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Bunny is late.
They have breakfast plans and Bunny is late.
Bunny is never late.
Kotetsu stares into the depths of his empty coffee cup, wondering if he’s supposed to be seeing something in the dregs left behind. Or is that tea? Bunny would know.
Kotetsu frowns, looking up at the empty chair across from him.
Bunny is never late to things he wants to go to, he amends. Bunny likes to act like he’s real mature, but Kotetsu knows just how petty his partner can be. If Bunny doesn’t want to be somewhere, he can make all sorts of believable excuses for why he’s late.
He smiles to himself, thinking of the time Bunny had somehow managed to convince Lloyds that being late for their meeting because he had to wash his hair was a perfectly reasonable excuse.
The smile drops off his face a moment later when it occurs to him, does Bunny not want to have breakfast together?
The self doubt doesn’t last long, as Kotetsu physically shakes his head to rid himself of the thought. Nah. If Bunny didn’t want to have breakfast, he wouldn’t have agreed to it.
But then, why is he late?
Surely if it was an emergency, he would know about it, right? Antonio would have called him, or Fire Emblem. He checks his phone, despite knowing he has no new notifications, to see if he somehow missed a call from Bunny or one of the other heroes.
Is it Bunny’s bad knee bothering him? He’s gotten better about asking for help - but Kotetsu wouldn’t put it past him to try to deal with it all on his own and somehow make it worse. For a smart Bunny, he can be awfully dumb sometimes.
When fifteen minutes has come and gone and there’s still no sign of Bunny - and no response to the many messages he’s sent (except one from Fire Emblem, reassuring him that, “Of course he doesn’t hate you, honey, although he could be mad at you...") - Kotetsu finally decides if Bunny isn’t going to come to breakfast, Kotetsu will bring breakfast to him.
—
Of all the unlikely things Kotetsu expected to find at Bunny’s apartment - firetrucks, a twenty car pile up, a flash flood, a rampaging kaijuu - Blue Rose was not one of them. He sits in his car, parked in the extra space Bunny insists he isn’t renting specifically for Kotetsu, and watches her from a safe distance. She looks annoyed, agitated, maybe? But then again, she looks like that an awful lot, so this could be nothing. Did Bunny stand her up as well? No, that doesn’t make sense - why would Bunny make plans with both of them at the same time? (Kotetsu has seen Bunny’s calendar, it’s organized enough to make even the most strict librarian weep. It’s even color coded.)
Eventually, sitting in his car watching a young woman pace starts to feel creepy - even if he knows the young woman - and his worry for Bunny starts to spike again. Did something happen to Bunny and Blue Rose is here to help instead? What could possibly have happened that he would call Rose and not Kotetsu?
Cradling the paper bakery bag in one arm, Kotetsu carefully opens his car door and steps out. He needs to approach this calmly and quietly or- Rose turns to face him right as his hand slips and he slams his car door shut. He winces. Whoops.
Her expression does something Kotetsu doesn’t quite understand before settling on a familiar scowl. She doesn’t come closer, just stands where she is outside of the main apartment door, tapping her foot impatiently.
“Uh, Rose, good morning?”
She makes a noise not unlike a cat hissing. “Don’t call me that when I’m not in uniform!”
Oh. Right. It’s probably not an emergency if she’s in her civilian clothes, right? Right.
Before he can say anything else or apologize or make any more sense of the situation, she’s continuing, “You have a key, right? I need to get upstairs.”
Her expression has somehow darkened and Kotetsu swears the air around them feels colder, that goose bumps are rising on his skin.
“I, uh-” Is he allowed to let her in? He does have a key - technically it’s for emergencies, which this could still be! - but it’s not like he’s in the habit of bringing people up to Bunny’s apartment. Well, except for Kaede when they have dinner together but-
“Don’t just stand there,” She snaps, gesturing behind herself at the closed front door. “I know he’s up there and if you know what’s good for you, you’ll let me up, too!”
“Why do you need to see Bunny so badly?” He finally manages to get out. He tries to glance at his watch, realizes he’s still holding the bakery bag with that arm, and instead averts his gaze to look up at the very plain exterior of Bunny’s building.
Without looking, he can tell Rose is rolling her eyes. Huh, that’s fun - he can usually only tell when Bunny does that!
“Not Barnaby, you ridiculous old man, I’m looking for Ryan.”
—
It’s not unheard of for Ryan to be in Bunny’s apartment, Kotetsu muses during what must be the longest elevator ride of his life (excluding the time with the bomb, maybe), but it’s really not the norm. Bunny is pretty private, despite his many public appearances - but Rose seems really sure that he’s up there, so.
“How do you know he’s here, anyway?” He asks, somewhere between floors one and a million.
Rose doesn’t look away from where she’s burning a hole in the numbered display above the door. She wiggles her phone vaguely in Kotetsu’s direction. “He left his location on.”
Kotetsu says nothing and for a long, awkward moment, silence reigns.
Then Rose suddenly whips around to look at him, fixing him with the full force of her glare. (She's nearly as small as Kaede but that doesn't make her any less intimidating!)
“He's an idiot, you know?” Kotetsu doesn't know, but Rose continues without waiting for an answer. “He just shows up and he tells me that and then he runs away! He literally ran away from me! Can you believe that? The audacity!”
She trails off with a grumble, something akin to a growl, and this time it looks like she's waiting for him to say something.
“Um, how dare he?” He tries, hoping it's the right thing to say. It's not like he's never seen Rose and Ryan fight before - but he's not usually in the middle of it.
“How dare he!” She's all but shrieking now, and Kotetsu is suddenly grateful that the elevator is empty. “He's such a big stupid jerk and I'm going to kill him and then make him explain to me what his problem is!”
Kotetsu nods, even as his brow furrows. He knows Rose has a temper, but he doesn't think he's ever seen her this mad before. Ryan is really in for it - assuming he's actually here and didn't just leave his phone with Bunny for some reason.
–
Rose is still muttering to herself as they finally step off the elevator and approach Bunny's door. Before Kotetsu can offer up his key, she's stomping up to Bunny's apartment and ringing the doorbell.
Not even a minute passes before she's ringing it again - aggressively enough that Kotetsu winces. He hopes Bunny wasn't sleeping.
“Uh, maybe we should-”
“Hush!”
Kotetsu shuts his mouth. Sorry, Bunny, she's all yours.
It feels like another eternity passes before he hears shuffling steps (and clinking bottles?) and Bunny is finally opening the door.
Oh.
Bunny was definitely sleeping.
His hair is a mess, curls sticking out at odd angles, and there's a red crease on his face from his pillow. He's also wearing only a robe and his underwear and Kotetsu is stuck somewhere between thinking he looks awful cute - barefoot and squinting at them - and being inappropriately turned on.
Bunny's eyes catch his, before settling on Rose. She stares back, unblinking.
“I found her outside.” Kotetsu offers, pointing to her with his free hand. He decides not to mention that she's spent most of their time together either ignoring him or shouting.
“Where is he?” Rose demands, crossing her arms over her chest.
Kotetsu starts to mouth, “Ryan”, in case Bunny doesn't get it, but Bunny's not looking at him. He's already tugging his robe tighter around himself and stepping aside to let Rose into the apartment.
“He's-”
He's naked.
Ryan is naked.
He's in Bunny's apartment and he's naked and really it's not so much that he's naked but that he's naked in Bunny's apartment that's the problem.
Or, not a problem?
Definitely not a problem. Because maybe Kotetsu and Bunny are sleeping together and going on breakfast dates but they're never said anything about it so what if Ryan wants to walk around in Bunny’s apartment, naked except for a bedsheet?
Kotetsu blinks repeatedly, barely registering as Bunny turns around to look at Ryan.
No one says anything. Kotetsu briefly considers it, opens his mouth, not even sure what words are going to come out, but then Ryan says- “Princess.”
Kotetsu winces. Oh, he sounds rough. Worse than Kotetsu feels, probably. Which maybe isn't saying much because Kotetsu isn't really sure what he feels.
“Why,” Bunny's using the tone that means he's really mad but trying not to yell - Kotetsu is really familiar with that one - “are you naked?”
Ryan shifts, pulling the sheet up and all Kotetsu can think is, did Bunny wash his sheets since the last time Kotetsu slept over? Is Ryan's naked body touching the same sheets Kotetsu's naked body has touched?
"It's not my fault! You're a Juniorsicle, your place is a tropical greenhouse, and I run hot when I sleep!”
Oh.
That makes sense, actually. Bunny is freezing and his plants like it better when it's warm so-
"Sleep. You slept with Barnaby.”
Kotetsu was reasonably sure that Rose didn't actually want to kill Ryan, but he's starting to doubt that.
“Yeah! I mean, no! No!" Ryan raises a hand, waving it defensively in front of him. Kotetsu wonders what the chances of Rose hitting him are. "I mean, I just—"
The sheet starts slipping and Kotetsu is once again hit with the inane thought that he also knows what Bunny's sheets feel like against his naked skin.
"With Barnaby, of all people?"
Kotetsu's brow furrows as he shifts on his feet, moving just slightly away from her and the ice slowly taking over the doorframe.
What's wrong with sleeping with Bunny?
Well, he knows what's wrong with Ryan sleeping with Bunny, but-
He hears Bunny take a deep breath, drawing Kotetsu's eyes up from the ice crystals around Rose's feet.
"He means only in the literal sense," Bunny explains, in that endlessly patient way he has even when he’s steps away from a migraine, “He was upset, he drank, he came over here, and then he drank some more with me until we fell asleep. Nothing happened.”
Bunny's looking at him now, too, something very soft and very serious in his gaze and, oh.
Oh, that's good.
They just slept together. They didn't sleep together.
That's good.
Kotetsu knows he doesn't really have any claim on Bunny, but it's still nice to know that Bunny didn't have sex with Ryan. Kotetsu feels his own expression softening helplessly, a tiny, fond smile curling his lips.
That's good.
Rose must think so, too, because it's a little less freezing in here now.
“Is that true?”
“Of course! Come on, Princess, you know I wouldn't.”
Irrationally, Kotetsu is still a little offended on Bunny's behalf. Bunny is beautiful! Why wouldn't Ryan want to sleep with him?
"You told me what you told me and then you instantly ran away," Rose answers, sounding an awful lot like she’s pouting now. Huh. "Forgive me if I'm not too sure what you would or would not do right now."
“Wait, you ran away without an answer?” Kotetsu barely registers Bunny’s question, curiosity making him brave as he leans into the doorframe to peer at Rose. “Wait, what did he tell you?”
Rose doesn’t say anything, just stares down Ryan in a way that makes him fidget. Kotetsu kind of wants to fidget, too, and he’s not even on the receiving end of her ire. He wonders if he could get away with asking again-
“I’m sorry,” Ryan finally says, looking and sounding a lot like a kicked puppy. Impressive from someone who manages to make Bunny look short. “I knew I’d messed up, and I couldn’t take it back, so I kind of… panicked.”
“You messed up by running.” Rose steps inside, and Kotetsu darts in behind her. This is maybe not the safest place to be, but he doesn’t want to miss this - curiosity killed the cat, or whatever. As Bunny reaches behind him to close the door, Kotetsu can’t help the way he leans a little toward his partner. “I had just received some extremely important information, and I needed to talk it over with my partner, and instead you just left me.”
Ryan’s not dying, right?
“But… It wasn’t information that you wanted!” He somehow looks even sadder now. Are his eyes wet? “I mean, you told me very clearly, that you would never…”
“That I would never what?” Rose prompts, and it sort of feels like she’s poking at a wound but also Kotetsu really still wants to know what they’re talking about.
“That you would never fall in love with me!” This time, Kotetsu winces in time with Ryan. Oh.
He must also make some sort of noise, because Bunny’s sharp elbow digs into his ribs. Kotetsu’s smart enough to keep his complaint to himself.
“That is not what I said at all!”
“Yes, it is!”
“What I said,” Rose says, pointing a finger at Ryan like she’s going to start actually poking him, “was that you’re the last hero I would ever fall for!”
Kotetsu almost makes another sound, but he bites it back at the last second. Oof. He glances at Bunny, can’t help the way his eyes are drawn to him, but Bunny isn’t looking.
“That is exactly the same thing!”
Kotetsu thinks it is, too, but he’s not about to say that, especially when Rose is jutting out her chin stubbornly like that. “No, it is not.”
Kotetsu straightens out his shoulders, adjusts his bakery bag, and steps up to stand next to Ryan and Rose. Okay, he’s got this! They clearly need a mediator, and he’s the best one here for the job!
“Whoa, whoa, kids, calm down.” He says, adopting the voice he uses when he’s trying to convince Kaede that yes, his favourite TV show is definitely still cool. Rose slowly turns her head to face him, glare firmly in place, and Kotetsu feels himself deflate. Sorry, bakery bag, you might become a casualty here. “Er… Maybe if you try explaining it all to me and Bunny, it could help clear things up?”
“You’re just asking that because you’re curious,” Bunny scolds him. “And meddlesome. As usual.”
Kotetsu turns fully to face Bunny, lower lip jutting out in a pout. “No, come on, Bunny! I’m genuinely trying to help!”
And okay, maybe he’s still a little curious, but he really does want to help!
Bunny crosses his arms over his chest and Kotetsu knows he’s not winning this one. “Exactly.”
“No, you know what? It’s fine.” While Rose remains puffed up, shoulders back and head held high, Ryan curls in on himself, holding the bedsheet tightly. “I told Princess that I like her, even though I know that she will never like me back, and then I ran away. I’m an idiot and a bad partner and also a coward. End of story.”
Kotetsu looks away. Oh. Well, that’s one step further than he’s ever made it with Bunny. Even though they’ve been sleeping together, part of the “not talking about it” thing they’ve got going on also includes “not sharing their feelings”.
Rose huffs loudly enough to pull Kotetsu from his thoughts. “Two out of three.”
Huh?
“You are an idiot,” she says, sounding almost fond? “And you did act like a coward. But you are not a bad partner, so you’re going to make it up to me.” She raises her hand, counting on her fingers as she goes on, "My favorite sushi restaurant is Pochama, in North Gold. You'll need to make a reservation before lunch time, or there won't be any free tables left by this evening. You will pick me up at seven and then have me home by ten-thirty, because I have class in the morning. And," she finishes, brandishing her last finger at Ryan like a well-manicured dagger, "you will not try to kiss me on our first date."
Kotetsu looks between her and Ryan, feeling something like pride at how soundly she’s handling this. While he mostly hopes that Kaede never has to deal with this kind of misunderstanding, he also hopes that if she does, she’ll handle it as soundly as Rose is right now. (Another part of him refuses to acknowledge that Kaede is ever going to date, but that’s a problem for the future.)
Ryan’s face goes through an entire journey of emotion before settling on a baffled sort of smile, “Date?”
“Don’t make me repeat it. You got all that?” Ryan nods and Rose lets her finger drop. “Good. Let’s go now, I’m taking you home.”
Kotetsu suddenly wishes he was standing further away, when Ryan rushes toward Rose and the temperature drops like fifteen degrees. Ryan is worse off, probably, considering he’s still naked but-
“Not like this!” Rose snaps, looking annoyed and embarrassed in a way that sort of reminds Kotetsu of a younger Bunny. Huh. “Go put some clothes on!”
Ryan scurries away, the sheet trailing behind him like a sort of cape, and Kotetsu briefly wonders if he should consider a cape in his uniform, before abruptly switching tracks and leaning in close to Rose.
“Sooo.” He starts to say, immediately cut off by both Rose and Bunny in eerie unison, “Don’t.”
Still, he’s grinning when he shifts out of her space again, closer to Bunny. He’s pretty proud of her! She handled herself well, and now that she’s taking Ryan on a date, there’s maybe a sort of weight off of Kotetsu’s shoulders.
Ryan saunters back into the room, looking very smug for someone who’s shirt is on inside out.
“I was thinking,” he says, puffing up in a way that makes Kotetsu worry the likelihood of him getting punched is going up again. “What if you try to kiss me on our first date? Should I let you?”
Kotetsu tries to recall his first date with Bunny - does the dinner they went on for Hero TV count? Probably not, right? Then what does count? How is he supposed to know if Bunny tried to kiss him on their first date if he can’t even remember what they’re first date was?
“Behave, or it will be your last, too.”
Maybe Kotetsu had too much faith in Ryan. Or, maybe not, considering the way Rose takes his hand as she leads the way out of Bunny’s apartment. They’ll be okay. Probably.
Kotetsu feels himself relax as the door closes and he’s finally alone with Bunny. Their breakfast date may not have gone as planned, but Kotetsu has sweets! They can still make the most of their morning.
He grins as Bunny turns toward him, unable to help the way his gaze softens as he takes in his partner. Bunny approaches him slowly, intentionally, stopping when they’re almost chest to chest, the bakery bag a warm, crinkly barrier between them.
“So,” Kotetsu starts, almost losing his train of thought when Bunny looks up at him. “Think he’ll make it through the day in one unfrozen piece?”
“Possibly.” Bunny shrugs, and he looks like he’s trying not to laugh, like that’s a joke and he thinks they’ll probably be fine but-
“He’s not going to break her heart, is he? Because if he does-”
“If he does,” Bunny answers so quickly that Kotetsu has to wonder if he’s thought about this before. “We’re going to start by putting Fire Emblem’s hair dye into his shampoo, and then we’ll let them take it from there.”
Kotetsu wrinkles his nose, thinking about sicking Fire on somebody and whether or not that counts as cruel and unusual punishment. “Yikes.”
He hears Bunny start to walk away, moving further into the apartment, but his gaze has slid to the floor and he doesn’t look up. Should he say something about earlier? Should he ask the question he thinks they’ve both been avoiding? What’s the protocol for asking your ex buddy hero, current friend and lover, sort of sometimes co-parent of your child if you’re dating or not?
Bunny’s footsteps come to a stop, and Kotetsu finally drags his eyes up. He finds Bunny watching him, gaze soft and inquisitive.
“Hey, Bunny,” He starts to say, already second guessing himself but not willing to stop now, “Thanks for, uh, setting things straight earlier, I guess. Although…”
He winces, looking away again, rubbing the back of his neck and pushing his hat down over his forehead - he hopes it isn’t obvious that he’s hiding. He shouldn’t give Bunny an out, he doesn’t want to give Bunny an out, but he can’t stop himself from adding- “I mean, even if something had, y’know, happened, it’s not like… Well, we’ve never really talked about… you know…”
He needs to stop talking, he needs to stop talking now before he says the wrong thing and embarrasses himself, or worse, Bunny. He can’t say the rest out loud - because what if he’s wrong about this whole thing after all, and Bunny doesn’t feel the same way he does? What if Bunny hasn’t said anything, not because he’s afraid to ruin it like Kotetsu is, but because he’s happy with things the way they are?
He feels the words bubbling up - mindless chatter and useless apologies on the tip of his tongue - when Bunny once again comes to his rescue.
“It really should be a crime to be as dense as you are,” Kotetsu’s silly, old heart skips a beat. His eyes dart from Bunny’s eyes, to his chest as his robe flutters open with the movement of his arms, then back to his eyes again just in time for Bunny to turn around. “Come on. I want breakfast in bed. Pastries strictly optional.”
Kotetsu doesn’t mean to drop the bakery bag, and he says a silent apology to it as he abandons it on the floor to run after Bunny, following his partner to the bedroom.