Chapter Text
Karina didn't forget about him during the year he was gone. How could she?
To be fair, she didn't really try. She wrote songs about him, and listened endlessly to songs that reminded her of him. Fire Emblem had struck up some kind of a friendship with Barnaby, and Origami seemed to be in touch with him, too, and she knew Barnaby was still in touch with Tiger, so she tried to get any news of him through them. That made it, what, third-hand? Origami was usually obliging, though he said there wasn't much; Tiger was living with his family, he seemed to be settling in well, he and his daughter were on good terms.
Fire Emblem, she suspected, knew more, if there was any more to know; he was good at picking up on that kind of thing. But he didn't like to tell her. "Don't you think you should let it go, sweetie?"
"I just want to know what's going on with him. I'm curious about Barnaby, too!"
"You and I both know it's different."
"Everyone knows," she said, bitterly. "I don't see why that means everyone has to torment me."
"I'm not tormenting you. I just have your best interests at heart."
He probably did. She knew she'd be better off going after someone her own age. Someone with no children, certainly not any children less than ten years younger than she was. "But all the others..."
"That's just men for you."
Despite that, she'd even sometimes ask Rock Bison about him. He'd let a few tidbits drop. Kotetsu - Rock Bison always called him that, and she never used the name herself, but privately, she sometimes thought of him that way - was from Oriental Town. She'd always been taught that Oriental was used to describe rugs, not people or places, but Bison said it was named nearly a hundred years ago. He mentioned the fact Kotetsu's wife had died six years ago, nearly seven, back when Karina was the age Kaede was now. They both used to be punks, he said, and she wasn't sure whether that meant they'd been kind of petty criminals, or if they'd literally listened to punk music. Or both? If she pressed him for details, he'd laugh indulgently, making her hate him to death for a few seconds, and say "Why don't you ask him yourself?"
And then he came back to town, and she could.
The first that she knew he was back was when he turned up at one of her gigs in the beginning of December. She didn't see him until she was taking her bow, and then she just froze, for a second. She could barely keep herself from jumping off the stage and running over to him, but even if she threw herself into his arms, she wouldn't get the reaction she wanted. When she did walk over - she walked, thank you - he turned to face her. "You're the last person I expected to see here," she said.
"Well, I'm back in town. Figured I'd see if you were still singing here."
"Occasionally," she said, gesturing the bartender over. She always drank iced tea.
"You didn't drop it in favor of being a hero?"
"I don't see why I can't do both."
"Fair enough."
"So what brings you here?" she asked. Christmas shopping, maybe. Visiting Barnaby.
"I'm starting up with the Second League."
"Really?!" That had come out a lot louder and more excited than she'd wanted. A few people turned to look at them. He made a shushing gesture, and she flushed, taking a gulp of her tea. "But weren't you losing your powers?" she asked, her voice much lower.
"Why should I let that stop me?"
"What about your partner?" She hoped that hadn't sounded as sharp as it had kind of felt. Barnaby had always bothered her; the new hero who'd come out of nowhere to snag the King of Heroes title for himself, who monopolized so much of Tiger's attention, who was closer to him than she could ever seem to get.
"Bunny's got a lot of things to figure out for himself," he said. She sipped her tea, watching him out of the corner of her eye. He was going to be living here. She'd see him again. She didn't need to stare, even if she wanted to. "So when's your next gig?" he asked.
He didn't come to every performance, but he came to most of them. The unpredictability helped, in a way - it kept her from giving in to the temptation to either pick out the songs that were all about him, hoping he'd get the idea, or getting shy and keeping those off her set lists. She found out, when Nathan told her a few days later that Tiger was back in town, that she'd been the first to know he was back. It wasn't like he just came to the bar for her; he was there on nights she didn't perform. She knew because he mentioned it to her. But she'd seen him before he told any of the others. She tried not to let on to Nathan, though she figured he suspected something, and hugged the knowledge to herself as she went about her day. Jane kept asking why she was smiling, but no one else seemed to notice.
Winter turned into spring. Barnaby joined the second league, too, so if he'd just stay there for the rest of the season all she needed to do was beat Sky High. Her college applications had all been sent off, the arguments with her parents about whether she was even going to college had died down, and she saw Tiger at her performances. Life was pretty good.
That was what she told him when he asked. "College, huh?" he said, tipping his drink back.
"I don't even know if I want to go to college," she said. "My dad thinks I should, but he wants me to major in something practical that I can do if heroing doesn't work out. Mom would probably back me up if I really decided not to, but... I don't know what I want to do. I can't be a hero forever, and I don't know if my music career's going to last beyond the hero gimmick."
"You can hang in there a long time."
"They aren't going to let me put on an armored suit and keep working till I'm your age."
"Huh. Never thought of it like that." He nodded his thanks to the bartender for his new drink. "Still... commentator jobs, teaching at Hero Academy... there's stuff you could do."
"Did you go to college?"
He laughed. "For one semester. School just wasn't for me. My wife loved it."
That was the first time he'd ever voluntarily mentioned her. She was actually holding her breath, wondering what she could say to draw him out more. She wanted to know what she'd been like, because she wanted to know what kind of woman he'd loved, and she wanted to know what he'd been like, and she thought that this woman whose name she didn't know could illuminate both those things. She wanted to know how he'd talk about her, and if he could talk about one thing close to his heart, maybe he could talk about others. But the words she found were "What did she major in?"
She could have hit herself the moment she heard herself speak. Before he could even try to evade the question, the bartender tapped his watch, and she had to go back to the stage, calling herself an idiot the whole time.
Maybe it was that sting of embarrassment, of having flubbed her best chance yet, of proving to him that she was just a kid after all, that made her throw in "Only the Lonely." It wasn't the only thing she sang - she had several of her own songs in there - but it was what he mentioned when her set was done. "Nice of you to throw in something for my generation," he said, leaning against the stage.
"You're not that old," she said, curt.
"I can't decide if that's a compliment or an insult," he retorted, and something about the way he spoke made her look at him sharply. He wasn't slurring his words, exactly, but he seemed to be picking them out with care. "I always liked old songs. Classics. It's good you know about stuff from before you were born."
"I like lots of things from before I was born," she said softly, pretty sure he was drunk enough to miss something that blatant. He probably would have stone cold sober.
"That's good. Lots of kids these days don't. Like Bunny."
She rolled her eyes. Barnaby listened to opera, because his parents had loved it, as every one of his ten thousand interviews had to mention. Sure, the singers might still be alive, but he was about the worse possible example of kids these days and their music. "You're drunk, aren't you?"
"Only kinda."
She stepped down from the stage. "Give me your keys."
"I'm drunk, not stupid."
"I have them," the bartender called over. It was Steve tonight.
"Thanks," she said to him. "Tiger, have you already called a cab?"
"Don't call me that in public," he protested.
"Should I call you 'old man'?" She walked a few steps away from him, and when he left the stage and followed her, he swayed visibly. "Come on, let's go outside."
"You look a little unsteady on my feet," he said, and slung an arm around her shoulders, laughing. She felt simultaneously hot and cold all over, and very, very aware of the space where his arm was touching her. "Let's go."
"Okay," she said, and they started walking.
"Karina," Steve said, as they passed him, and she stopped to look at him. "Everything okay?"
Yeah, this would look like exactly the kind of situation he should be watching out for, wouldn't it? A drunk customer twice her age hitting on her. "I'm fine," she said, smiling broadly. "He's a friend of my dad's. I'm just going to make sure he gets a cab."
"Okay," he said, and she and Tiger continued their wavering progress toward the door.
The cool night air on her face helped calm her down a bit, and it might have sobered Tiger up a fraction. She hoped. He sank down onto the curb, and after a moment's hesitation, she joined him. "You don't need to stay," he said. "I'm just waiting for my ride."
"Your ride?" She shivered.
"You shouldn't wear such tiny little dresses," he said, shrugging out of his jacket. "No wonder you're cold."
"I'm fine," she insisted. "My powers..." But she didn't resist when he draped it over her shoulders. It was still warm with his body heat, and she felt like she had when he'd put his arm around her. "What happened? You don't normally drink that much."
"Just... thinking," he said. She pulled her knees up to her chest - no one was around to see if she flashed them, and it's not like Tiger was looking - and rested her folded arms on them. "You're so young, you know?" he continued. "Got your whole life ahead of you. Whole hero career, college, whatever you want."
"That's exactly what scares me," she said, softly.
He went on like he hadn't heard her. "Seems like yesterday I was starting out - me and Tomoe got our first place in Stern Bild when we were twenty. Had to have my folks co-sign the lease. She was going to college, I was the new rookie, we had all these plans... And ten years later she was dead." He said the last part so abruptly, so finally, it shocked her, even though she'd known. She'd wanted him to talk, wanted to get closer to him, but now he was covering his face with his hands and she had no idea what to do. "We had all these plans," he repeated, sounding choked, and she reached out hesitantly, not sure if she should try to touch him or not. "She was so smart, and so... I couldn't believe how lucky I was that she even gave me the time of day. She wanted me to be a hero, she supported me a hundred percent. Most people - who'd want to be married to a hero? You're always running off, you can't make plans - you miss things... Before she died she made me promise."
"What?" she said, feeling stupid, feeling like she was missing something. The jacket had slipped off her shoulders, and she hurriedly put her arms into the sleeves.
"She was in the hospital," he said. "Cancer. We knew she was dying, and I wanted to be there... but I got a call, and she made me go answer it, because people needed help. And had me promise I'd be a hero no matter what. And while I was gone..." He was crying now, and she overcame her hesitation and touched his shoulder. Left her hand there. Part of her felt like that was a horrible promise to ask someone to make, but if you had a husband like Tiger, and you thought he'd probably give up the job he loved to do his duty... but then again, maybe he should have. He did have a daughter. Was that why he felt the need to come back, despite the demotion to the second league, despite his fading powers and all the risk involved in this job?
And that was when she saw the approaching headlights. The car pulled up in front of them - a red sports car. Barnaby. Of course. Tiger's ride. She stood up as he opened the door, but Tiger stayed where he was, wiping his eyes. Barnaby stood for a moment, surveying them, but at a small sob from Tiger he knelt down next to him; he might have acknowledged her with a nod, but anyone could see where his attention was. "Did something happen?" he asked, the question seeming meant more for Tiger than for her. Tiger just leaned forward until his head hit Barnaby's shoulder, though. Barnaby looked up at her.
"He started talking about his wife," she said. "He drank a lot more than usual, and then he started talking about her..." Barnaby frowned slightly as he turned his attention back to Tiger.
"She used to be that young," Tiger said. "Blue Rose's age. Then your age, Bunny."
"Your wife?" Barnaby repeated.
"I wasn't there when she died," Tiger said. He wasn't crying anymore; he just sounded tired, and lonely, and Karina felt like crying instead.
"You should get up, Kotetsu," Barnaby said, his voice more gentle than Karina had ever heard it. Hell, he sounded like he might cry. "Get into the car where it's warm, at least." He stood up, held out a hand to help his partner up, and Karina was surprised when Tiger extended a hand to her as well. She took it, and the two of them hauled him to his feet. He stumbled over to Barnaby's car, and stood there blankly a moment. Barnaby pushed a front seat forward, and Tiger climbed into the back seat. After a moment, he sank out of sight. "Hopefully he'll sleep it off," Barnaby said to her. "Do you know what brought it on? How did you find him?"
Oh. Of course, he didn't know. "I sing here some nights," she said. "We met here by chance quite a while ago - I don't think he comes here just to hear me sing, but when he's here, we talk on my breaks. We were talking about... I mentioned going to college, and he mentioned his wife. He said she'd enjoyed college. Then I went back up on stage, and when my set was done, he was... drunk, I guess. Tipsy."
"He's usually kind of a happy drunk," Barnaby said. "He sounded fine when he called me. Thank you for staying with him. I wouldn't have wanted him to be alone when he's feeling like this."
She didn't want to say this part. Not to Barnaby, the one who'd knocked her down to third. "I was singing some kind of sad songs," she said. "I don't know if that had anything to do with it. He was happy at first, but once we got outside, he got-- like this. So it might have been my fault. Staying with him was the least I could do."
Barnaby shook his head. "I don't think it's your fault. He always wears his wedding ring, have you noticed?" Of course she'd noticed. "After seven years," he added. "I don't think you're the first person to ever make him think of her."
"He told me some other things, but I don't know if I should... I don't know if it's my place to tell."
"Don't," he said. "If he wants me to know, he'll tell me. It's not something I need to know that he's keeping from me, this time. Like his powers."
"He didn't even tell you?"
"He keeps way too many secrets," Barnaby said. "Can you drive?"
"Huh? I can drive my bike, but not a car. Why?"
"I was wondering if you could drive his car to his place. If it's not too much trouble."
She shook her head. "I've been a hero since just before I turned fifteen. I never had time for lessons."
He nodded. "I can give you a lift home, if you'd like. Would you mind helping me get him home?"
"I wouldn't mind. Give me a minute to get my things," she said.
Her things were the bag containing her school uniform - she'd never mentioned it to Tiger, but getting to play on a Friday night was a step up - a few school books, and her phone and PDA. She was nearly out the door when a thought struck her and she went to retrieve Tiger's keys from the bar area, even though technically she wasn't allowed there. When she let herself into the car, Tiger greeted her with "You need to call your parents, Blue Rose."
"I will," she said, blushing. "It's fine, don't worry."
"Don't make them worry. Parents have it rough."
"Parents?" Barnaby asked, starting the car. "How old are you, Blue Rose?"
"Eighteen," she said. "I mean, I turn eighteen in a week. I'm a senior."
"Close enough," he said. "I thought you were older, though. No offense."
"I'm young enough to still be flattered by that," she pointed out. "And in-character my age is a secret."
"I just never thought to ask," he said. She looked out the window, hoping this line of conversation would die a natural death. Barnaby was merging onto the freeway, and in the silence of the car she heard Tiger snore loudly. She giggled, and heard a chuckle from Barnaby. "This is why I wanted the help," he said.
"I did get his keys from the bar."
"Good. I didn't even think of that before we left. I have no idea how we would have gotten him into his apartment. I guess I could have taken him to mine..."
"He doesn't do this too often, does he?"
"Not really. He's more likely to do it to celebrate than... any other reason." After a moment, he added softly, "I didn't know how much she was still on his mind."
That surprised her. "But you know him so well," she said, unthinkingly.
"Obviously not well enough." He sighed. "I just wish I could help him."
"I do too," she said. She wished she could help him. She wished Barnaby could help him. Anyone. "In the morning, he'll just act like nothing happened, won't he?"
"Almost definitely." He changed lanes to get onto the Bronze ramp. "I'm sure he doesn't feel like this every waking moment. I know I don't. But for me-- it takes more than a few drinks to put me in that state. The anniversary of a death, or... I don't know. Maybe we just handle things differently."
"I remember after you fought Jake. You'd actually smile. Not at me, but with Tiger..."
"Was I really that unfriendly?" When their eyes met, he didn't look unfriendly; shy, and a little sheepish, she thought. "It wasn't deliberate. I just never learned how to get along with people, I guess. Kotetsu was the first to show me how it was done."
"Really? You seem to do all right when you meet fans, or in interviews."
"That's... different. It's almost like being in character, though not to the extent that you or Origami do it. It's really kind of exhausting."
"I had no idea." It made sense, though, the way he could charm the whole city and then have such a terrible attitude in person when she first met him, yet still become a really good, caring friend to Tiger. Most people could only like so many people at a time; not everyone could be Sky High. "Well, no hard feelings."
"Thank you," he said, favoring her with a real smile, and she blinked and looked out the window, wondering if she was blushing. He really was a good-looking guy, and if the interview persona was fake he might not be as insufferable as she'd always thought.