, intentionally leering, "I won't feel bad if I keep you up all night."

"I like the way you think," Barnaby said for the second time, leering back a little - which Kotetsu thought was kind of hilarious, considering how prim and proper Barnaby tended to be.

This time his mouth wasn't too busy doing other things to reply. "All right, so you have to admit, now and then I do have good ideas."

"Now and then," Barnaby murmured, shifting around to try to find a comfortable position for sleeping.

Kotetsu moved with him, trying to accommodate his position... He was not going to have much luck dozing off at this rate, with so much hard body and bare skin rubbing against him. He'd be patient, though. He'd waited this long, and it had been worth it. He could control himself for a few more hours, and so he rolled onto his back, just so he wasn't so distractedly tangled up in Barnaby.

Barnaby wiggled a little more while he got comfortable, but gradually cuddled up next to Kotetsu, an arm slung over him, head resting against his shoulder. Another thing Kotetsu had a certain amount of experience with - wanting someone when they just plain weren't up to it. He'd slept next to Tomoe a lot like this many nights, when she first got sick; he'd never stopped needing her, but she needed rest more. He couldn't help but think back to that a little, considering those were the last times he'd slept beside anyone at all... unless you counted falling asleep in a drunken heap with a friend who was too out of it to find their way home, which wasn't the same thing at all.

Back then, his worry had kept him in check. Now... there was a certain amount of that too, after all Barnaby had been through, and thanks to that phone call, he could guess there would be more uncertainty and disturbing revelations to come. Depending on what the photograph led to, maybe even more violent confrontations. He glanced down at the top of Barnaby's head, lying there on his shoulder, and pressed a kiss against his hair. He couldn't even be absolutely sure that Barnaby would feel the same way about this once he had his head on straight again... but Kotetsu thought maybe it didn't matter. After a lot of mistakes and poor judgments along the way, he'd finally done this the way he preferred to do everything - honestly - and he wasn't going to second-guess himself now.