Archive of Our Own

“It’s kind of cute, don’t you think?”

It wasn’t the first time that Ryan had interrupted whatever it was they should have been doing by asking a random question, and it probably wouldn’t be the last. But just because Karina had grown used to it didn’t mean she couldn’t still be annoyed.

“I’m not looking at another picture of your lizard wearing a Santa hat,” she retorted with a sigh, pointedly turning a page of her magazine without looking up.

“Ok, rude. You wish you were as festive and well dressed as Molly – but no. Not what I meant.” Ryan was sitting across from her, an arm braced against the back of his seat as he continuously craned his neck over his shoulder, upper body turning almost completely around. “I meant Junior.”

“What about him?”

“You haven’t noticed? He always takes off so quickly. Didn’t even stop to say goodbye.”

“Well . . . yeah. He’s off duty,” blinking, Karina finally looked up from her magazine, an annoyed furrow creasing her brow. “Are you offended that he doesn’t want to stay late just for the pleasure of your company or something?”

Letting his head fall back, Ryan let out a sigh, then turned back around in his chair. Barnaby was already gone by that point, having made a beeline for the elevator with his bag slung over his arm and legs moving as quickly as possible with the slight limp he always had by this point in the day. “That’s what I’m saying, Princess. He usually does stay late. Finishing paperwork, signing autographs, you know.”

Reaching for the energy drink he’d been working his way through for the past half hour, he jerked it towards her while poking a finger in her direction. “Every day except today. This time, every week, he’s out of here right on time. Like clockwork. Not even a minute late. Not once.”

“Huh . . .” Admittedly, it did hold Karina’s interest a little bit more when he put it that way. For all of two seconds. She frowned for another moment, then shrugged and looked back down at his magazine. “He must have somewhere to be.”

“Exactly!” Emphatically, Ryan leaned forward. “Just where exactly does he have to go that’s so important? Or maybe it’s not the ‘where’ that matters, but the ‘who.’ What do you think? I bet he’s got a little kitty cat waiting for him.”

Despite herself, one of Karina’s eyebrows twitched ever so slightly. “What makes you say that? You don’t know he’s meeting Kotetsu. It could be anyone.”

“Who else would he be that excited to see? You know he’s missed him since he retired,” Ryan insisted nonetheless. Of course, Barnaby hadn’t been the only one who’d missed him – a fact Ryan knew very well, and which caused him to settle down a little bit, leaning back in his chair. “It would make sense, that’s all I’m saying. You don’t think it’s strange?”

“What’s strange is how invested you seem to be.” Turning another page, Karina huffed a little, although she soon found herself glancing towards the elevator where Barnaby had departed. Ryan did have a point. . . not that she cared about what either Barnaby or Kotetsu would be up to in their off time.

“Betcha ten bucks.”

“Ryan –”

Strong yet soft fingers, more dexterous than they initially appeared, stroked along pale skin. Feeling along calf muscles or pressing firmly up a thigh, they did their work well. Applying just the right amount of pressure, stretching, pushing, pulling –

“There – how’s that feel?”

“Mmnnn –” The weird groaning sound was the only way Barnaby managed to reply at first, though the embarrassment it caused had him biting a lip before quickly attempting to rectify. “It’s fine. I’m not at my limit just yet.”

Nodding in understanding, Kotetsu shifted his grip on the leg on the leg balanced on his shoulder, one hand holding onto the ankle as the other shifted further down the calf. Brow furrowed in concentration, he applied a bit more pressure, and earned another muffled groan in response.

Wincing at himself, Barnaby moved hand to cover his mouth while squeezing his eyes tightly shut, head pressed back against the floor. He was shaking, and his face was hot, and he knew that if he didn’t manage to pull it together soon then Kotetsu would get worried he was in pain.

Damn it . . .

It was just physical therapy.

It had scarcely been over a month now since they’d started, a standing appointment made at the same time every week. Kotetsu had been nervous to offer at first, but had apparently been studying for quite some time, and as his work only seemed to cause Barnaby’s leg to weaken, he’d been eager to help however he could.

It would have been impossible to argue with an offer like that, so Barnaby had accepted. But it wasn’t exactly for the benefit of his leg. At least, not that alone.

But there were times like this that he almost started to regret it. Not because Kotetsu was doing a bad job – God knew he really wasn’t – but because he was doing it too well. His hands were warm, every motion so gentle and considerate – way more so than anyone would have expected giving his reputation for clumsiness and breaking things – that Barnaby had quickly found himself disarmed. Every week, it seemed to get worse, to the point that he debated every single time whether he should just call and cancel.

Yet, every single week, he’d found himself rushing over to Kotetsu’s home, face warm and flushed despite the chill of the wind outdoors.

“You sure you’re ok, Bunny? You’re kinda changing colors.” Although a tiny smile creased his lips, Kotetsu’s brow was furrowed in concern, and remained as much as he let up a little bit of the pressure that had been stretching Barnaby’s leg to the side.

“I’m fine. Keep going,” Barnaby snapped back, only to glance up in confusion when Kotetsu in fact did the opposite, gently setting his leg back down on the yoga mat beneath it.

“That was the last rep, actually. Does it still hurt?” If anything, Kotetsu looked even more worried. Damn it – that wasn’t what he wanted. Not at all. And were they really already finished? That quickly?

Mouth open behind the hand that still covered it, he struggled how to respond. Forming words was easier said than done when he really didn’t know whether he wanted Kotetsu to stop or continue – having him that close, touching him like that, was almost overwhelming, and it was clear he had no idea whatsoever the extent to which he was flustering him. At the same time, Barnaby very much also didn’t want him to stop.

“Bunny?”

Without answering verbally, Barnaby sat upright, crossing his legs beneath him and avoiding meeting Kotetsu’s eyes. His damn eyes. . . big and warm and brown like some kind of cute, fluffy animal. . .

“. . .I’m fine,” he finally managed to breathe out, allowing his hand to fall limply into his lap. His voice was cordial; maybe overly so, considering it wasn’t a tone he tended to take very often with Kotetsu at all. “It feels much better now. Thank you for helping.”

Almost immediately, Kotetsu’s smile widened. If any doubt remained, it wasn’t visible on his face, and he appeared chipper as he tucked his own legs beneath him and began to enthusiastically talk with his hands. “Oh, hey, it was nothing! Anything to help my old partner. And, y’know, there were a few new techniques there I only just learned, so I was eager to try them out. I know it’s your lower leg that acts up, but the whole thing really does play a role, y’know? Like did you know there’s a muscle in here that –”

Whatever else he may have said faded into white noise in the back of Barnaby’s mind, and he found the blood rushing to his face again as Kotetsu grabbed his hand and brought it to his own thigh. His fingers went still, almost afraid to move, but he could still perfectly feel the outline of the muscles beneath his hand. Even if Kotetsu wasn’t quite as fit as he’d been in active hero duty, those muscles were still very nice. . .

Suddenly, he jerked his hand back as if it had been burned, finding it just a little hard to breathe. What the hell was wrong with him? Surely he wasn’t that pent up! It was just therapy. They were both fully clothed, even if the gym shorts allowed a bit more skin to skin contact than normal . . .

“Whoa. One more time – you ok, man?” Kotetsu was blinking, completely dense and stupid and if he said or did anything else Barnaby was going to punch him in the face. “You sick or somethin’? Here, let me –”

As Kotetsu leaned closer, prepared to feel his forehead, Barnaby whacked at his hand. Although he’d intended to slap it away, for some reason he instead wound up holding tightly to the wrist, entirely disinclined to let go.

“Is this really the only way I can get you to touch me anymore?!”

The words had forced themselves from his lips before he was even aware that they were forming, both angrier and louder than he’d intended. For a moment, he remained open-mouthed and wide-eyed, watching with horror as Kotetsu’s smile faded away and his expression melted into shock. 

“No – that’s. I didn’t mean it like that. I’m sorry,” Barnaby insisted a moment later, hands clenching into fists in his lap as his gaze fell down and to the side. “It’s . . .it helps. It really does. I like it, and I’m grateful, and you’ve never hurt me doing it. Not once. Still, it . . .”

Swallowing hard, he closed his eyes. “. . .It’s torture, and it’s like you never seem to notice. How being that close, touching me like that, would affect me. And it’s like you don’t even care. Like you don’t even feel anything anymore.”

Things between them had been rocky over the years. For a blissfully short time, whatever their strange little relationship had been had flourished. Then, when they’d been split up as partners for the first time, it had been dealt a heavy blow. One which recovered in some ways following their teaming back up, even better than before, but in other ways had never quite managed to be the same. They’d never named it, never discussed things in detail, and the same was true for whenever it had ended.

When Kotetsu retired, everything just stopped. It seemed they only saw one another on the off chance that Barnaby was able to assist with his work, even if they occasionally spoke of half-formed plans to one day meet up for something else. Somehow, that was more painful than if it had ended in a fight.

“. . .I’m sorry. Listen, Barnaby, I . . .” Kotetsu’s voice was quiet, strangely serious, and one distinct thing about the statement had Barnaby looking up in alarm.

“Don’t. Don’t . . . put distance between us I don’t want to be there,” he muttered, looking away again. No – no, this was stupid. Why the hell had he brought it up to begin with? If only he’d kept his damn mouth shut. “. . .Nevermind. I shouldn’t have said anything. Let’s . . . just . . . “

He faltered for a moment, then scrambled to get his legs beneath him. Swaying only a little, he pushed himself to his feet and turned to leave. “. . .Thanks for the session.”

Before he could take so much as a single step, however, one of those soft, warm hands had latched gently onto one of his own. Still braced on his knees on the ground, Kotetsu had lurched forward to grab it, although it remained unclear what exactly he was going to do with it now that he had.

“I, uh – I didn’t mean to – what? Don’t tell me you don’t think I like you anymore?” his voice was incredulous, and he slowly shook his head, swallowing hard for a moment. “I said I’d always be on your side, and I meant that. You’re still my partner. You’re always gonna be.”

“Then why . . .?” Without looking back, Barnaby murmured the question, closing his eyes as he felt them begin to sting. One hand pushed his glasses up his nose as he pressed his fingers to the inside corners, as if he could physically hold the tears at bay. “. . .It’s like I can only see you if I have an appointment. Only touch you if it’s because you’re trying to fix my leg.”

Kotetsu didn’t say anything at first, clearly reeling a little. When he did, it was slow, a bit of that adorably dumb confusion creeping back in. “You’re so busy with work and everything, I . . .felt bad trying to schedule anything. Never been very good at that to begin with,” he confessed with a lopsided shrug. “Felt bad enough that you were always spending your free time helping me with my work when you really didn’t have to. So . . .”

Scratching the back of his head, he allowed Barnaby’s hand to slip from his fingers and sat back on his heels. “Hell. Maybe this is all an excuse to see you, now that I think about it. I mean, I really did want to help with your leg, but . . .”

It was then that something clicked in Barnaby’s mind. They’d always been partners in work, so maybe they didn’t know how to be anything else. Was . . .was all of this, Kotetsu learning physical therapy, offering to help him, keeping up with these appointments on time every week for once in his life . . .

Was that . . . did he still love him? Was the way he showed it just different than expected?

And his own going out of the way to help Kotetsu with work. Finding any excuse to see him, only able to follow through with doing so as long as it was in some way transactional. Suddenly, it all made sense.

“. . . I do appreciate your help. But you don’t need an appointment to see me. Everyone else in my life does – sponsors, interviews, whatever, they all have to get penciled in. But –” Turning around, Barnaby raked a hand through his bangs, glancing towards Kotetsu before looking almost shyly back to the ground.

“I don’t . . .want to be just that kind of partner anymore.”

Again, Kotetsu looked surprised, and far more serious than Barnaby would have liked. But the next moment, he was letting out a heavy breath, shoulders slumping and a gentle smile twisting his lips.

“Well . . . whatta ya know . . . I didn’t even realize I was worried about that,” he announced, voice bright and relieved. “Jeez. I’m sorry, Bunny.”

Spreading out his hands, palm forward, he asked “any way I can make it up to you?”

Just like that, before Barnaby even realized he was moving, he’d all but thrown himself into his arms and lap. Their noses bumped together hard as he fought his way to his lips, swallowing a muffled warning to be careful of his leg. Lips and teeth met messily at first, hard and a little bit painful, but very quickly turned softer, the kiss turning slow and deep. When he finally pulled away, both hands holding firmly to either side of Kotetsu’s face to hold his head in place, Barnaby was panting, and found those adorable brown eyes dazed as he blinked his own open and looked down to meet them.

“. . . That’s a start,” he replied primly, then managed a tiny, happy smile.

He was met with a bright, breathless grin. “A start, huh? So I’ve still got a ways to go? ‘Cause, y’know, if you’re interested, I could always, uh . . .show you how to do some of the PT moves I’ve learned. Let you do it on me, I mean.”

Both his voice and grin were incredibly cheeky, and he flashed a wink that immediately had Barnaby’s face growing hot once more. This time, he didn’t make any effort to restrain himself.

Before Kotetsu had time to prepare himself, he’d been all but tackled backwards onto the floor.