Disclaimer: Tiger and Bunny and all associated character and materials are property of Sunrise.
Note: I didn't write these three intentionally together, but I found that they had a flow that worked somehow.
Sequence
By: Nanaki BH
He wasn't sure what he was more impressed by: the fact that the other knucklehead heroes had managed to agree on a gift for him or the fact that it had actually gotten to him in one piece. After hearing about the kinds of hell the thing had gone through, he was surprised that it didn't have any split seams or tears in it. Even after it found its way to the police station with Antonio, it was still in perfect condition by the time it returned to his hands. That kind of dedication...
Who did they think they were, anyway? He didn't ask for a gift. He didn't even tell them it was his birthday in the first place. And what kind of stupid present was that supposed to be? A pink stuffed rabbit wasn't the kind of gift you get a grown man. Out of the bunch of them, he figured that one of them would at least have had the sense to realize that.
But there it was, in one piece looking brand new and untarnished on his bed, happily smiling at nothing in particular. Had it really been that important to them?
From the foot of his bed, Barnaby stared at it crossly, almost as if he could will it away; as if he intensified his stare, that he could make it vanish from his sight. It just stayed there, though, looking so perfectly at home against his pillows. The thing was already a fixture of his bed and a member of his house. Even if it was just made of fluff, he knew what all that effort had meant.
It wasn't really the rabbit that was the important thing. Even if it had been ripped to shreds, the fact that they had made the effort...
He took off his glasses and rounded the bed to set them on the bedside table, telling himself that it was just because he was tired and his eyes were irritated. He wasn't crying.
He hated it, he really did. Even as he laid down and wrapped his arms around it, he hated it.
"Who do you think I am?" he mumbled, burying his face in the doll. "I don't deserve this."