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Under normal circumstances, Kotetsu would’ve been overjoyed at the scene unfolding before him. Lloyds was berating Barnaby– Barnaby, his shining gold star of an employee–instead of him for once. The gloating he would’ve done afterwards would’ve gotten him a lecture of his own from Barnaby, but it would’ve been worth it. There was nothing enjoyable about seeing Barnaby now, head down and fists clenched, as Lloyds ripped into him.
“I’m sorry, Mr. Lloyds,” Barnaby said. His voice was even, despite the tremors in his hands. “I’ll pay for the damages. It won’t happen again.”
“It’s about more than the damages! You’re the citizens’ favorite Hero. We can’t have them lose their faith in you.” Lloyds sighed and turned his gaze to Kotetsu. “And you need to be more careful with that power of yours! Look at the position you put Barnaby in!”
“Me?” Kotetsu spluttered. Of course. He should’ve known Lloyds would find a way to blame him.
“This isn’t his fault,” Barnaby interjected. “It was my mistake, and as I said, it won’t happen again.”
“See that it doesn’t.” Lloyds dismissed them with a wave, and Barnaby turned on his heel and stormed out of the room. Kotetsu scrambled to follow.
“Bunny. Hey, wait!” His partner ignored him and kept walking, until Kotetsu caught up to him and grabbed his shoulder. Barnaby jerked out of his grip, but finally stopped.
“What is it?” He kept the same stance he had in Lloyds’s office; head down, fists clenched. Kotetsu wished he’d turn around so he could at least see his eyes.
“I, uh…” He hadn’t thought through everything he wanted to say, but Barnaby’s posture signaled that maybe none of it was the right thing. “I never thought I’d see Lloyds lay into you,” he said instead, forcing a laugh.
“I don’t need this right now, Kotetstu,” Barnaby snapped. His fists were trembling at his sides, and Kotetsu realized that getting yelled at wasn’t what had Barnaby so upset.
“Come on,” he said, pulling his partner into the nearest empty office. Barnaby crossed his arms and sighed as soon as Kotetsu closed the door.
“I want to go home, Kotetsu. Please just let me go home.” His voice broke at the end of his sentence and, blushing, he turned away again.
“Bunny, talk to me,” Kotetsu said, trying his best to keep his voice soft. “What happened today…that wasn’t like you at all.”
“So you’re going to lecture me, too?” Barnaby asked in a low, strained voice. Kotetsu wanted to close some of the distance between them, put a hand on Barnaby’s shoulder, but his partner was too guarded, too tense.
“No! I’m not–look, I’m not trying to make you feel bad. I just want to understand what happened. Those people could’ve gotten hurt because of you.”
“They were fine in the end, weren’t they?” Barnaby snapped. The blush on his face deepened and his shoulders bunched up around his ears.
“Well, yeah, but everyone saw you leave them.”
“What else was I supposed to do?” Barnaby’s voice exploded out of him and he turned around, fully facing Kotetsu with shining eyes. “You needed help, too! I couldn’t just leave you.” Kotetsu gaped at him, a pit of shame forming in his stomach. He knew going back to the First League with Barnaby was a bad idea, and here was the proof that he was just holding Barnaby back.
“I’m sorry,” he said.
“What?” That clearly wasn’t what Barnaby had been expecting him to say, judging by how wide his eyes were.
“I’m sorry I made you feel that you can’t depend on me anymore. I thought my power might cause problems for you, but I thought-”
“Kotetsu, no. That’s not–I never feel like I can’t depend on you. You’re the only person I can depend on.”
“Then why did you put people in danger when my power ran out?” Kotetsu couldn’t help the fact that his voice was getting louder.
“Because!” Barnaby shouted. He had gradually gotten closer with every word, and now he was in Kotetsu’s face, gripping his suspenders with white knuckles. “I can’t lose another person that I love!”
Kotetsu felt like all the breath had been punched out of him. Love. Barnaby said the word “love.” He looked into his partner’s trembling eyes–those beautiful, crystal green eyes that he’d been pining over for more than a year–and let himself entertain the thought, just for a moment, that Barnaby meant the same kind of love that Kotetsu felt burning in his heart for Barnaby every single day.
“Bunny,” he whispered. “Do you really mean that?”
“Huh?” Barnaby’s entire face was red now, adorably so, and he snatched his hands away from Kotetsu’s suspenders, letting them fall to his sides.
“You love me?” Kotetsu reached out a tentative hand, placing it on Barnaby’s warm cheek, and gently stroked it with his thumb. Barnaby shivered at the touch, but didn’t pull away, which Kotetsu took as a good sign.
“I mean,” Barnaby pushed his glasses up, causing them to glare. “Hasn’t it been kind of obvious?”
“Obvious?” Was he serious? He couldn’t have been less obvious if he–
Then again. Kotetsu thought back on all the fleeting glances, the tender smiles he’d caught on Barnaby’s face, the late night phone calls when they’d been retired and he thought he heard some sort of hesitation in Barnaby’s voice, like there was something he wanted to say and just couldn’t get it past his lips. Barnaby had followed him to the goddamn Second League, with all that skill and power, just so he could keep being Kotetsu’s partner. He couldn’t help but chuckle.
“You idiot,” he said.
“That’s my line–mm!” He cut Barnaby off by pulling his face to his and kissing him; not with the raw emotion and desperation he really wanted to–this was neither the time nor place–but softly, gently, just the slightest pressure against his lips. Barnaby just stood there, unmoving, Kotetsu wasn’t even sure if he was breathing, and for a moment he worried that he had misread Barnaby’s meaning all along and he didn’t mean it like that, of course he didn’t mean it like that–but then he felt it, the tiniest movement of Barnaby’s lips pressing back into his own before Kotetsu pulled away. Barnaby’s eyes were closed, his long lashes fluttering, and his mouth was open just slightly. Kotetsu ran his thumb under Barnaby’s bottom lip, and Barnaby opened his eyes, looking at him with a dazed expression.
“Was–was that okay?” Kotetsu asked, suddenly feeling insecure.
“Kotetsu,” Barnaby breathed. One side of his mouth quirked up in a lopsided grin. “That was my first kiss.”
“Huh?” Kotetsu reeled back, and Barnaby frowned.
“Is that…bad?” he asked.
“What? No! No, of course not, I just wasn’t expecting–I didn’t think–if I’d known that was your first kiss I would’ve made it better!” Kotetsu couldn’t stop himself from spluttering. He just couldn’t believe that Barnaby Brooks, Jr., Stern Bild’s most popular and sought-after public figure, had never been kissed until now. And that he, himself, was the only person to have had the privilege. Barnaby laughed and placed his hand over the one Kotetsu still held to his face.
“No, it was perfect,” he said, smiling softly. “I just wish I knew what I was doing.”
“Well,” Kotetsu mumbled, suddenly feeling the heat prickling his face, “we can always try it again. You know, for practice.”
“I’d like that,” Barnaby said. “But…not here. I don’t want to keep kissing you in a random office.”
“Ah, you’re right. Forgot where we were for a minute.” In fact, in his overwhelming joy, he’d forgotten why they were even there. “Wait a minute, Bunny.” His thoughts caught up to him all at once, and he felt the words coming out without making sense. “Okay, wait. First, I love you, too, in case it wasn’t obvious.” The fresh blush those words brought to Barnaby’s face made Kotetsu’s heart flutter, but he had to keep going. “Second, you need to promise me you’ll never pull a stunt like today ever again. The citizens’ safety comes first, always. Alright?” Barnaby sighed and looked away.
“I can’t promise that.”
“Bunny.”
“Kotetsu. You don’t understand. I can’t lose you again. I just–I can’t.” Barnaby’s hand moved to grip Kotetsu’s wrist, and he looked down, trembling.
“Hey, hey.” Kotetsu tipped Barnaby’s chin up and looked into his eyes. “I’m not going anywhere.”
“Then,” Barnaby said, a sudden intensity washing over his face, “I need you to promise something.” He yanked on Kotetsu’s tie, and Kotetsu was definitely not going to think about that and the heat it sparked in his stomach later that night, not at all.
“Y-yeah?” he stammered.
“Your power only lasts for one minute now. I don’t think less of you for that, but we’re in the First League again and our assignments are more dangerous. You need to stop jumping into situations without thinking. I’m asking you to be more strategic when you use your power. Can you promise me that?”
“I’ll try.” That response earned him another yank.
“Not good enough.”
“Fine, fine! I promise you I’ll work on it. Now do you promise to never endanger someone’s life because of me ever again?” Barnaby sighed.
“I promise,” he grumbled.
“Good,” Kotetsu said, smiling. He wrapped Barnaby in his arms, elated to feel Barnaby hug him back.
“Alright, old man, can we please go home now? I think we have a lot to talk about.”
“Or we could not talk,” Kotetsu said, waggling his eyebrows playfully.
“Why would we not talk?” Barnaby asked, his own brows furrowing. Then they shot up, disappearing into his bangs as his face once again turned beet red. “That’s–you’re ridiculous. I’m leaving.” He pushed past Kotetsu and stormed out the door, leaving a laughing Kotetsu to scramble after him.
“Come on, Bunny, don’t be like that! I was kidding! Kidding!”
Kotetsu followed Barnaby to the elevators, feeling incredibly light despite the day’s incident. He’d finally made his feelings known, and better yet, almost unbelievably, they were reciprocated. And he had to admit, Barnaby was right about his power; it was time to be smarter, more careful. But there was time to think about it later. For now he was happy to follow his partner home, ready to navigate this new step in their relationship.