Sleep Induced [4/9]
Title: Sleep Induced
Fandom: Tiger&Bunny
Pairings: Kotetsu/Barnaby
Summary: Kotetsu and Barnaby sleep in the same bed. Everything's fine until one mishap causes them to crash and burn.
When the clock rang eight o’clock, the other heroes came in one after the other. Sky High arrived first, brightening up instantly as he saw the other two males. As he sauntered toward them, happily greeting them with a "Good Morning! And again, Good Morning!", Blue Rose entered the gym, nodded and went to change. Dragon Kid did the same, Origami Cyclone in tow. He had his sportswear on already and was timidly coming up to them, a shy nod in hello. Keith lost no time in dropping an arm around his shoulders, bringing him close to his side. Unmindful of Ivan’s embarrassment, he continued his loud chat with Kotetsu (and Barnaby, when he decided the old man had said something stupid enough to deserve a reply). Rock Bison passed them hurriedly, looking harrassed as, unsurprisingly, Fire Emblem followed, eagerly flirting with the flustered latino. Noticing the four still in the room, he blew a kiss and a wink in their general direction before trailing after Antonio in the changing room. Nothing unusual, then.
Keith started chatting up Ivan, in hopes of making him join the conversation. He kept talking, encouraged by the shy man nodding, meeting his eyes from time to time and even replying once or twice.
However, when Keith glanced back at Apollon Media’s heroes, he stopped mid-sentence, struck by what he saw.
Barnaby was leaning on the metal railing while Kotetsu had his right hand wrapped around the top bar, near his resting elbow. Kotetsu’s upper body was turned towards Bunny, his right leg crossing the other, only the tip of his foot touching the floor. He used his free arm to gesticulate, Barnaby calmly reclining over the railing when it got a bit too close to hitting him in the face. But what had Sky High’s and Origami Cyclone’s jaws dropping was Kotetsu’s expression morphing from angry to mischievous as he closed most - if not all - of the distance between them. He lifted his hand, slowly tugged a blond curl, the strand caught in between his middle and forefinger and watched it spring back. Barnaby lifted an eyebrow, unimpressed by the show. A wicked grin twisting Kotetsu’s lips, eyes shining in amusement, he fetched another lock - on the right side this time - and twirled it around his finger. Teasingly, he told something to his partner that made him jerk his head in the opposite direction, wrenching his hair back. Shock couldn’t begin to describe the level of astonishment the two observing males felt at what came next. Barnaby scowled, and blushed. He tried to hide rosy cheeks behind blond tresses, ducking his head a bit, before whirling it about and gave a biting retort that only managed to escalate Kotetsu’s light snickering to full-blown laughter.
Still speechless at the decidedly strange display of - affection? - camaraderie, they started when Karina stopped next to the unspoken leader, an eyebrow raised in wonder.
"If I didn’t know you two, I’d think you’ve been sleeping together with how comfortable you are around each other," she declared, entertainment clearly evident in her tone.
Calming down a bit, Kotetsu distanced himself from a still-scowling Bunny but kept his hand on the railing. Raising his other one, he lightly scratched the back of his neck.
"Haha, well, in fact, we have been for the last five months."
Suddenly aware of the silence following his answer, the older male looked up to see the shocked - and for some, disturbed - faces of his fellow heroes, all of them now in hearing distance. He looked quizzically at all of them, not understanding what was going on.
Karina, in total shock, only managed to mutter in repeat and not necessarily in that order ‘Barnaby… sleeping…f-five months…t-together’. Ivan and Keith hadn’t moved from their shell-shocked stillness, making very good statue impressions. Dragon Kid had scrunched her nose before announcing, clearly weirded out by the situation,
"That’s freaky."
Nathan wore a satisfied expression and a knowing look in his eyes as he proudly interjected, "There’s a thin line between hate and love!"
Antonio had slapped his hand on his forehead, mumbling something along the lines of "I knew he’d snap one day…"
‘Freaky’…? ‘Love’…?
What the hell were they talking about?
"Huh?" Kotetsu, complety lost, replied, blinking in uncomprehension. He looked back at Barnaby who looked just as puzzled as he was. They locked eyes and suddenly, it clicked.
"Oh. No no no no! It’s not what you’re thinking, really, it’s just by convenience-" Kotetsu jumped up, flailing in his attempt to explain the situation. Karina, finally aware again went back to nervous twitching, stuttering ‘c-convenience…?’.
"You’re making it worse," Barnaby smoothly added, stating the obvious.
"Shut up, Bunny," Kotetsu snapped at his partner, "We’re not sleeping together like that, just in the same bed. Guys, belive me-" He pleaded, a bit desperate at this point.
"Uh, you know, Kotetsu, it’s not my business but as a good friend I hope you, um, know what you’re getting into," Antonio winced at his clumsy choice of words. Said friend slumped his shoulders in disbelief, eyes and mouth popping open as he crooked an eyebrow and reiterated his clever reply.
"Huh?"
Discomfort quickly permeated the air as no one dared to say a word. A few minutes passed. Nathan, deciding he had enough fun for the day, left, wishing the newly announced couple good luck. Not long after that, every hero quit the gym, one at a time. Antonio patted Kotetsu on the shoulder in sympathy whereas Pao-Lin stuck her tongue out at him, tugging a still mumbling Karina along. Sky High, composing himself, encouragingly smiled, obnoxiously cheering them on with a nervous "Congratulations! And again, Congratulations!" and made his way out, leading Ivan.
The two men now alone in the gym, Kotetsu slowly turned his head to face his partner and muttered, his expression unchanging,
"What do we do now?"
Fandom: Tiger&Bunny
Pairings: Kotetsu/Barnaby
Summary: Kotetsu and Barnaby sleep in the same bed. Everything's fine until one mishap causes them to crash and burn.
When the clock rang eight o’clock, the other heroes came in one after the other. Sky High arrived first, brightening up instantly as he saw the other two males. As he sauntered toward them, happily greeting them with a "Good Morning! And again, Good Morning!", Blue Rose entered the gym, nodded and went to change. Dragon Kid did the same, Origami Cyclone in tow. He had his sportswear on already and was timidly coming up to them, a shy nod in hello. Keith lost no time in dropping an arm around his shoulders, bringing him close to his side. Unmindful of Ivan’s embarrassment, he continued his loud chat with Kotetsu (and Barnaby, when he decided the old man had said something stupid enough to deserve a reply). Rock Bison passed them hurriedly, looking harrassed as, unsurprisingly, Fire Emblem followed, eagerly flirting with the flustered latino. Noticing the four still in the room, he blew a kiss and a wink in their general direction before trailing after Antonio in the changing room. Nothing unusual, then.
Keith started chatting up Ivan, in hopes of making him join the conversation. He kept talking, encouraged by the shy man nodding, meeting his eyes from time to time and even replying once or twice.
However, when Keith glanced back at Apollon Media’s heroes, he stopped mid-sentence, struck by what he saw.
Barnaby was leaning on the metal railing while Kotetsu had his right hand wrapped around the top bar, near his resting elbow. Kotetsu’s upper body was turned towards Bunny, his right leg crossing the other, only the tip of his foot touching the floor. He used his free arm to gesticulate, Barnaby calmly reclining over the railing when it got a bit too close to hitting him in the face. But what had Sky High’s and Origami Cyclone’s jaws dropping was Kotetsu’s expression morphing from angry to mischievous as he closed most - if not all - of the distance between them. He lifted his hand, slowly tugged a blond curl, the strand caught in between his middle and forefinger and watched it spring back. Barnaby lifted an eyebrow, unimpressed by the show. A wicked grin twisting Kotetsu’s lips, eyes shining in amusement, he fetched another lock - on the right side this time - and twirled it around his finger. Teasingly, he told something to his partner that made him jerk his head in the opposite direction, wrenching his hair back. Shock couldn’t begin to describe the level of astonishment the two observing males felt at what came next. Barnaby scowled, and blushed. He tried to hide rosy cheeks behind blond tresses, ducking his head a bit, before whirling it about and gave a biting retort that only managed to escalate Kotetsu’s light snickering to full-blown laughter.
Still speechless at the decidedly strange display of - affection? - camaraderie, they started when Karina stopped next to the unspoken leader, an eyebrow raised in wonder.
"If I didn’t know you two, I’d think you’ve been sleeping together with how comfortable you are around each other," she declared, entertainment clearly evident in her tone.
Calming down a bit, Kotetsu distanced himself from a still-scowling Bunny but kept his hand on the railing. Raising his other one, he lightly scratched the back of his neck.
"Haha, well, in fact, we have been for the last five months."
Suddenly aware of the silence following his answer, the older male looked up to see the shocked - and for some, disturbed - faces of his fellow heroes, all of them now in hearing distance. He looked quizzically at all of them, not understanding what was going on.
Karina, in total shock, only managed to mutter in repeat and not necessarily in that order ‘Barnaby… sleeping…f-five months…t-together’. Ivan and Keith hadn’t moved from their shell-shocked stillness, making very good statue impressions. Dragon Kid had scrunched her nose before announcing, clearly weirded out by the situation,
"That’s freaky."
Nathan wore a satisfied expression and a knowing look in his eyes as he proudly interjected, "There’s a thin line between hate and love!"
Antonio had slapped his hand on his forehead, mumbling something along the lines of "I knew he’d snap one day…"
‘Freaky’…? ‘Love’…?
What the hell were they talking about?
"Huh?" Kotetsu, complety lost, replied, blinking in uncomprehension. He looked back at Barnaby who looked just as puzzled as he was. They locked eyes and suddenly, it clicked.
"Oh. No no no no! It’s not what you’re thinking, really, it’s just by convenience-" Kotetsu jumped up, flailing in his attempt to explain the situation. Karina, finally aware again went back to nervous twitching, stuttering ‘c-convenience…?’.
"You’re making it worse," Barnaby smoothly added, stating the obvious.
"Shut up, Bunny," Kotetsu snapped at his partner, "We’re not sleeping together like that, just in the same bed. Guys, belive me-" He pleaded, a bit desperate at this point.
"Uh, you know, Kotetsu, it’s not my business but as a good friend I hope you, um, know what you’re getting into," Antonio winced at his clumsy choice of words. Said friend slumped his shoulders in disbelief, eyes and mouth popping open as he crooked an eyebrow and reiterated his clever reply.
"Huh?"
Discomfort quickly permeated the air as no one dared to say a word. A few minutes passed. Nathan, deciding he had enough fun for the day, left, wishing the newly announced couple good luck. Not long after that, every hero quit the gym, one at a time. Antonio patted Kotetsu on the shoulder in sympathy whereas Pao-Lin stuck her tongue out at him, tugging a still mumbling Karina along. Sky High, composing himself, encouragingly smiled, obnoxiously cheering them on with a nervous "Congratulations! And again, Congratulations!" and made his way out, leading Ivan.
The two men now alone in the gym, Kotetsu slowly turned his head to face his partner and muttered, his expression unchanging,
"What do we do now?"