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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
- 5
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Chapter 6

A beeping ring-tone disturbed their sweet moment they were having together, even if the sweet moment was just the two of them snuggling up against each other. Kotetsu reached up for his phone on the end table behind him, the younger man who had been resting his head on his shoulder sat himself up, taking a sip of his tea. Thankfully Barnaby’s cold had cleared up quite a bit overnight and was reduced to throbbing pressure inside of his nose and a cough here and there. Kotetsu wasn’t getting much sleep with the blonde coughing every ten minutes and he assumed Barnaby didn’t fair better the past two nights either. Both of them were in a groggy mood, which is why they planted themselves on the floor of the living room in front of the sofa, watching some television.

“Kotetsu!”

“Oh! Antonio?” Kotetsu perked his head up in surprise upon hearing his old friend’s voice on the other end. “How ya doin’?”

“Kotetsu, if you switch your phone over to video mode we’ll be able to see you.”

“Hah?” Kotetsu blinked, taking his phone from his ear and examining it. “Wait, my phone can do that?” He frowned when he heard the younger man next to him sigh.

“Of course it can Kotetsu.” Barnaby snaked his hand under the older man’s arm and to his phone, touching the screen and moving through the menus faster than Kotetsu could even comprehend what he was doing. Eventually a viewing screen zoomed out from his phone with static, which was soon replaced with a visual image of Antonio along with the other Hero’s behind him.

“Oh hey! Everyone there!” Kotetsu exclaimed happily, waving at the other group. “This is so cool…! I didn’t know my phone had this feature too.”

“It’s always been on there…” Barnaby scoffed playfully, earning another frown from Kotetsu.

“Well sorry I’m not tech-savy.” Kotetsu huffed, sticking up his nose and pouting.

“Its okay you’re just old-fashioned, I understand.” Barnaby smirked.

“So anyways…” Antonio began, clearing his throat to divert the two former Hero’s attention. “How have you guys been doing? I hope you haven’t been fighting with each other.”

“Now why would they do that Bison~?” Nathan leaned in from behind, his face closing in to the buffer Hero’s face who winced and edged away. “Tiger and Handsome get along perfectly!” He exclaimed cheerfully, leaning in closer to the screen. “Isn’t that right you two~?”

Kotetsu laughed. “We’re doing just fine! Well maybe except Bunny, he has a cold right now.” Together in perfect unison all the Hero’s let out a small concerned gasp.

“Oh poor Barnaby!” Pao-lin said, leaning around the chair Antonio was sitting on.

“Drink lots of tea.” Ivan exclaimed quietly from partially hiding behind Keith.

Barnaby chuckled in response, mainly because he could tell Kotetsu was a little jealous of the attention he automatically got. “Don’t worry, I’m alright. I have a nurse to take care of me.” He smiled, nudging Kotetsu’s shoulder with his own before taking a drink of his tea nonchalantly.

“Hah?” Kotetsu raised his eyebrow at the blonde next to him.

There was a brief silence on the Hero’s side as well, before one of them spoke up. “Nurse Tiger?” Keith muttered, his mouth as well as the other Hero’s slowly perking into a giant smile before bursting into laughter.

“Hey!” Kotetsu shouted, blushing madly.

“Where’s your uniform Nurse Tiger?” Antonio teased.

“Stop that…” Kotetsu murmured, pouting humorously.

“Actually I would be pretty worried about Tiger being a Nurse.” Karina spoke up from the back of the group, completely not amused by the situation. “He’ll probably just make Barnaby sicker.”

“Now now young lady…” Nathan faced her, a bit of his serious side showing through. “No need to be jealous.”

“I’m not jealous!” She blushed in response.

All the while, Kotetsu and Barnaby watched, the younger man rolling his eyes. Kotetsu however remembered something Barnaby had told him several days prior about Karina having a crush on him. Now it made sense to him why Karina would freak out or blush around him. But he had to make sure. “Oh! Blue Rose? Did you get your hair done? It looks nice!” He said, gaining her attention instantly on the other end of the line. Honestly, he was guessing—he really couldn’t tell if she did anything different with her hair but it was worth a shot.

Karina blushed even more, cupping her hands on her face, attempting to hide her embarrassment. “I-I um…thank you.” She muttered, quickly turning away and running off screen to hide, the rest of the Hero’s watching curiously.

“You’re right Bunny, she does have a thing for me.” Kotetsu whispered to Barnaby.

“Told you.” Barnaby said, taking a sip of his tea.

The other Hero’s roll their eyes, Karina’s behavior not coming as a surprise to any of them. “So anyways…” Antonio spoke up, facing the screen again. “Be sure to let us know if you come into town. Then we can hang out, just like the good old days.”

“Of course! Talk to you guys later!” Kotetsu waved goodbye before ending the call, the pop-out screen instantly shrinking and disappearing. Right after, Barnaby leaned up against him, rested his head on his shoulder. He smiled, ruffling a hand through the blonde’s hair. “Lil’ Bunny tired? You should probably get some more rest since your technically still sick.”

“I am.” Barnaby smirked, snuggling up even further against the older man.

Kotetsu chuckled, grabbing a blanket from on the couch behind them and wrapping it around Barnaby, placing his arm around him afterwards. Now stuck where he was with Barnaby using him as a pillow, he resumed watching television.

----

“How are you feeling now that you’ve taken a nap?”

“I feel great actually.” Barnaby answered, smiling at the older man standing before him as he sat on the floor where their bed was.

“Good. That means you can join us!” Kotetsu happily grinned, reaching down and grabbing the younger man’s arm and hoisting him up.

“What? What for?”

“And you call me dense…” Kotetsu muttered, leading Barnaby out of their room and through the house. He paused when they got to the room they were in earlier that day, stepping in front of Barnaby before letting him in the room. “What day is today?”

Barnaby blinked, not realizing today was a special day. “I’m not sure.”

Kotetsu frowned, actually not the least bit surprised that Barnaby didn’t remember what day it was. Couldn’t blame him though, it was the day his parents died, so he probably just tuned everything else out that was unimportant to him. “C’mon c’mon.” He smiled again, grabbing the younger man’s hands and stepped backwards, pulling him into the room along with him.

The instant they were inside, Anju and Kaede greeted them. “Merry Christmas!”

Barnaby eyes went wide in shock but soon felt himself smiling, blushing slightly as well. That’s right it was Christmas Eve. He had honestly forgotten with everything that had happened recently. Not only that, today wasn’t exactly a happy day for him. But he was willing to move on and forget those horrible memories and instead replace them with fonder memories that Kotetsu was helping him create by living with him. To have a more positive outlook on life—that was his ultimate goal. “Thank you. Merry Christmas to you both too.” Barnaby replied, becoming bashful.

Both men took a seat on the floor and Anju handed out presents, Barnaby instantly complaining that they didn’t need to get him anything.

“Shush! Now open your present’s young man.” Kotetsu teased Barnaby, taking one of the presents that were placed in front of him and shoving it into his face.

Barnaby rolled his eyes, but listened anyways, realizing it wasn’t worth arguing with the older man. The first gift was from Kotetsu’s mother. He smirked when he pulled out a very fuzzy, soft, pinkish-red colored blanket which she had handmade for him. Obviously Kotetsu had revealed that everything he should get was to be pink in color. Nothing he would complain about as he slowly fell in love with his bunny plush which was nearly the same pink color. He could tolerate it, so long as he didn’t receive any clothes that were pink.

Next was Kaede’s gift to him, which consisted of a box filled with various candy and chocolate, one of which being his favorite: cherry and Brandy filled chocolates. If there was one type of junk food that he would devour within a day without any hesitation, it would be those chocolates. The moment he pulled the box of chocolates out to take a closer look at it, the older man next to him chuckled.

“Candy is kind of a weird gift to be giving to someone for Christmas Kaede.” He explained and as usual, Kaede shot him a nasty look.

“Everyone loves candy Dad!” Kaede exclaimed loudly.

“Yeah but its more of a gift you give someone on a date!”

“Says who?!”

Both father and daughter stared at each other with scowling expressions on their faces, neither of them willing to give in. Anju shook her head with a smile on her face, muttering to herself how the two of them are such a handful.

“I’m sorry.” Barnaby apologized, intruding into the conversation and moment between Kotetsu and Kaede. “I don’t have any gifts for any of you.”

“Oh it’s okay Barnaby.” Anju reassured the blonde with a smile. “I’m just glad you could join us.”

“Yeah! Being here is like a gift!” Kaede said happily, crawling over to Barnaby and falling on top of him, giving him a hug. The blonde chuckled at her, patting her on the back.

“Ah hah...” Kotetsu laughed softly. “I didn’t get you anything Bunny.” He paused, Kaede shooting him a look again in disappointment.

“It’s alright Kotetsu.” Barnaby said.

“I wasn’t sure what you would like. But I promise I’ll take you out one day and I’ll buy you anything you want!”

“Wahhh?!” Kaede shot up from her position on Barnaby in complete shock. “You’ve never done that for me!”

“Have to!”

“Have not!”

Barnaby was the one to shake his head this time. The both of them always seemed to be at each other’s throats, despite him talking to Kaede not too long ago about trying to respect her father. Looks like it was going to take some time. “You don’t need to get me anything Kotetsu.” He interrupted yet again. “Just being with you’re family is enough of a gift for me.”

“But—“ Kotetsu began, only to be hushed by the younger man.

“Don’t worry about it.”

Kotetsu grumbled to himself, frowning as he closed his eyes. Eventually he perked up again, glancing over at Barnaby. “I’m still gonna get you something.” He muttered, earning a short chuckle from the younger man.

----

That night couldn’t have gone better, at least in Kotetsu’s opinion. From his point of view, it was the most he’d seen Barnaby smile in the entire time he’s known him. Even though he wouldn’t admit it, he knew that Barnaby was happy and enjoying a Christmas with a family for the first time in a long time. Obviously he couldn’t provide the same kind of Christmas his parents might have given him before they died, but his own family sufficed, even with his brother sulking on the couch and trying not to interact with anyone. Not only that, Barnaby’s words stuck with him the entire night.

”Just being with you’re family is enough of a gift for me.”

The next morning, he had woken up early, just like he would every Christmas Day. Kaede was awake as well, joining her father in the kitchen to prepare the meal they did every year—some fluffy buttermilk pancakes. They already had a stack of seven done by the time Anju and Barnaby joined them. One of the pancakes was shaped what was suppose to be a bunny for Barnaby, but it looked more like a mouse with a swollen cheek. As payback—for just making the bunny pancake—Barnaby made his own pancake, shaped like a tiger and decorated with chocolate chips provided by Kaede. Kotetsu of course was jealous of how perfect the tiger pancake looked, even more envious when Barnaby said it was his first time making pancakes. To add insult to injury, Barnaby kept the pancake for himself, savoring the cute tiger pancake to tease Kotetsu, who in turn decided to devour the mutated bunny pancake.

It was a wonderful morning. Everyone was smiling and laughing. For the first time, Barnaby felt like part of the Kaburagi family rather than an intrusion. He felt more comfortable interacting with his family now than when he first moved in. Then again, this morning felt different because a particular person didn’t join them. Muramasa never came to breakfast, which his mother noticed immediately. Kotetsu didn’t say anything, nor did Barnaby. It wasn’t worth spilling their secret to explain why Muramasa wasn’t there. But soon the mystery revolving Muramasa’s absence subsided and the group resumed their meal.

“Enjoy breakfast Bunny?” Kotetsu asked as he followed his partner down the hall to their bedroom.

“Yes. It was delicious Kotetsu. I thought you only knew how to cook fried rice?”

“Hey I can cook other things with a recipe.” The older man asserted.

Barnaby chuckled softly to himself as he continued down the hall, eventually feeling a tap on his shoulder. He stopped and turned around, jumping in surprise when he found himself staring at…something. It was too close to his face it appeared blurry to him. When he backed away, he realized just what it was.

“Caught ya under the mistletoe! Gotta kiss me now Bunny~!” Kotetsu teased, puckering up his lips at him.

Barnaby sighed, shaking his head. “I’m still technically sick.”

“I don’t care.” Kotetsu grinned. Using his other hand, he grabbed the back of the blonde’s head and pulled him towards him, locking lips with him hard. Barnaby grunted into the kiss at the initial shock, but before long he was kissing him back. Kotetsu smiled into the kiss, realizing just how awkwardly Barnaby kissed. At least he was trying. He found it cute that he was trying so hard to kiss him back just as sweetly. He’s got a lot to learn, this kid.

After a minute or so they pulled apart. They were both blushing as they looked at each other, acting like the bashful, amateur couple that they were. Kotetsu opened his mouth to say something but paused, seeing Barnaby’s eyes go wide, almost like he was panicking. The older man looked over his shoulder, he too feeling his eyes open up wide in shock, his body going rigid.

“Mom?” Kotetsu managed to blurt out, seeing Anju standing there behind him. Well, that was it. The game was up. His mother knew now just what was going on between them.

“Hm?” Anju simply hummed in question.

A smile tugged at the corners of his mother’s mouth, which made Kotetsu swallow. Was she even mad? Was she just hiding the inevitable outburst of rage behind that smile? For once he couldn’t read his mother, but he feared the worse and expected the worse. He wanted to say something in his defense—in both his and Barnaby’s defense—but his mouth had become too dry to even function. He was sure Barnaby was no different, being equally silent behind him. Anju suddenly laughed, which made both men worry even more.

“Honestly, I think you might be too good for my son Barnaby.” Anju said.

Kotetsu and Barnaby blinked, still holding in air that they’ve had for the past several minutes. The older partner was the one to move first, raising an eyebrow and pouting at his mother the moment it clicked in his mind.

“What do you mean by that Ma?” He asked, placing his hands on his hips, becoming a little defensive. His mother laughed again, which honestly made him feel a little better. She really wasn’t mad at them.

“I hope…it’s not…” Barnaby trailed off, unable to finish his sentence. He couldn’t, he didn’t know what to say or what he should say, but it seemed Anju knew exactly what he was thinking.

“Ah, it’s the same as with Tomoe isn’t it?” Anju said, looking directly at her youngest son.

“Huh?” Both men questioned, but Kotetsu was the one to blush and look away in embarrassment.

“You didn’t bother telling us that you liked her and starting dating her until several months in if I recall correctly. That’s like you to hide things Kotetsu.”

“Well yeah…” Kotetsu muttered. “But there was kinda a reason this time. I wasn’t sure how you’d handle this.”

“What’s wrong with this?” Anju asked, earning surprised looks and soft gasps from both men. She chuckled. “Sure it’s a little surprising that you would end up falling in love with someone the same sex as you after you’ve been married, but if you two love each other, I don’t see why you two can’t be together.”

A huge, relived sigh came out from both men at the same time, looking at each other and laughing softly. Barnaby felt the nervousness he had been experiencing vanish with the sigh, looking at Anju with much sincerity. “Thank you for understanding Mrs. Kaburagi.” He bowed slightly, finally knowing that it was the proper thing to do when showing appreciation.

“Barnaby, you can just call me Anju.”

“Ah-! R-Right…”

Kotetsu didn’t feel as satisfied with the situation as Barnaby did, a thought still nagging his mind. “Yeah but…now there’s Muramasa.”

“What?” Anju asked, titling her head in confusion.

“Oh…Muramasa’s being a bit of an ass about this. He pretty much figured out on his own that we are together and doesn’t really like it.”

“I see. Did you talk to him?”

“Yeah, well I tried. He’s kind of avoiding me now.”

Anju sighed, shaking her head. “You two are really a hand-full aren’t you?” She said, earning a chuckle from her youngest son. “I just hope he’s not jealous.”

Kotetsu blinked in surprise. “Why in the hell would he be jealous of me being with Barnaby?”

“It’s not because that you two are together per-se, it’s probably because you have a relationship with somebody and also been married. You’re brother is getting agitated and impatient since he hasn’t been able to find a girlfriend.” Anju explained.

Kotetsu rolled his eyes. “I doubt that’s the reason.” He muttered.

“Well, I’ll try talking to him.”

“Thanks Ma.” Kotetsu smiled at his mother. “Oh! But don’t tell Kaede about this okay? She doesn’t need to know about this yet.”

“Don’t tell me about what?”

Kotetsu froze as he heard his daughter’s voice from behind his mother. Everyone’s attention was drawn to Kaede who was standing there, a glass of orange juice to her mouth.

“A-Ah…uhhh…” Kotetsu stammered, his brain unable to come up with an excuse quick enough.

“Dad…!” Kaede said as if she was about to lecture him.

“Kaede.” Barnaby spoke up, stepping over to the little girl, gaining her immediate attention. He ignored the look Kotetsu gave him begging him not to tell her, and knelt down in front of her, his trademark cool smile on his face. “What’s the point of a surprise if you know about it?” He watched as Kaede’s face lit up in interest.

“A surprise?” She asked.

“Yes. Maybe you should wait and not let your curiosity get the better of you. You might regret it later.”

Kaede stayed silent, nodding in response. She covered her mouth with one of her hands, turned around, and ran off to her room.

“Now why can’t I do that?” Kotetsu asked, raising an eyebrow at the younger man when he turned back around to face him.

“Do what?”

“I can’t even get Kaede to listen to me half of the time, much less obey me.”

“I just have negotiation skills. Maybe you could take some lessons from me Kotetsu.” Barnaby explained a bit sarcastically, smirking at the older man. Kotetsu frowned in response, making a playful but angry huff as he stuck up his nose and looked away. Barnaby laughed, as well as Anju.

“I think you just need to spend more time with her Kotetsu.” Anju mentioned. “You’ve been sitting around the house doing practically nothing ever since you came back here.”

“What about him?!” Kotetsu yelled, pointing at Barnaby and eventually shoving the finger that was pointing at him in his face.

“You said I was a guest remember? That it was my time to relax and think about where I want to go in life.” A smile tugged at the corners of Barnaby’s mouth as he watched Kotetsu pout, defeated.

“Yeah…r-right.”

“Now since you’re not busy can you take down the laundry for me please?” Anju asked as she shoved a basket full of clothes into Kotetsu’s arms with a very cheerful expression on her face as if to tease him. Her son grumbled in response, turning away and walking toward the laundry room.

“Seems you have the proper negotiation skills as well.” Barnaby joked.

Anju laughed, shaking her head. “Me? I need too. You have no idea just how much trouble it is raising two boys.”

----

A/N: Sorry I realized that some of these are becoming really boring chapters. -_- They’ve become ‘fillers’. *facepalms* I promise it’ll get a little more exciting soon! Just bare with me.

And I’m sorry for the slow update! My desire to write kind of comes and goes. XD Like for a few weeks I can’t stop writing then all of the sudden I get a writers block for a month. Haha. But I also started writing other fanfics, so that didn’t help. XD

Slight edit: Had to fix something that was suppose to be in italics. I'm still use to the old formatting this site used and the html codes. XD
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[Tiger & Bunny] - Without Reason