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[Tiger & Bunny] - Without Reason	By : ChronoDragon Category: +S to Z > Tiger & Bunny Views: 3883 -:- Recommendations : 0 -:- Currently Reading : 1
Disclaimer: I do not own Tiger & Bunny or any of the characters from it. I do not make any money from the writing of this story.

Chapter List
- 4
- 5
- 6
Chapter 5

Walking home from his brother's liquor shop didn't take as long at Kotetsu thought it would, most likely because his anger caused him to walk faster than normal. He stepped inside the front door, kicking off his shoes before heading further inside, walking past all the rooms in a hurry to his own room. Hoping in the slightest that Barnaby wasn't in their room, he stepped in the room, sighing in relief when no one else was present. As much as he wanted to tell Barnaby about what happened, he couldn’t bring himself to do it right away. Kotetsu changed out of his working clothes, throwing on his usual green shirt along with some jeans. He didn't bother buttoning his shirt up all the way or tucking it into his pants. Exiting his room after a few minutes, he wandered down the hall, thinking about what his brother had said, about the whole situation. But before he could make any real progress with his thoughts, someone called out his name behind him. Kotetsu turned, a little relieved that it was Barnaby standing there, leaning out of one of the rooms, and not his mother or Kaede; yet, he wasn’t too convinced with himself that he could explain the situation to him.

"You're back already?" Barnaby asked, stepping closer to Kotetsu, looking over the mans shoulders quickly before nearly jumping against him, giving him a giant hug. Kotetsu didn't hug him back. Barnaby moved away eventually, his hands staying on Kotetsu's shoulders, giving them a tight squeeze, smiling at the older man. The smile he had on his face slowly vanished though as he looked in the eyes of his partner, sensing he was a bit troubled with something. "What's wrong?"

Kotetsu didn't answer right away, looking away from his friend. He sighed, figuring it was best that he tell Barnaby what had happened than just keeping it to himself. "Seems like my brother figured out that there’s something going on between us." He explained, his voice very low as he bowed his head. "He saw us…holding hands and stuff…"

Barnaby's jaw dropped slightly in shock, his body going rigid. It surprised him but yet didn't. "What did you tell him?"

"I just said there was nothing going on between us." Kotetsu still didn't look the younger man in the eye, who remained silent. The pause between them was brief before Kotetsu spoke up again. "He didn't believe me." Finally his eyes met up with the green ones of his partner, surprised to see the sadness in the other man's eyes.

"He…doesn't like me does he?" Barnaby whispered, the one to look away this time.

"I…ugh….he's just being hard-headed right now." Kotetsu shook his head, still trying to understand his brother’s actions. "Don't worry about it okay? I'll try to reason with him."

"No don't!" Barnaby replied without any hesitation, snapping his head back to face Kotetsu, startling him a bit.

"Why not?"

"Because…" Barnaby trailed off. He'd been keeping this secret for a number of days now, it was about time he told Kotetsu about it and somehow he had the confidence to say it. "I overheard your bother talking to your mother about me awhile ago." He watched Kotetsu rear back, blinking at him questionably. "He said that he wasn't comfortable with me being here…that I might get in the way of your family."

Kotetsu stood there, in complete shock. "He said that?" He paused, seeing Barnaby nod in response. He couldn't believe it--he couldn't believe how ignorant his brother was being. Kotetsu almost didn't want to believe Barnaby, but he could tell how sincere he was about it and how sad he looked. It told him that he was telling the truth.

"I don't want to make the situation worse." Barnaby spoke up interrupting Kotetsu's thoughts. "It's already bad enough that I overheard it. Now it’s worse because he knows about what’s going on between us."

"But…"

"Please Kotetsu…" Barnaby looked at his partner straight in the eyes, begging to him to not say anything.

Kotetsu rubbed the back of his head. What was he going to do? He couldn’t simply let Muramasa just get away with what he said, but at the same time he couldn’t ignore Barnaby’s plea to not aggravate the situation either. He sighed, nothing coming to mind other than to give into Barnaby’s request. "Fine…I won’t say anything for now.” Kotetsu looked to the ground, unaware of the tears that were forming in his partners eyes.

Barnaby ended up eyeing the floor below him as well, hoping his bangs would cover up the tears that began streaming down his face. “I don’t want anything to happen that might break us apart. I couldn’t stand being away from you right now.” He held back a choked sob, trying to hide his pain, but the small noise was enough to make Kotetsu’s head snap up, the man eyeing him with growing concern. Kotetsu mumbled his name before wrapping his arms around him and bringing him in close. Barnaby simply let his head rest in the crook of the older man’s neck, his eyes squeezing shut, preventing any more tears from flowing out. He tried his best to hold back, but his body demanded he let this emotion out and he let out a high-pitched whine before he cried even harder into Kotetsu’s shirt. He felt ridiculous, resorting to crying to ease his pain and discomfort, but all these years he held every thing in, refusing to let anyone see any sort of weakness in him, it was just building up inside of him and just waiting for the chance to burst. Kotetsu seemed like the only person that managed to break through the wall he had formed around himself all those years ago and saw that childish and vulnerable side of him. It made him sick to his stomach to think Kotetsu just simply accepted it, allowing him to whine and complain to gain sympathy. No…he wasn’t doing this for sympathy—he just couldn’t take it, his mind couldn’t handle the psychological damage that had been done to him. But what were other people thinking of him doing this, breaking down and crying? He had become so obsessed with his ‘image’ that he couldn’t help but grow concerned with how other people viewed him, even Kotetsu. Did Kotetsu see him as a child? Did he see him as a little, fragile person begging for attention? Perhaps that’s the reason why Kotetsu was hesitating to be in a relationship with him—he was too much of a child…a stupid little bratty, cocky child. Then again, it was his messed up brain that was telling him this, he didn’t know what to believe anymore.

Kotetsu himself could feel a bit of fluid form in his eyes, blinking several times trying to hold it back. There was simply no way for this relationship to work out, but he didn’t feel it was fair to Barnaby to deny any sort of intimate contact just because of his family, namely his brother. He could see Barnaby was desperate to cling to someone, to have someone in his life to care about while that person could take care of all of his problems. Without someone there, Barnaby was lost and probably would distance himself from everyone and everything like he did before. “Bunny?” Kotetsu finally spoke up, hearing the muffled sounds of Barnaby’s cries cease afterwards. “Do you feel depressed at all?” From all the crying he had done and the way Barnaby would stare off into the distance and just isolate himself, it was hardly a question that needed to be asked. Kotetsu knew he had to be sad. With everything Barnaby had learned about his parents murder, Mavericks true intentions with him being a Hero—namely for his own benefit; ratings and money, and nearly killing his own partner, there was no way for Barnaby to be mentally stable.

Barnaby jerked his head up slightly from the question, shifting back from Kotetsu who unwrapped his arms from around him. Do I tell him? He thought to himself, wiping away a tear from the corner of his eye that slipped out at the last minute. Do I tell him what a complete selfish idiot I am? Barnaby’s hung his head, his gaze going to the ground. “Honestly…I am a bit.” He wiped his cheek with the back of his hand, closing his eyes tightly before lifting his head up again. Opening his now sore eyes again, they instantly locked onto Kotetsu’s, noticing his eyes were slightly red as well. His heart throbbed hard against his chest briefly, hurt that his own grief might be affecting Kotetsu as well. “Why are you crying?”

“Because you were crying!” Kotetsu said, pouting when Barnaby chuckled slightly. “I don’t get you…first you cry and now you’re teasing me!”

“I’m sorry.” Barnaby laughed even harder. Honestly he didn’t know why he was laughing, maybe it was to make himself feel better or maybe he always got a kick out of everything Kotetsu did—maybe it was both. “You’re just so cute.” Kotetsu frowned even more, narrowing his eyes at him, trying to be as upset as he possibly could with his horrible acting skills. “Even though I am still a bit upset, when I’m with you, I feel happy. I guess your annoying nature keeps me from thinking about other things.” He teased, hiccupping softly as he dried the rest his face with his hand.

“What’s that suppose to mean?” Kotetsu’s playful pouting eventually grew into a big smile when he saw the other man smile in return. “But seriously…if you’re ever feeling sad or depressed, don’t hesitate to come and talk to me, because I don’t want you to feel that way! I don’t want a depressed bunny, I want a cute and happy bunny!”

“I realize that. That’s why I’m here with you aren’t I?” Barnaby managed to keep the smile he had on his face.

Kotetsu gave the other man a thumbs up, along with his usual cheeky grin. “Exactly!” The short happiness dissipated slightly when the younger man in front of him suddenly coughed harshly. Concern growing in him again, Kotetsu rested a hand on Barnaby’s shoulder. “You okay?”

“Yeah I’m fine. I just had a tickle in my throat.” Barnaby replied, his hand covering his mouth as he coughed a few more times, feeling the dryness in the back of his throat fade away afterwards. “I should be asking you that question anyways.”

“Eh?” Kotetsu quirked his head in question.

“How are your wounds from the blast?”

“Oh! They’re…they’re healing up.” Kotetsu and the other man’s gaze went down to his chest at the same time, his hand going there as well. “The burns I got still make this whole area sore, but that jelly stuff they gave me from the hospital works like a charm!” The younger man chuckled in response. “How about you? How’s that leg feelin’?”

“It’s fine. The blade didn’t puncture as deep as the doctors originally thought so it didn’t hit anything major.” Barnaby explained. Neither of them spoke afterwards, both of them wondering how they had changed the topic around entirely and so quickly. Maybe they both wanted to avoid the issue between them and Muramasa, and the relationship between the two of them for that matter.

“Dinner’s ready!” Anju stepped into the hallway, drying her hands with a dishtowel as she did so. Her eyes widened in surprise when she saw her son and Barnaby standing in the hallway, turning to look at her quickly as if she startled them. “Kotetsu? You’re home already?”

“Y-yeah! Um…” Kotetsu stammered. “Muramasa let me come home early anyways!”

“I see. Well, come on into the kitchen and get some food before it gets cold! I’ll go get Kaede.”

----

Wake up too early had practically become a habit for Kotetsu. The older he got it seemed like he couldn’t sleep as decently as he wanted. He hardly could sleep in anymore even if he got the opportunity to like he had now since he was no longer working as a Hero. He was so use to getting up early for work, his internal clock was still working its normal routine. Stretching his arms above his head, he arched his back, hearing a loud pop and crack as he did so. He grunted when he let his body drop back onto the mat below him, lying there for a moment before sitting up, yawning and stretching himself out even more. The sun hadn’t even risen yet from what he could determine when he eyed the windows to the left of him. His gaze fell down next to him to the sleeping figure of his partner who remained undisturbed by his motion. He was awake before Barnaby for a change. Kotetsu smiled, shifting himself onto his knees before taking the blankets and draping them more over Barnaby. Content that Barnaby was tucked in enough to keep warm, Kotetsu grabbed a change of clothes and headed out of their room.

Not long after, Kotetsu made his way into the kitchen. He prepped the coffee maker and as he waited for the coffee, he nibbled on a banana. As he did so he couldn’t help but let his mind wander. It was about Barnaby as usual. He thought about the possibility of taking Barnaby to a psychiatrist or maybe to some treatment that could help him, but it wasn’t like Barnaby was crazy. Not only that, he knew Barnaby probably wouldn’t appreciate a stranger asking him a bunch of personal questions attempting to delve into his mind. Kotetsu was truly at a loss of what to do. He wanted to put Barnaby at ease, but didn’t think that just being here with him was going to do it. Sighing in frustration, Kotetsu shoved a big chunk of the banana he was eating into his mouth—and his timing couldn’t be more perfect, whipping his head around when he heard someone step into the room.

Anju raised an eyebrow at her youngest son, cheeks bulging with his lips wrapped around the banana as if he was sucking on it—heaven forbid she have any perverted thoughts after seeing something like that. “You and your bananas…I don’t know what it is…” She trailed off, passing Kotetsu to the fridge.

Kotetsu quickly chewed and swallowed the big bite he had taken from the piece of fruit. “But bananas are good for me.” He mumbled, pouting as he ate the rest of his before-breakfast snack, tossing the skin of it in the garbage before going to get his coffee. He poured himself a cup, blowing on the liquid before taking a sip. “Keeps me nice and strong!”

“I know they do.” Anju chuckled. “But you eat so much other junk food that’s not healthy for you.”

“That’s not true!” Kotetsu scoffed.

“Oh? Then name some of the other healthy stuff you eat.”

Kotetsu hesitated briefly, compiling a mental list in his head. “Well…fried rice! Fried rice is pretty healthy since I always put cut up veggies in it! Um…” He tapped a finger against his chin in thought. “Um…”

“And fried rice probably takes up ninety-percent of your diet.” Anju shook her head playfully, letting out a small chuckle as she prepped some food for omelets.

“Okay I’ll give you that one.” Kotetsu laughed, admitting defeat. “Here Ma, let me help you.”

Several minutes had passed as Kotetsu helped his mother with breakfast, eventually breaking away from the counter to toss some scraps, getting a glimpse of the entryway to the room as he did so. He saw Barnaby standing there, clothes wrinkled and disheveled, hair a mess, but what stood out so much was how pale his face was, his usual charm replaced with a sickly looking mask. “Bunny…?” Kotetsu spoke up, stepping over towards his friend, alarmed. “Are you okay? You don’t look so good.” Barnaby could only shake his head, shutting his eyes tightly as if he was in pain. He looked like he was going to pass out any second, that or suddenly puke right there and then, which wouldn’t have been good for Kotetsu since he was right in the line of fire. Kotetsu patted the younger man on his arm, making him turn around. “Bunny, go back to bed and get some rest.”

Barnaby groaned while rubbing his forehead, letting Kotetsu lead him partially down the hall back to the bedroom. “Could I get…something to drink?” He asked, his voice raspy and dry.

“Oh, sure! Go back to bed and I’ll bring you some tea ‘kay?” Smiling, Kotetsu motioned with a wave for Barnaby to head back before going back into the kitchen.

“Is Barnaby alright?” Anju questioned from across the room, concerned for the blonde man as well.

“I’m sure he’s fine. I think he just came down with a cold.” Kotetsu answered, filling a kettle with water and turning on the stove. “He was coughing yesterday already so-”

Suddenly a loud thud came from the hallway, followed by the sound of several fragile sounding objects falling to the floor. Hero instinct kicking in, Kotetsu snapped in the direction of the sounds, determining quickly where it came from and ran out of the kitchen into the hall. In a few strides he came upon Barnaby, on the floor next to a table that he must have hit on the way down.

“Bunny! Are you okay?!” Kotetsu yelled frantically, carefully rolling the younger man onto his back. “Bunny?!” He didn’t notice that his mother had come up behind him, just as worried as she watched. Barnaby whimpered, his hand instantly going to a spot on the left side of his forehead, muttering something incoherently or just whining in pain, Kotetsu couldn’t tell. “Lemme look.” Kotetsu pulled away Barnaby’s hand, who coughed roughly at that moment, wheezing as he tried catching his breath afterwards. He noticed a small amount of blood on the younger man’s hand and further investigation led to finding a small gash on the left side of his forehead under his bangs.

“I…felt really light headed…and…” Barnaby muttered, wincing as he tried to sit up. He couldn’t get himself up all the way, but the older man was able to snake an arm around him as well as under his legs.

“It’s alright.” Kotetsu smiled, reassuring Barnaby as he picked him up. He may be slightly clueless, but at least he could figure out what had happened--Barnaby felt light headed, probably lost his footing, fell and hit the edge of the table in the hallway with his head. No doubt would Barnaby endure a massive headache now along with his cold. He headed off to their bedroom, Anju following them to get the first aid kit in the bathroom. Despite the situation, Kotetsu couldn’t help but boast that he, Kotetsu T. Kaburagi, finally got to princess carry Barnaby for a change. The younger partner couldn’t help but to chuckle as well, even though every movement sent pain coursing through his body and to his head. Kotetsu laid Barnaby out on the mat on the floor, covering the man up with the covers to his chest for the time being. His mother came in with the first aid kit and a few extra supplies, including cough medicine. He took his time cleaning off the other man’s wound and bandaging it up.

During that time Kaede had wandered over to the room, concerned after she had woken up from hearing the loud thud and her father yelling. Her grandmother attempted to calm her and keep her out of the room, but she skillfully slipped through and knelt next to Barnaby. “Is Barnaby okay?!”

“He’ll be fine Kaede.” Kotetsu reassured his daughter, finishing up placing the bandage on Barnaby’s forehead. “C’mon go get ready for school.” He looked up, glancing at his daughter who was obviously worried.

“But I want to stay and-”

“Kaede…” Kotetsu’s more fatherly stern voice came through this time, urging Kaede to do what she was told. His daughter pouted, annoyed, her eyes looking away from him.

“I’ll be alright Kaede.” Barnaby’s low, hoarse voice caught the attention of both father and daughter, who looked at him instantly, Kaede a little more concerned than Kotetsu, still wanting to skip school and stay there and be his ‘nurse’. “I don’t want to get you sick as well though, so it’s best you leave.” He smiled at the young girl, hoping that she would at least listen to him.

Kaede sighed. “Fine…” She stood up, pointing an accusing finger at her father. “You better take good care of him while I’m gone!”

“Hah?” Kotetsu questioned, but before he could continue, Kaede scurried out of the room. He frowned. “But I have to work today.” He muttered to himself.

“I was going to work today too.” Barnaby stated, obviously overhearing what Kotetsu said to himself. Perhaps because he was a fighter, he tried sitting up, cringing instantly when a sharp pain flew up his back and into his head, along with a vein pumping so hard in his forehead were he hit the table earlier causing him to have an even worse headache. He fell back onto the pillow, mainly because Kotetsu pushed him back down.

“You’re in no condition to work Bunny! You have a cold, you’re injured. You need to rest!” Kotetsu lectured the younger man, tucking the sheets and blankets around him to keep him warm. Barnaby simply groaned in response, suddenly coughing hard which led to a chain-reaction of hacking after that.

Anju, who had been standing near the entryway to the room watching over the situation the entire time, finally spoke up. “Before I go shopping, I’ll cook some soup for you to eat later Barnaby. Is chicken noodle alright?”

“Yes. Thank you.” Barnaby smiled at her before closing his eyes, trying his best to rest. If only the tickle in his throat would go away and the pressure in his entire head would vanish, he could at least relax his body a bit.

Once his mother was out of the room, Kotetsu placed a peck on the younger man’s forehead, who turned his head away, insisting that Kotetsu shouldn’t get near him otherwise he would get sick as well. “Tck, I’ll be fine.” Realizing from the kiss and his hand planted on Barnaby’s forehead, he made a quick trip to the bathroom to get a small towel, soak it with cold water before coming back and placing it on the man’s forehead. “You going to be okay with me gone? I can ask my brother if-”

“I’ll be fine Kotetsu.” Barnaby interrupted, getting fairly annoyed with Kotetsu’s persistence, as usual. “I need to rest anyways, so there’s not much you can do.”

“I suppose so.” Kotetsu couldn’t help but worry. Even though it was just a simple head cold, his experience with losing his wife to illness always came to mind during these situations. He also had that fatherly mentality, wanting to watch over to make sure every little need was attended to. Kotetsu had to keep reminding himself that Barnaby was an adult and could handle taking care of himself. He had been living on his own for the past several years and he could bear without someone there for a few hours, right? The little doubt that still lingered in his mind was just part of his personality; always concerned about others rather than himself.

“Kotetsu…”

“I know I know…” Kotetsu stood, smiling at the younger man below him. “I’ll have my phone with me, so call me if you need anything.” Barnaby nodded in reply, closing his eyes again as he let out a drained sigh, attempting to get some sleep. Kotetsu grabbed some essentials before heading out, closing the door behind him. As he passed the kitchen, he thanked his mother for helping out who was just heading to their room to bring Barnaby some tea, then heading to the front door where his brother and Kaede waited. When he caught his brother’s eye for the brief moment before he looked away, he had realized he had completely forgotten about the day before.

It was going to be an awkward day.

----

He wasn’t sure exactly what time it was. With the soreness coursing though his body and the pressure just building up inside of his head, he could hardly be aware of his surroundings. Barnaby just knew he had woken up several times, the tickle in his throat causing him to cough more rather than breathe and then it took him what felt like forever to fall back asleep, only to be woken up again by that damn tickle.

But this time Barnaby heard shuffling and what sounded like soft padding of footsteps in the hall. He didn’t have the strength or the determination to get up and see who it was--he just assumed it was Kotetsu’s mother. Several minutes later he was proven wrong when Kotetsu opened the door to their room, stepping inside and smiling when he saw that he was awake.

“Feeling any better Bunny?” Kotetsu asked, kneeling down next to the younger man, removing the towel he had placed on his forehead before and feeling the man’s forehead with his hand.

“No…” Barnaby let out an exasperated sigh, actually relieved that Kotetsu was there. He wasn’t getting much decent sleep anyways and he was getting hungry, or at least that is what he assumed with the gurgling noises his stomach was making. “Could you warm up that soup your mom made?” He muttered, rubbing the space between his eyes.

“Sure. I’ll be right back.”

Not too long after, Kotetsu had come back with a steaming hot bowl of soup. He had Barnaby propped up the best he could with pillows so he was at least sitting up somewhat. It would be easier for the younger man to eat without spilling the hot liquid all over himself and despite Barnaby’s protest, Kotetsu insisted feeing him himself. Again, fatherly instinct kicking in for him.

“Open up~” Kotetsu mused with a big grin on his face, hovering the large spoon filled with soup in front of Barnaby’s mouth.

“I’m not a child.” Barnaby muttered, annoyed, but opened his mouth slightly anyways for Kotetsu to stick the spoon in. Kotetsu simply chuckled happily in response, scooping up more soup and bringing it to his mouth again. This time, Barnaby didn’t want to open his mouth, more like he couldn’t. The hunger he had felt earlier in his stomach was replaced with a more unpleasant gurgling sensation, causing everything he was eating or everything he had eating prior to slowly make its way up his throat. He brought his hand up, pushing Kotetsu’s away and sat himself up. “I can’t eat anymore…”

“But you barely ate anything!” Kotetsu glanced down at the bowl of soup in his hands before replacing the spoon in the bowl and setting it aside. His attention went back to his partner, who was hanging his head with his hand against his mouth. It took Kotetsu a moment to realize that Barnaby had that facial expression that he was about to puke. “Oh…come on.” Kotetsu wrapped his arms around the man’s smaller frame and brought him up to his feet, quickly leading him to the bathroom.

If Kotetsu wasn’t there he wouldn’t have made it. Barnaby could feel it in the back of his throat and as soon as he was in front of the toilet and removed his hand he began vomiting. If there was one thing he couldn’t tolerate and hated it was getting sick like this. Luckily for him that he rarely got this sick where he found himself in front of a toilet or bucket spewing out the contents of his stomach, but the few times it had happen to him were the worse experiences he had ever had being sick. Several minutes and two flushes later he felt the sickening feeling mostly subside, but now he had a nasty taste in his mouth along with a burning sensation in the back of his throat. He rested his head against his hand, propping himself up by placing his elbow on the toilet seat. Breathing slowly, he just rested there, making sure he didn’t have to get sick again. All the while Kotetsu was there with him, sitting on the edge of the bathtub next to him, rubbing his back. It was hard for him to admit it was a bit soothing feeling the other man’s hand massage his back, still not use to the amount of attention Kotetsu would give to a single person when they were in the condition he was in. Kotetsu truly was a caring person. A hand on his head brought his attention back to reality, turning his head slightly in the direction of Kotetsu.

“Feeling a little better now?” Kotetsu asked, feeling that Barnaby was still pretty hot.

Barnaby moaned. “I still feel…like I have to puke, but I doubt I have anything left in my stomach to do so.” He felt arms around him again, hoisting him up.

“You probably should lie down again.” Kotetsu mentioned. After Barnaby washed his hands they were back in the bedroom, Kotetsu tucking the younger man in again.

“By the way, when did you get home?” Barnaby asked, closing his eyes when Kotetsu put the cold soaked cloth on his head again.

“Awhile ago actually.” Kotetsu answered, preparing some cough medicine for Barnaby to take. “My brother let me leave early. There wasn’t much to do anyways.”

“What about what happened yesterday?”

“We didn’t talk about it. We didn’t talk at all.” Kotetsu explained, handing the little cup to Barnaby, who took it and drank down the syrup. “The only words we exchanged were ‘you can go home now’ and ‘okay’.” He sighed, taking the cup back from the other man. Barnaby didn’t respond to him—there wasn’t really much he could say to that. Gathering the bowl of soup and medicine, Kotetsu then left the room, optimistic that Barnaby would be alright for now. He just had to rest the cold off, which by now probably was the stomach flu of some sort.

----

Several hours had passed and Kaede had just come home from school. She slowly opened the door to her dad’s and Barnaby’s room, excited to be home to help take care of Barnaby. But to her dismay, Barnaby was fast asleep and Kotetsu urged her not to disturb him.

“Well, I drew this.” Kaede handed her father a piece of paper. A drawing of a bunny with what looked like a thermometer in its mouth and an ice pack on its head was on it, along with the words “get well soon” on the top. “I made it while everyone was reading in class.” Kaede paused, seeing her father narrow his eyes at her in slight disapproval. “And before you start accusing me of not doing the reading as well I had finished the reading before anyone else did, so I had some extra time since I had to wait.”

Kotetsu paused, having a bit of a staring match with Kaede to determine who had the sternest look. “Alright…good girl.” Kotetsu finally broke away, his attention going over to Barnaby who was still out cold.

Kaede also watched Barnaby for a few minutes before speaking up again. “Does he have a really bad cold?”

“Yeah…poor kid, coming all they way out here and ended up catching a cold.” Kotetsu chuckled, placing his hand on the younger man’s head. Without realizing it, he moved his hand Barnaby’s face slightly, caressing the man’s cheek gently and caringly. Of course, it caught the attention of Kaede.

“Dad what are you doing?”

Kotetsu jerked back his hand, realizing what he had just done in front of his daughter. “AH! I…I-”

“Shhh!” Kaede shushed him, placing a finger to her mouth. “You’re going to wake him!”

“I will not!” Kotetsu responded with a lower voice this time. The young girl frowned at him, her face displaying that familiar ‘you’re such a child dad’ look she often wore when with him. Both father and daughter sat there briefly in silence, Kaede still giving him un-amused looks whenever he glanced at her. Kotetsu rubbed the back of his neck, feeling a bit of the tension growing between them.

“I hope Barnaby likes living here with us.” Kaede broke the silence, her demeanor seemingly switching instantly from being mature to timid.

Kotetsu didn’t answer right away, his mind instantly thought of Barnaby’s love confession to him a few days prior. Knowing that confession, it was pretty obvious that Barnaby probably loved being there with him and his family. “I’m sure he does.” He smiled to himself before looking towards Kaede. “Do you like him living here Kaede?”

“Uh huh!” Kaede replied ecstatically almost instantly.

“I just hope you’re not replacing me with him.” Kotetsu pouted.

“Geez Dad…” Kaede sighed, annoyed with her father once again. “He’s more like a big brother to me.” Kotetsu hummed in question, lightening up a bit as well. “He’s been teaching me ways to control my power easier, so it doesn’t activate randomly.”

“I could have taught you that.” Kotetsu pouted even more, feeling a bit disheartened. It seemed like Kaede was spending more time with Barnaby than he was spending with her, despite being her father.

“Are you sure? Grandma and Uncle Muramasa have told me how you use to destroy the house when you got your powers.”

“That…That only happened a few times.” Kotetsu corrected, perhaps trying to retain some of his dignity. “And you didn’t destroy anything when you got yours?” He teased her, feeling a giggle escape when Kaede blushed in embarrassment.

Kaede pointed at him, accusingly. “That’s only because I copied your power!”

Kotetsu continued to chuckle, earning a less than menacing shove from Kaede. “Heh, don’t worry you’ll learn to control it over time.” Kotetsu reached over, patting Kaede on the head, who grumbled from the contact. He expected the phrase ‘stop treating me like a kid’ to escape her mouth but got nothing. “So, what if Barnaby decides he wants to stay here?” Kotetsu continued what they were discussing earlier, which of course perked up Kaede immediately.

“Why? Is he going to?!”

A perky smile grew on Kotetsu’s face, wanting to laugh, seeing Kaede’s eyes almost literally sparkle in delight. “He might.”

“That would be so cool!” Kaede clasped her hands together, doing a little hop as she knelt on the ground. She thought of bragging to her friends at school, other family, and to anyone else who would listen that she was the coolest kid in Oriental Town, having Barnaby the Hero living at her home. Her father laughed in response but the two of them quickly hushed and brought their attention at the man lying on the floor before them, who had groaned.

“Could you two not talk so loud? I’m trying to sleep.” Barnaby whispered, opening an eye for a second to look at the two figures above him before shutting them again.

Kotetsu instantly sprung up from his position. “That’s right!” He twisted around to Kaede, who had stood up as well, and began shoving her towards the door. “C’mon Bunny’s gotta sleep now! Out out out!”

“Hey you should get out of the room too Dad! You’re louder than I am!” Kaede protested, but finally gave up when she was pushed out into the hallway.

“Yeah but I’m taking care of him!” Kotetsu said pronounced, shutting the door, leaving Kaede out in the hallway.

“And you better take good care of him!” Kaede muffled call came from the hallway.

Making his way back to Barnaby’s side, Kotetsu couldn’t help but chuckle. That’s right, Barnaby was Kaede ticket to being popular at school right now.

Barnaby moaned, blinking his eyes open again, lifting his arm above him and resting it above his head. “I hate being sick.” He mumbled, the older man beside him feeling his forehead again for his temperature. Honestly Barnaby was getting sick of Kotetsu doing it—why didn’t the man just use a thermometer? But he could tolerate it for now considering he loved the contact. “I don’t think I’ve ever been this sick before.”

“You’re just too use to the nice and clean Golden Stage of Stern Bild you use to live in!” Kotetsu stated with a smile.

“Doesn’t mean its germ free.” Barnaby earned a chuckle from Kotetsu, who gathered a mug from beside him.

“I’ll get you some more tea.”

“Kotetsu…” Barnaby spoke up, causing Kotetsu to pause at the door to the room and look back at him. “Thanks for taking care of me.”

A ticklish warm feeling grew in Kotetsu’s stomach, causing him to smile with a blush forming across his face. “Of course Bunny! I just want you to be as comfortable as you can be while you’re here with us!”

Barnaby watched as Kotetsu exited the room, sighing in a bit of disbelief. Apparently it wasn’t clicking in the older man’s mind yet that he was indeed probably going to stay there, forever. He was becoming too attracted to Kotetsu it was impossible for him to just leave. “Kotetsu you annoying, dense, but adorable old man…” He still questioned himself occasionally why he fell for the older man. Maybe that phrase ‘opposites attract’ has some validity to it.
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[Tiger & Bunny] - Without Reason