[Open Post, backdated to November 1st] The Rising

[oldmantiger]

 Kotetsu wakes up.

...which is a little surprising, considering he hasn't actually slept in a month.

He wakes up, flat on his back in the gardens. The grass is warm beneath him, the breeze is crisp around him. For a moment, he just enjoys it. Even when memories of the past month start to filter back, he lets himself entertain the idea that it was all just a bad dream. 

But then he remembers the monster. He remembers being...twisted and transformed. He remembers everything he heard, everything he did. And no, there's no way it was all a dream. He's never been that lucky. 

Kotetsu lays a hand against his chest, but...no, there's no denying that whatever Asriel had taken is back where it belongs. Right now, it mostly feels like a heavy weight on his chest. A heavier weight, at least. All of him feels pretty heavy and clumsy now, after a solid month of being insubstantial and invisible.

There are people he needs to see. That knowledge forces its way through to the front of his mind. Kotetsu braces his hands on the ground to try and get up...and immediately gets distracted by the feel of the ground. Such a simple thing that he wants to never, never take for granted again. He laughs out loud to feel it, laughs just to be sure he's not going to sob.

It's been a long month. He kind of wants to get drunk until the next one. But...the grass just feels so nice right now. He's not ready to stand up.

So those of you who are out, about, and reacting to your newly normalized states might come across Kotetsu in the gardens, laying on the ground, pulling up blades of grass a few tufts at a time and watching them be carried away on the breeze. He's smiling like he doesn't have a care in the world.

He has plenty, though, and they eventually become impossible to ignore. So when Kotetsu does get to his feet, he immediately starts running. As he runs, he calls out: "Bunny? Toshi? Where are you?"

Though if he passes by anyone he encountered as a ghost - whether or not they knew he was there - he's definitely going to slow down and hesitate for a moment, wondering what to say. If he should say anything. 

Comments

[ojisankink]

Barnaby isn't in the garden or in the hallways. Most of the places he was left behind when he was a puppet are bare now. Which is understandable, now that he can actually move, go where he wants to be.

And where he wants to be is definitely away from people. Too many people hurt him last month, took advantage of him, touched him and Barnaby can't blame them for that but he also can't trust himself to be comfortable. He's not good at being around people in the first place, and even less so when he isn't acting as the hero, Barnaby Brooks Jr.

The puppet he was last month was sort of a more extreme version of the Barnaby that met with the sponsors about two years ago. He needs to remember what it's like to not smile for the cameras.

And he needs to get that very bad taste out of his mouth from thinking about the sponsors and by extension thinking about that nightmare.

...That wasn't real, right? It couldn't have been. It was too much even for Maverick to do something like that. It felt too real, but it wasn't.

Nothing is real, is it? Everything is shattered and fake. Kotetsu had said as much to him.

Barnaby sighs and pulls the covers over his head, ignoring the way his mind offers the sound of Kotetsu calling for him. Not real, not real...

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu's searching does eventually take him to perhaps the one place he should have checked first - the door bearing a neatly handpainted sign for Barnaby's name. But in the end, it's close to the last place he looks. Maybe only because right up until he realizes he's out of any other options, he'd wanted to believe that Barnaby would be okay enough to be anywhere else but hiding in his room.

So Barnaby will hear the calling of his name drawing closer and closer...until at last, it stops. Until at last, Kotetsu is standing right outside the door, trying to work up the nerve to go in.

He even considers using his Hundred Power, for a moment, if he has any of it left. Just to make sure Barnaby is really in there. He doesn't, in the end. He just trusts that his partner has to be around here somewhere. That his partner will answer him when he calls out.

He knocks on the door.

"Bunny?" He swallows, takes a deep breath, tries again. "Bunny, are you in there?" Already, that dark little voice in the back of his mind that is responsible for so many of his self-doubts is insisting that he should go, that he should leave, that Barnaby doesn't want to talk to him and why should he?

But if Kotetsu was willing to let his mistakes decide everything between them, to give up like this, then they never would have become friends in the first place. Friends and...maybe more.

[ojisankink]

The voice is getting louder. Barnaby knows it’s a hallucination, and has been trying everything he knows to cope alone and make the feeling go away, but it just isn’t working. It’s only getting more insistent, and he hates himself for wanting to give in and rely on something that isn’t real.

When the voice stops, he breathes a sigh of relief, but then audibly gasps as there’s a knock on the door. So maybe he is there. But even then, should he rely on him? He’s caused Kotetsu more than enough trouble already. Kotetsu should be recovering from that month, not fussing over him. Fussing over someone who can’t figure out reality anymore.

Kotetsu called him a fake. And what if he is? What if he’s just a fabrication of the Barnaby Kotetsu knows? He could never be sure. His head’s screwed up enough as it is.

He doesn’t want to answer. He shouldn’t answer. But… Kotetsu has been through enough, and he doesn’t need to feel like the world can’t see him again.

“I’m here,” he finally answers, sitting up and trying to make it look like he hasn’t been laying in bed all day.

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu lets himself feel relieved at the response, doesn't stop himself from smiling. Good. He's finally found Barnaby, and...he doesn't hear anyone else in there. Which says that Barnaby is probably back to normal, that he has no more strings for someone else to grab and make him speak. They're all back to normal. It really is over.

...even if he's already been forced to face the fact that it's going to take a long while before the dust settles. But that's all the more reason why Kotetsu wants to fuss. He can understand why Barnaby might want to be alone, but...he can't heal alone. Not entirely. Kotetsu wants to help him in ways above and beyond driving people away from him.

Even so, even he can see that it might be best to tread lightly, to start with. "You mind if I come in? I mean...I'm not a ghost anymore, if that helps. And..."

His smile falters and his chest tightens at the memory of the last time they saw each other. When he'd stared at Barnaby without seeing, without recognition, when all he'd cared about was raging at what he thought he'd lost. You can't fool me. You're not Bunny. You're just some puppet sent to trick me. He remembers those words. And he's sure Barnaby does as well.

...he can't begin to apologize. But perhaps he can begin to reassure.

"...and I'm all here again." He doesn't mention souls just yet. No need to alarm the guy too much. "I got back...what I lost."

[ojisankink]

He is completely alone. And he’s still not sure if that’s a good or a bad thing. He’s back to normal, yes, but he still worries someone might be behind him, ready to tug on strings. Maybe even Kotetsu would, but that doesn’t stop him from wanting a hug from the other man, wanting to be held like he was the first night in the castle, wants to… be kissed again.

He hates himself, still thinking so much about his feelings when Kotetsu probably has far more to worry about, more to fuss over. When Kotetsu made it clear last time they talked that he wasn’t going to be tricked by Barnaby anymore.

He knows what Kotetsu said. And he knows what he said himself to prompt it. Kotetsu, please listen to us. We… I don’t want to see you like this. I promise, I was looking for you this whole time, I love you too much to just forget you!

…He confessed. And that was how Kotetsu reacted. What is he going to do now? If he says that again…

Kotetsu does say something that gets his attention. He’s all there. He got back what he lost. Maybe it’s just his body, but… Kotetsu says it like it was something more crucial than that.

It’s Barnaby’s worried curiosity that gets him to open the door for him, though he doesn’t really speak, just looks at Kotetsu and tries not to sob like a child.

[oldmantiger]

He confessed, and that was how Kotetsu reacted. That is knowledge Kotetsu is still struggling to bear. And even before that, probably still unbenownst to Barnaby, Kotetsu was there to hear him talk to Frisk about that first night in the castle. How, against all of his own expectations, Barnaby had liked being kissed so much that he'd wanted it to happen again.

That had only made it harder, to stay so doggedly beside Bunny and yet never be able to reach him at all besides destroying things and driving others away. Even before losing his soul, that had been hell.

Kotetsu had confessed his feelings a dozen times, partly in the hope that one attempt would be heard, partly because he knew that none of them would be. As he sat beside Barnaby while his friend slept fitfully wherever he'd been left, or as he waited for a new owner, Kotetsu tried a dozen different ways to tell Barnaby that he loved him.

It never made a difference. His partner only ever looked at other people. Only ever moved and lived again for them. Kotetsu had even heard him confess his feelings for Toshi instead. It had eaten away at his heart, even when he'd lost his soul. And with that soul, he'd lost any memories that the beautiful puppet with his friend's face was his friend at all. So he'd taken a hurt who's source he didn't remember out on the man he loved, and he has to live with that.

Even when Kotetsu had let himself imagine a confession between the two of them, even when he'd let himself believe it would ever be possible...he'd never imagined a mess as big as this.

All these thoughts pass through Kotetsu's mind in the scant few seconds it takes for him to hear Barnaby's footsteps crossing the room, for the door to open. Then Barnaby is standing there, looking so wary and wounded and lost. Kotetsu steps back for a moment, eyes widening. That's an expression on his partner's face that's growing increasingly familiar to Kotetsu, but that doesn't change the way his heart breaks with sympathy and fondness that's betrayed so clearly in his expression. His eyes are his own again, bright and brown and warm. And they look over Barnaby - flesh and blood once more - as though he's still the most beautiful sight Kotetsu has ever seen. In that moment, he is.

Maybe he shouldn't do what he does next. Maybe he no longer has that right. But it's been such a long month, and Kotetsu can still feel the weight of it so heavily on his shoulders, and...he can't let Barnaby think he's alone. So Kotetsu only hesitates a moment before he steps in close and sweeps Barnaby up into a tight, fierce hug, holding him close and safe from anything else this awful castle might want to do to him.

"God, Bunny, I missed you so much."

[ojisankink]

The more he thinks about the last month, the more he hates it. Thinking about what became of him disgusts him, but more than that, knowing what pieces of him were still there makes him feel even sicker. Because as much as they were supressed, his thoughts were all there. And a huge portion of his thoughts were about Kotetsu: where he could be, if he was safe, if he had returned home without Barnaby by his side, if Barnaby would never get the chance to tell him how badly he needed him.

He had gotten that chance later. It was a moment of relief and then complete despair. After that, Barnaby knew that Kotetsu would leave this place without him. They weren’t teammates, were they? Kotetsu couldn’t even recognize who he really was, after all. Barnaby had no right to think Kotetsu considered him important.

Maybe that’s why he spent the last month desperately clinging to other people. Barnaby didn’t have anyone. He knew that deep down, even before Kotetsu refused him. He’s been alone for twenty years and even though he knows he’ll never truly have a connection with someone, he still wants it so badly that he… acts like that when given half a chance.

Maybe that’s why he’s opened the door now. The thought nearly makes his knees buckle, and then Kotetsu stepping back like he’s physically repulsed ensures they do. Barnaby stumbles off to the side, almost collapses to his knees when suddenly, Kotetsu is close again, holding him up. He gasps softly, already feeling tears starting to overflow. He wishes he could stop them, but he knows it’s too late, knows if he tried to wipe them away, Kotetsu would see.

He just clings back, tries to keep his voice from hitching, ignores the ache in his chest that reminds him Kotetsu should never hold him like this.

“I thought you were gone…”

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu feels those tears starting to soak through the shoulder of his shirt. But even though his heart aches for the pain of the last month, the pain that brought those tears to the surface, he can't entirely regret them. After all, any sign of emotion from Barnaby that comes without being teased forth by strings is a wonderful sight, here and now.

And besides. Though he tilts his head up a little towards the ceiling in an attempt to hide them, Kotetsu realizes his own vision is starting to blur as well. And then he wonders why he's bothering to hide these tears at all. There's no good reason at all, after last month. He should relish in his tears being seen as well.

"I know," he murmurs, rubbing a hand up and down Barnaby's back. "I know, and I'm sorry, and..." No. He can't let Barnaby go on thinking he was alone for so long. That Kotetsu didn't care, that Kotetsu would ever let this place separate them entirely. "...I know you might not believe me, but I was here with you for most of the month, Bunny! When things kept breaking around you, that was me! I just got so angry, seeing the way some of the people here treated you, it just happened. I was trying to, to protect you, to let you know I was there..." He sighs, a long and tired sigh that shudders through his body and makes his heart stutter. "...but I just scared you, and left you feeling even more alone. I'm so sorry, pal. I never wanted to leave you like that, and then when I finally got the chance to see you again..."

His grip tightens reflexively at the memory, as though he can protect Barnaby from it even if he can't protect himself. Kotetsu stammers, swallows, stumbles for words for a moment. "...I can't pretend that wasn't me, at least a little bit. But...it was me without my soul. I really...didn't remember anything about this place. About anyone we met here, about what happened to you. If that makes a difference, at all. I can see now how much it meant, that you tried so hard to read me. I'm just sorry I couldn't hear you then, Barnaby."

[ojisankink]

Barnaby shudders a bit in Kotetsu’s grip. It’s hard, for him to show his emotions so clearly. It’s something he tends to only do with Kotetsu. Very few others have gotten close enough for him to entirely open up. He tries to hide from everyone else… but there’s no point in hiding from his partner.

He can hear in Kotetsu’s voice that he’s choked up as well, and though he feels his heart clench, part of him does feel relieved as well, that Kotetsu is truly in front of him and is himself again. He can cry like normal. He can understand and speak and do what Kotetsu would do, and not be limited by losing something important.

His fingers clutch at Kotetsu’s vest, and a choked laugh slips from him.

“Would you believe that I… I knew you were there? It was hard, but every so often, I felt you… trying to grab hold of me. But I couldn’t see you, and I couldn’t move to check… I just had to hope you were there, and…” And after he saw what happened to Kotetsu near the end of the month, he had lost that hope. “I’m so sorry I couldn’t find you… u-until then.” Until Kotetsu was rightfully angry, and rightfully lashed out at the fake his partner was.

His heart is pounding hard in his chest as he listens to what Kotetsu has to say. It gets worse, as he hears that that was Kotetsu… even if he had lost his soul, that was Kotetsu. That must have been what he thought. Maybe not about Toshi, but could it have really changed much about how he felt about Barnaby?

He doesn’t know how to ask that. He doesn’t know how to say it’s okay, or even try to breach the issue that it’s not. All he does is cling a little tighter, shaking his head.

“…If you really believe I’m your partner now, don’t call me Barnaby. My partner wouldn’t… do that. Unless it was to a fake.”

[oldmantiger]

It takes a moment for the full implications of Barnaby's words to sink in. But when they do, he feels something impossible bubbling up inside of him - a laugh. A small but genuinely relieved and happy laugh. He's so overcome with overdue joy at those words that he actually lifts Barnaby up off the ground, for a moment.

"You know what? I do believe you. And that's...really great to hear. I'm glad I wasn't wasting my time. I'm glad...neither of us was as alone as we felt."

Yet he can still feel Barnaby's heart racing in his chest, pressed close as they are. He can feel him cling tighter as he struggles with the memories of last month. Kotetsu feels his heart start to thud faster in tandem with his partner's. But after a moment, his smile returns. And though he pulls away for a moment, it's only to press his forehead against Barnaby's.

"You're right, Bunny. But your partner's also a silly old man who's still not thinking all that straight."

His face is warm and his fingers are shaking and it's harder to breathe. Yet Kotetsu doesn't let that stop him from pressing a kiss to Barnaby's forehead, before he hugs him close again.

"Bunny. My Bunny. I don't know how much you meant, about some of the things you said before. And...even if you meant them, I wouldn't blame you for changing your mind after everything." Kotetsu swallows painfully, his gaze flickering away for a moment. But he's started now, and so it's easier to forge ahead than stop. So he takes a deep breath, looks back at Barnaby, and carries on.

"But...I see now that this place isn't going to let me take anything for granted. And maybe that's not such a bad thing. Because I think it's long past time that you know...I love you, too."

[ojisankink]

Barnaby is a bit surprised at the laugh, even more so when he suddenly feels his feet leave the ground. Tears are set aside for a gasp and a startled “hey!” He even has the energy to grumble a bit when Kotetsu sets him back down again.

But he still listens. And maybe, just maybe, allows himself to hope again. Kotetsu doesn’t sound as upset anymore. He sounds relieved and happy. He says that he’s glad. Glad that Barnaby was there with him despite his doubts. Maybe… maybe he’s okay. Maybe Barnaby doesn’t have to think that Kotetsu hates him now. Maybe he’s just being stupid.

Because Kotetsu’s heart is pounding, and his forehead is resting against Barnaby’s, who is certain his skin must be burning from the humiliation he feels, and the admiration because Kotetsu called him Bunny and why does he even like that stupid nickname now-

And then he’s kissing him. He’s kissing Barnaby’s forehead like he did that first day at the castle, and Barnaby didn’t think it’d be possible for him to be more overwhelmed. How is this happening? What is Kotetsu saying? He stares back into Kotetsu’s eyes, blinking back tears, hardly daring to breathe.

He makes a soft, strangled noise when Kotetsu finally says that. Something he never expected to hear for the rest of his life. Something he always thought was too much for someone like him to ask for. He can feel more tears running down his cheeks. He can’t think of stopping them.

“W-Would…” His voice wavers, and Barnaby has to swallow hard around the lump in his throat. “Would you believe me? If I told you some things… that I said back then too?”

He still feels doubt, which should be impossible with so many other feelings jumbled together in his gut.

ONE MILLION YEARS LATER

[oldmantiger]

Barnaby is crying. Barnaby is crying, and Kotetsu scarcely dares to breathe. The tears could mean so many things. The look in his eyes could mean so many things. He lets himself hope, though, even when that question sets his heart to pounding all over again with such damnably stubborn anxiety.

He takes a deep breath, counts to three, lets it out. Then again, counting to five. The breathing exercises that he and Toshi have used to help Barnaby in the past really do help Kotetsu feel steadier now.

So even if his smile flickers for a moment, it doesn't truly falter. Even as his own eyes sting with so much emotion building up, Kotetsu nods. "Of course I'll believe you," he says softly. "Of course."

But he wants so much to hear Barnaby say those words again, too. Here and now, when they're standing together as themselves once more.

WELL WORTH THE WAIT THOUGH

[ojisankink]

Barnaby can't seem to stop crying, as much as he knows he should. He's just too overwhelmed by what Kotetsu is saying to him, by this whole situation. He thought their relationship as partners would be broken down for weeks after what happened. He thought Kotetsu wouldn't want to see him again. What is he supposed to do when his expectations have been so thoroughly shattered?

How can he do anything besides cry?

Still. Kotetsu is breathing, and smiling, and reassuring him as he always has. Barnaby should feel bad for relying on his partner this much... but at the same time, he knows Kotetsu wouldn't have it any other way. In the end, all he can feel is affectionate.

He rubs his eyes a bit, huffs as he looks Kotetsu in the eye only for his lips to twitch up into a smile.

"Then... I don't know what to say. I haven't... had experience with this in a long time. Not a lot of people get this kind of feeling out of me." And fewer deserve it. "B-Besides, it's not exactly the same as... as being in love, right? So maybe I'm wrong." He avoids Kotetsu's eyes now, the nerves catching up to him. "I don't think I am, though. I think..." He thinks he's ready to say this.

"I think I'm in love with you."

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu's ears are ringing and he doesn't dare to breathe. But none of that stops the words from reaching him, ringing clear as a bell.

Barnaby is in love with him, too. Bunny loves him back.

He breathes, and then he laughs, and then he's hugging Barnaby close and picking him up and spinning the taller man around before he sets him back down on his feet to hug him some more. "Yes!" he cheers out loud, because that kind of happiness has to be given voice somehow. "I'm..." And yet how does he even begin, how can he possibly start to give voice to how fantastically wonderful this is, especially on the heels of so much horror.

Being Kotetsu, he takes the most straightforward option. "I'm so happy, this is so amazing, I..."

He trails away into a fit of happy giggling that might be edged with happy tears. Until at last, Kotetsu steps away once more - just a step, not too far- all the while keeping Barnaby's hands clutched tightly, protectively, in his once more. He looks at this man he oves so much and beams hopefully.

"...I really want to kiss you." A kiss like the sort he hasn't had since Tomoe died. "Would...that be okay now, Bunny?"

[ojisankink]

Barnaby's head is spinning, probably because he can't keep his breathing steady. He knows what he just said, hypothetically, but he can't piece an understanding of what this means together. Kotetsu loves him... so he said he loved him to. What happens now?

The laughter gets him to look up in surprise, only to cry out as he's suddenly picked up and spun. He clings tightly to Kotetsu's shoulders, even as he stammers for his partner to put him down, and then just gapes as Kotetsu actually cheers in response to Barnaby's words.

"K-Kotetsu? I just..."

No, Barnaby, you didn't just say you loved him. Heat rises to his face as the importance of his words finally seem to set in. He said something that Kotetsu had every right to reject, but... that isn't the case. He actually...

He must be dreaming. This can't actually be happening. He was going to be alone for the rest of his life. He knew that, didn't he?

His hands shake in Kotetsu's grip, his eyes water as Kotetsu smiles at him. His chest feels tight, full to burst with an emotion so strong it's warding off all his fears and doubts and leaving him with just overwhelming relief and affection. His hands squeeze Kotetsu's. After a moment, he laughs, softly and a little choked up.

"Of course that's okay." He wouldn't want anything else right now.

[oldmantiger]

He feels like he's standing at the edge of a skyscraper, or on a high wire over empty, open space. It's a feeling Kotetsu is quite familiar with from past experience, after all. But now, that feeling brings with it a rush of pure exhilaration over fear. He knows now, trusts wholeheartedly, that he won't fall - that even if he does, he has a safety net, a man who will always be there to catch him.

A kiss is the least of how he wants to express how grateful he is, and how much he loves Barnaby for it.

Kotetsu moves carefully, slowly. He brushes some of Barnaby's hair back from his face where it had gotten mussed and ruffled in Kotetsu's enthusiasm. Then he leaves his hand there, lingering, resting against Barnaby's cheek. He looks at his partner for just a moment longer, just for the pleasure of admiring how very, very beautiful Barnaby is.

Then he leans in, and kisses him - softly, at first, and briefly, just a light brush of his lips over the other man's. It's as much to brace himself, as anything. But then Kotetsu kisses Barnaby again, and lets it linger this time, lets himself appreciate the feeling of breath mingling and lips moving against each other.

[ojisankink]

He certainly isn't going to fall. Barnaby has made it his duty to catch Kotetsu every time he falls, and he's not about to stop. Not even when their relationship has so drastically changed, leaving him feeling like he's going to fall too.

A kiss may push him the rest of the way, but Barnaby is willing to take that risk.

He shivers a bit as hair is brushed away, but very slightly leans into the touch, staring at Kotetsu, waiting to see what will happen.

What does occur is not at all what he's expected. The kiss is so... gentle. So unlike the kisses he's ever had before. Even when it lingers, it's so much softer than he's used to. So careful and affectionate. Barnaby doesn't trust himself to press deeper, so he mainly receives the kiss, just opening his mouth, letting Kotetsu guide him.

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu can sense the hesitation taking hold of his partner, but...from the way Barnaby is leaning into his hand, from the way he seems to be trying to return the kiss, he doesn't think it's because the other man is finding the contact unpleasant or unwanted. No, Bunny just seems to be...genuinely uncertain. Kotetsu wonders in a flash how long it's been since he's kissed anyone. Or even if he's ever kissed anyone before at all.

The thought makes a surge of protectiveness rise up in his chest, emboldens him to deepen the kiss and really focus on guiding Barnaby, showing him what this could be. When Barnaby parts his lips, Kotetsu hesitates for only a moment before moving his tongue into the other man's mouth, kissing him more fervently, as he moves a hand to rest against Barnaby's back and hold him closer still.

[ojisankink]

Of course he's hesitant. He hasn't had a partner for years, not since just before he started in the hero business. He was supposed to have someone to increase his publicity once he started the season, but those plans kept falling through... and Barnaby had always been a bit relieved about that.

Of course, giving himself more freedom and opportunity to connect with Kotetsu has meant sacrificing experience in showing physical affection. Not that the kind of experience he got would have really helped with the feeling of it all.

And there's just so many feelings. So much contact, enough to overwhelm, and Kotetsu only continues ramping up the intensity. Barnaby can't help a soft moan as Kotetsu presses closer to him, hands clutching to Kotetsu's shoulders as he carefully moves his lips, lets his tongue bump up against his partner's.

[oldmantiger]

Good, there we go. Kotetsu can feel Barnaby starting to relax and settle. In fact, he can feel the younger man practically melting into the kiss. It's gratifying, heartening, to realize that Barnaby feels safe enough to try and press a little further. Kotetsu makes a decidedly pleased sound, smiling into the kiss, to let Barnaby know that he approves wholeheartedly. He lets their tongues twine together, tilts his head just slightly to let their mouths slant against each other. Then he lets the hand resting on Barnaby's cheek drift towards the back of his head, the better to let his fingers run gently through his partner's hair.

Kotetsu feels...warm and loved and safe and amazing, having forgotten until just now how much he's missed being able to share this kind of affection and love with another person. He can only hope he's helping Barnaby feel the same.

[ojisankink]

Barnaby is definitely relaxing. Part of him feels like he's falling, the rest like he's flying. It's an odd floating feeling, and all he can tell is that he likes that. The sound Kotetsu makes fills him with warmth, grateful he's not imagining the fact that Kotetsu enjoys his presence.

He feels so very safe, Kotetsu's arms around him and practically shielding him. He wishes he could do the same, but he's sort of ended up pinned and he doesn't want to try to wiggle his arms out and break their closeness. Instead, he just hopes the way he's kissing gets his desire to protect Kotetsu across.

He stays pressed against him until he's too dizzy to go on, pulling away with a soft gasp.