Dancing on the blades, you set my heart on fire. (Backdated to the 14th)

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu Kaburagi has a very bad sense of time. Not just in terms of minutes and seconds, but also in terms of days, weeks, months. It doesn't help that, as far as he's been able to gather, the castle is running around two months ahead of when he was back home. And that's before various strange happenings skew his sense of time even further.

But since shortly after getting together with Barnaby, there's one day he's been keeping an eye out for. After counting forward from the end of the first event he experienced where everyone was transformed, and the day he realized a couple of days too late was Barnaby's birthday, Kotetsu is reasonably sure he's pinpointed today as Valentine's Day. Now it's just a matter of what to do. Even here, he wants it to be special.

Eventually, he gets an idea that leads to him hunting up Jack Frost. Jack agrees that he still owes Barnaby for past events and agrees to Kotetsu's plan. From there, it's just a matter of digging up skates. The castle seems to feel it owes Kotetsu for literally not giving him and Barnaby a peaceful time together since before they got together, though. He turns up a closet full of skates of various sizes without too much trouble. These, Kotetsu gathers up and carries over to a newly frozen pond in one of the more wooded areas. He dumps them by the side of the lake - no reason he and Barnaby should have all the fun, after all - and sets to work digging up a pair for himself.

Once that's done, it's just a matter of getting in some hasty practicing so he minimizes how stupid he looks in front of his boyfriend. That shouldn't be too hard, right? He did used to take Kaede to her skating practice...years and years ago.

It turns out to be pretty hard. There's a lot of stumbling, flailing, and falling as he tries to figure out just how people make this look so easy. But he's fallen from and onto worse than this. So Kotetsu always gets back up and keeps trying to keep skating, even if he's obviously too lead footed to make much headway at this on his own. Jack, meanwhile, hangs around in a bare tree to watch the show.

"You sure you don't want any help?" he calls out every so often.

"I can do this," Kotetsu always replies stubbornly, as he gets back to his feet from his latest stumble.

Neither of them is being terribly quiet, though, and the skates are there for the taking if you can find one in your size.

Comments

[ojisankink]

Barnaby Brooks Jr., on the other hand, has an excellent sense of time. Since he's noticed his cellphone's clock still works, albeit with the caveat of counting the minutes and seconds from the day it was in his world, he's figured out the day difference and, since then, has been able to do the math in his head. Since getting here, however, he hasn't had much use for knowing the date. All he really got was a swell of guilt when Christmas Eve arrived and he couldn't visit his parents' grave.

But today is different. Even he can admit today is a special day, at least if you have someone you love. And Barnaby has one of those for... honestly, for the first time. He's eager to do something to make it special, then, and he takes that goal on in his very Barnaby way.

First, he researches. The books in the library have information on just about everything, so it isn't hard to find one on Japanese customs, even on the modern ones the castle shouldn't know about. He finds out about the chocolate tradition rather quickly, then, and though his relationship with Kotetsu doesn't exactly fit the mold, so to speak, he feels it's probably his best shot.

The kitchen is nice to him and provides him with the ingredients and pans he needs for the making of his dessert, though they also provide him with a map to the always stocked ballroom. He rolls his eyes and tosses that aside. It's actually not extremely hard to make it, though he does spill a bit of the mixture trying to pour it into the mold. Thankfully, he lets it set and decorates it without many other mishaps, and then all that's left is to place it in a little tray and track down Kotetsu.

Finding him, he's left... quite confused. At first, he's bewildered that there's such a solid ice pond when the weather was getting warmer, but a glance up in the trees gets him a view of Jack. He offers a polite nod to him before focusing his attentions on Kotetsu.

He... certainly is falling a lot. Why is he being so stubborn about this?

"You know, you should probably take a break before you hurt something, old man," he finally speaks up, though his wide grin betrays how he actually feels.

[oldmantiger]

Jack ducks his head as Barnaby looks up at him, but offers a somewhat shy wave in turn.

Kotetsu, meanwhile, had just been in the process of retying his skates when he hears the new voice speaking up. He lets out a yelp of alarm, before slumping back into the snowdrift he'd been sitting against and looking up sharply. "B-Bunny!" he stammers, looking quite alarmed at first. But then it slowly sinks in that yes, he is busted, and much more quickly than he thought he would be. And now he just looks embarrassed in a way even repeatedly falling hadn't managed. "Guess you found me," he adds, somewhat sheepishly.

But, being Kotetsu, he recovers quickly. He gets carefully up to his feet, actually manages to stay there, and then spreads his arms wide to encompass the pond, smiling a little bit proudly but mostly just so, so hopefully.

"Ah...surprise! Happy Valentine's Day!"

[ojisankink]

Of course Jack isn't exactly willing to talk to him, and Barnaby can understand that, after their uncomfortable first meeting. He'd like a chance to maybe offer his understanding, but maybe later.

Kotetsu kind of takes top priority today. He frowns a bit at the yell, but Kotetsu quickly seems to recover from that into embarrassment and then something excited and hopeful. Barnaby tilts his head at him.

"It's not that hard to find you when you're so noisy," he points out, but as Kotetsu spreads his arms and says that, all his snarky remarks disappear from his mind. A surprise? For Valentine's Day, and for him. He looks a bit more critically at the pond, at the skates gathered near a snowbank, and he recalls his constant visits to the skating rink as a child... and more importantly, his mention of those happy memories to Kotetsu. His face darkens rapidly, and he loses most of his usual charisma and grace.

"This is... you did this for me?"

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu scarcely dares to breathe as Barnaby takes in the scene. He looks intently at his partner, searching for any signs of what the other man is feeling. He's getting better at reading Barnaby's moods - he's probably better than most, by now - but this is new, and therefore...harder, especially with his judgment clouded by his own anxiety. Mostly, what he can tell is that Barnaby looks to be momentarily at a loss for words. That could mean something really great! But it could also mean something really bad.

"Well...of course," he says, lowering his arms and looking surprised by Barnaby's surprise. And then, being Kotetsu, he deals with his own anxieties by babbling. "Do you like it? I remembered that you mentioned you used to skate a lot when you were a kid. I know it's been a while, and I didn't know if it was something you'd still want to do, but I figured, hey, we've got nothing but free time most of the time so why not give it another shot?"

Jack finally breaks his silence to call down: "Needless to say, I helped a lot!"

"He helped a lot," Kotetsu adds.

[ojisankink]

He's very good at reading Barnaby. For someone who's worked so hard to hide his own feelings and to keep every ounce of emotion hidden under a flattering smile, his tells are starting to become more obvious, to those who know him well, especially since he's realized that he doesn't need to hide anymore. He certainly is at a loss for words, though.

For someone to do all this for him without any real reason, to pay attention to the details of small talk and plan something that holds such meaning... and for that someone to ignore anxiety about putting in the work...

Barnaby can feel tears pricking at the corners of his eyes, and god, it's so embarrassing that he's been crying so often, but he just can't help it. He slowly walks forward to the edge of the ice, towards Kotetsu, and then without another word, flings his arms around him.

"Kotetsu..." His voice is muffled by the fabric of Kotetsu's shirt, but he counts that as a blessing that it will hide how choked up he is. "I love it."

When he thinks he's recovered, he straightens and offers a bit of a sideways smirk. "Well, if the two of you worked so hard, I suppose it'd be rude of me to refuse to give it a try."

[oldmantiger]

Ah. As emotions overwhelm Barnaby more and more, Kotetsu for his part becomes more and more certain that he has, in fact, done a good thing here. He smiles, warm and relieved and fond, as Barnaby draws closer, and is already reaching out to pull his partner into a hug.

"I'm really glad to hear it. Happy Valentine's Day, Bunny," Kotetsu repeats softly, kissing his temple. He can feel his own eyes starting to well up in sympathy, but he can't regret that. He certainly doesn't think that it's anything to be embarrassed about. This was the real reason that drove him on to do this - the thought of Bunny, feeling happy and loved and safe, the thought of him having some fun today when things have been so difficult in so many other ways.

He lets Barnaby pull away once he seems to have recovered his wits. Kotetsu beams back at him, even as his cheeks darken in a bit of a blush at that smirk. "I suppose it would." On a whim, and just because he can, he rests a hand against Barnaby's cheek and leans forward for a quick kiss. "So go on, find some skates. Maybe you can help me figure out how to skate a straight line for a change."

[ojisankink]

Kotetsu has done a very good thing. An incredible thing. Something no one else would imagine doing, so Barnaby is completely overwhelmed. He bumps the tray as he hugs Kotetsu, but he doesn't really mind.

"Happy Valentine's Day, Kotetsu," he replies softly. The kisses were so strange and wonderful. He feels so completely loved and he isn't sure what he did to deserve this.

He finally gets his composure back, and manages to pout a bit, even if he's blushing. "What was that for?" he mutters at the kiss, before looking back at the skates. "I'm sure I can help you improve at least slightly..."

There's not much else he can do besides sit down on the ground and start pulling a pair of skates on. He's quite quick at tying them, though, so soon he'll be joining Kotetsu on the ice, skating a wide circle around him as he starts to get his bearings.

[oldmantiger]

Barnaby is completely loved, and Kotetsu can only hope his partner is starting to appreciate that this isn't likely to change anytime soon. Words cannot express how happy he is to be in this relationship, to have the words open and said and so be free to be as affectionate with Bunny as he wants to be. So kisses will have to suffice instead, and maybe bit by bit they'll help Barnaby come to see how amazing he looks through Kotetsu's eyes.

It still makes his heart twinge a bit to hear Barnaby still questioning why he's being shown affection. But Kotetsu keeps his smile in place and just shrugs. He replies with some variation of his usual reply when this particular question comes up. "No reason. Just wanted to."

While Barnaby laces up his skates, Kotetsu makes his way carefully back out onto the ice. By now, and with a bit of help from passersby, he can manage to skate a straight line and stay standing upright. It's just anything more elaborate that tends to bowl him over. So he skates his way carefully to the center of the pond, there to watch as Barnaby gets onto the ice.

For a sport that carries the likelihood of such a painful impact, it's impressive and impossibly charming to see the way Barnaby seems to relax into it like he never stopped doing this. "Like riding a bike, huh?" Kotetsu calls over.

[ojisankink]

He is starting to realize, maybe, though he judges Kotetsu a bit for seeming unwilling to budge on that. He's the one so lucky to be in this relationship, and he doesn't understand why Kotetsu doesn't feel like he deserves better.

Barnaby gives Kotetsu a suspicious look, but lets him do what he likes. He's much more focused on skating again, on enjoying a hobby that he almost forgot about. He enjoys the smooth feeling of gliding along the ice, the graceful speed of his movements. He would try a spin, but... right, he'd almost forgot.

"Yes," he agrees, as he skates near Kotetsu and skids to a stop. "Um, Kotetsu, before I get ahead of myself, I..."

Well, there's no point in trying to say something witty. Kotetsu must have already seen him carefully holding the tray, so he just holds it out, cover and all, to Kotetsu.

"I have something for you, too. To celebrate."

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu raises his eyebrows as Barnaby skates nearer. He had noticed the tray, and scarcely dared to hope for what might be inside it. When it's held out, he carefully takes the gift from Barnaby, lifts the lid, and finds that he was right to hope after all.

"Wow! These look great." And they well and truly do. They look thoughtful and handmade, rather than the everpresent ever-repeating lumps of sugar that the castle summons up by the day. Kotetsu looks up at Barnaby and smiles. "Did you make these, Bunny? I've never seen anything like these in the candy room."

[ojisankink]

Barnaby flushes softly to see Kotetsu look excited at his gift. It’s really nothing compared to Kotetsu’s, but he did work hard on it, so maybe it’s enough? He avoids eye contact, just looks at the clear ice of the pond.

“I did. I… was doing research on Valentine’s Day, and from what the books said, in your culture it’s common to give homemade chocolate to the people you care about.”

They’re in a variety of shapes, hearts and stars and even some cat and rabbit shaped treats. The largest one is decorated with white chocolate spelling out ‘Happy Valentine’s’ with a bunny doodle at the bottom.

[oldmantiger]

It's most certainly enough, especially when he hears that Barnaby actually put effort into researching something suitable. Into learning a bit more about where Kotetsu came from. He smiles in encouragement and nods. "That's right, it is!"

His expression softens, turns a bit wistful. He did try to make chocolates for Tomoe, the first year they were together. After that attempt, she told him she was fine with him buying the next batch from the store. She didn't even skip out on White Day, either. "And it's also traditional that I make chocolates for you next month. Don't let me forget, okay?"

He looks down at the chocolates, takes in the shapes and decorations, before carefully settling the tray on the ice. Moving even more carefully, he moves to sit down beside them, for the sake of fishing out his phone and snapping a photo of the arrangement. Another memory he wants to hold on to, of an increasing number of happy ones he has with Barnaby.

With that secured, Kotetsu takes up a piece, pops it into his mouth, and chews it slowly. His noise of appreciation is entirely genuine - homemade chocolate tends to be less aggressively sweet in general, and has a much nicer texture than most store-bought stuff in his experience. "Hey, this is good stuff!"

He picks up the tray and holds out a hand in a silent request for help up.

[ojisankink]

Barnaby smiles a little wider to see Kotetsu nod. So he was right with his assumptions, even if he read that girls were usually the ones making the chocolate for Valentine’s Day. Not like he can try to add very conventional ideas to their less-than-conventional partnership.

“I don’t really need chocolates… but I guess I’ll keep it in mind.”

Kotetsu will probably forget, and Barnaby will probably not remind him. He’s already getting an amazing gift right now. He raises an eyebrow in confusion when Kotetsu sits down, only to shake his head when he takes a picture. They aren’t pretty enough to be photographed… He blushes quite a bit as he helps Kotetsu to his feet.

“Are they really? I thought I might have boiled the chocolate too long, or the pieces might be too thick.”

[oldmantiger]

They are absolutely pretty enough to be photographed! But he mostly wants to hold on to the sight of them like this - a gift Barnaby worked hard to make for him, a gift he took the time to decorate, yet another sign that he really does love that silly nickname now. Kotetsu doesn't want the memory of this, of how loved and happy he feels right now, to fade with time or distance or...

...no, those thoughts are not the thoughts he needs for today. Kotetsu gives his head a little shake, as though to clear it. Either way, this is their first Valentine's Day together. Pictures are warranted. Celebration is warranted.

And in an attempt to chase away the memory of why he's started taking so many pictures since coming here, Kotetsu pops another piece of the candy into his mouth. "Nope! They're perfect."

He smiles reassuringly at the man he loves. And before the taste has entirely had the chance to fade from his mouth, he leans forward to kiss Barnaby again.

[ojisankink]

Barnaby knows a little bit about Kotetsu’s interesting hobby, and he has his guesses about why he’s picked it up with such vigour now. He tries not to let those thoughts get to him at a time like this, either. Really, the important thing is that if anything happens, Kotetsu has a way to prove just how much they love each other. Barnaby has to hold on to that.

So he just shakes his head at the dorky grin Kotetsu is wearing, and just as he’s about to complain that no matter how perfect they are, he shouldn’t just sit here and eat them in one go… he’s being kissed, and oh, that actually does taste quite nice, the faint lingering of cocoa on Kotetsu’s lips. He sighs softly, leaning back a little. Snow is pressing into his back, but he doesn’t care. He’s so happy he could make snow angels right now.

[oldmantiger]

Kotetsu lets the kiss linger and deepen, humming happily as he feels Barnaby relax almost to the point of falling over. It is Valentine's Day, after all, and he's been seized with even more romantic feelings than usual all day. Now that he's finally seized with the chance to indulge them, now that Barnaby is so obviously happy, of course Kotetsu is going to take that chance, even if only for just a minute. Kissing Bunny until he goes all breathless and silly is fun.

But there is snow still under his hands, a pond to be skated on, and he can't ask Jack to stay around forever. So Kotetsu eventually pulls away - not without one last graze of his teeth over Barnaby's lower lip - to grin at his boyfriend instead. His eyes are bright with excitement and adoration.

"Come on, Bunny! If this afternoon's any indication, you're going to need all day to teach me how to skate worth a damn."

He's actually gotten a lot better with a few hours of practice. If he can even just keep up with Barnaby out on the ice, Kotetsu will have considered it time well spent. He straightens up, dusts off some snow, and checks that his skates are still tied okay.

[ojisankink]

Oh, god, Kotetsu, you know you shouldn't do something like that if you don't want to risk getting Barnaby all excited. But it is Valentine's Day, so Barnaby just chuckles softly and reaches up to muss up Kotetsu's hair. He would very much like to just be kissed silly, but alas, there is skating to do.

Barnaby kind of sits there for a while after Kotetsu gets up, still dazed and beaming stupidly, kind of wishing he could just drag Kotetsu back down with him. If Kotetsu really wanted to skate, he wouldn't have done that ridiculously wonderful thing with his teeth against Barnaby's lip.

Eventually, though, he manages to find some way to suppress the part of him that wants to tackle Kotetsu and act half normal again, getting back up to his feet and gliding over to where Kotetsu is.

"How long has it been since you've skated? It really isn't that hard to figure out," he teases, hopefully getting some semblance of revenge.

[oldmantiger]

"Finally," Jack sighs, as he watches the two of them get up from the snow. Honestly, he signed up to do Barnaby a favor and watch Kotetsu make a fool of himself. Not watch two adults being all gross and adult with each other. If they'd kept up with that much longer, he might have dropped the ice out from under them.

...but then he catches a glimpse of Barnaby's goofy, dreamy smile, and Jack's irritation softens. At the least, this looks like he's doing a very good favor for someone he wronged in the past.

Kotetsu, meanwhile, honestly hadn't thought he could feel more in love. But, looking at Barnaby now, he feels his heart flutter all over again, like it's the first time he started noticing how amazing his partner is. In general, Barnaby still seems so shy about kissing and affection. But every so often, there are these wonderful moments where he seems to well and truly embrace it and reciprocate enthusiastically. Those moments are coming more and more, now, and Kotetsu is overjoyed to think that he might have helped bring that about.

But kissing can happen later. Will probably happen later. Today is a day for skating. He does blush a little, at Barnaby's teasing, but not too much. Kotetsu isn't ashamed to admit how bad he is at this, if it wasn't terribly obvious already.

"Honestly, before today? I used to have to so I could keep an eye on Kaede during practice. But that was years ago now. She was literally skating circles around me in no time."

[ojisankink]

What's so adult about kissing? Frankly, Barnaby feels like a teenager right now, being so desperate for more smooches. But he would concede with Jack that it's gross, so he looks back in his general direction and rolls his eyes. Kotetsu's a sap, what are you going to do?

Besides love him relentlessly. Barnaby's smile remains on his face as he skates closer, admiring Kotetsu. The way he wobbles on the ice. The way his eyes are shining with excitement anyways. The soft pink tinge to his tanned skin, from the cold or from embarrassment, Barnaby isn't sure. Just... admiring everything about this.

Kotetsu may take real snapshots, but Barnaby does his best to take them in his mind. Burning the negative into his brain so he'll never forget something like this again.

"Right, I forgot Kaede is in figure skating. Would have been better if I could skate with her, it seems." He laughs softly and holds out his hands. "Come on, old man, enough bravado. Let me keep you steady."

[oldmantiger]

Barnaby isn't the only one who feels like a teenager right now. This giddy rush of new love growing and blooming, exploring feelings and one another and slowly growing more comfortable with this and them and the nature of being together. It's been years since Kotetsu has felt any of this. He had long ago made himself accept that he never would again. Now everything feels bright and fresh and new again - Kotetsu included. Right now, he doesn't feel like a clumsy old man. He just feels like a man relentlessly and desperately in love, flush with the triumph of having done something nice for the man who loves him.

As Kotetsu tries to steady his wobbling, he nevertheless gets caught up in admiring Barnaby instead. The smile on his face, the way his shoulders are relaxed. The fact that the snow hasn't entirely dampened his curls. The way his entire body seems to lean into skating - the way he's so clearly comfortable and happy here. Just...everything about him, and this, and them.

So Kotetsu starts a little with surprise when Barnaby finally addresses him. But then his gaze refocuses on the world to see Barnaby holding out his hands, and Kotetsu's expression visibly and unreservedly lights up. "Maybe it would have. But I'm glad it's me instead."

He skates to his boyfriend without any further hesitation, and lets Barnaby hold him steady. "You always do, Bunny."

[ojisankink]

There certainly is a lot to explore, especially for Barnaby, when he hasn’t been exposed to this at all before. He, in a similar manner to Kotetsu, had accepted that this kind of romance wasn’t for him. He had revenge to enact, and goals to follow, and a guardian to make proud. He had thought this sort of thing wouldn’t interest him anyways. But… it certainly does. This new world makes him dizzy with excitement and wonder, and he feels so incredibly lucky to have even a small exposure to it.

He turns to grin as Kotetsu stares at him, chuckling softly. It’s so weird to think of Kotetsu of all people admiring him, but he certainly doesn’t mind it.

“I’m glad it’s you too.”

His cheeks only go a little pink at that adoring comment, but he holds Kotetsu’s hands tightly, skating backwards and tugging Kotetsu along with him. “You have to stop thinking of this as walking. It’s gliding. And the blades are sort of levers to push you along. They aren’t meant to dig into the ice.”

He tilts his head, embarrassed. “I don’t think I’m very good at teaching.”