A fill from the Tiger and Bunny Anon Meme. Prompt: Starting-out-relationship: Kotetsu figures out that Barnaby is particularly attentive and willing whenever kisses involve Kotetsu having recently eaten something sweet. Kotetsu starts taking advantage of it a little by purposely eating sugary things around him to get his attention.
The first date feels tame. He and Barnaby have had dinner together plenty of times, kicking back and talking about whatever's on their mind. The only difference is the place is a little nicer, the table a little more secluded, the evening a little later. They stay for dessert, too, Barnaby ordering a cappuccino as Kotetsu does what he does best—goes wild.
The menu advertises a rum pudding, as if they haven't had enough wine, but Kotetsu makes additions of whipped cream and raspberry sauce, along with an extra drizzle of chocolate fudge.
"No mayonnaise?" Barnaby teases.
"This is instead of mayonnaise," Kotetsu smiles, already anticipating his tasty treat.
And it is heavenly—the light cream, the heavy chocolate, the bite of the raspberry and sting of the alcohol, Kotetsu can't believe it's so good. He swears he's going to come back every night and order it. Barnaby scoffs at his enthusiasm, and declines a bite when Kotetsu offers.
"On a diet or something?" Kotetsu teases.
"Hardly. If you like it as much as you claim to, it's yours," Barnaby smiles as he pays the check right under Kotetsu's nose.
After dinner, they take a walk hand-in-hand back to Kotetsu's place, a loose, comfortable continuation of their dinner conversation with a little more physical contact. It's a long walk, but neither cares much, though ten minutes away from Kotetsu's house they realize that the date will end, and the question presents itself: should they kiss? The conversation gets gradually pettier and easier to coast through as each wrestles with the question, should I kiss him?
In the end, Kotetsu decides 'yes, I should' in spite of old wives' tales about an ideal partner waiting until the third date for a kiss. He and Barnaby have known each other as friends long enough, and he wants to do something to show Barnaby how much he enjoyed himself. So at the top of Kotestu's stoop, he holds Barnaby's hand a little bit tighter and gives him a quick peck on the lips.
Barnaby's face is priceless—happy but stunned, flash-frozen jitters—and his tongue peeks out of his mouth and licks his top lip a little. Kotetsu grins and thanks him for dinner, but as he tries to drop his hand, suddenly Barnaby's gripping him, holding him there on the top step. He leans in again for another kiss, which Kotetsu's fine with, when he feels the tip of that pink tongue tracing the outside of his mouth.
Tongue, on the first date? Kotetsu wonders, but then decides, What the hell, so he lets Barnaby in.
Barnaby tries to be everywhere at once, all around the inside of Kotetsu's mouth, leaving no corner unexplored. He shifts his hands to Kotetsu's cheeks for better leverage, leaving Kotetsu nothing to do but loop his own arms around Barnaby's waist and try not to fall over. He's low on technique, but high in enthusiasm, which makes for a pretty breathtaking kiss anyway. He breaks once, but then keeps kissing Kotetsu. He breaks again, but claims a third kiss, like he's addicted to Kotetsu's mouth.
Kotetsu gets a little nervous about going too fast, so he worms his hands up to Barnaby's chest and applies a gentle pressure, so the next time Barnaby breaks, he can't quite get their faces back together. Kotetsu sees another expression on Barnaby's face—absolute bliss, mouth still slightly open, and that little streak of forgotten chocolate from Kotetsu's dessert. Before Kotetsu can feel embarrassed that he left the restaurant with food stuck to his mouth, Barnaby licks the chocolate away, eyes closing for a brief second as he savors the sweetness.
Kotetsu raises his eyebrows in surprise. Bunny's got a sweet tooth, huh? He never noticed his partner favoring sweet foods before. Kotetsu wonders why he declined sampling Kotetsu's dessert in the restaurant, especially since he seemed to like it well enough tasting it from Kotetsu's mouth.
Barnaby misinterprets, and says, "I'm sorry, Kotetsu, did I go too far?"
"Nah, don't worry about it," Kotetsu grins and pats Barnaby on the shoulder. "Let's go out again soon, okay?"
Barnaby nods compliantly. He licks his lips one more time, a little unconsciously, but Kotetsu sees how he lingers on the spot where the chocolate was.
Once his front door shuts, Kotetsu pulls out the phone book and looks up candy stores in the area—their specialties, their selection, and most importantly, what time they open.
Kotetsu's known for ages that he drives Barnaby up the wall, in a bad way, when he crunches on his hard candies. He hates the sound or something, which Kotetsu doesn't understand. If the sound was really that bad, wouldn't Kotetsu himself stop, since he's the one the crunching is closest to, and hence, hears it the loudest?
But that's a discussion for another day. All Kotetsu knows is that hard candies, while delicious, will probably irritate Barnaby rather than make him want to kiss Kotetsu. He needs something softer and faster-acting. He rules out gum—he's never really been a gum-chewer, and has no idea how to kiss someone when you've got gum stowed in your cheek. But, like a gift from the gods, he finds a store that sells those soft melt-in-your-mouth after-dinner mints in a wide variety of flavors, from smooth cream to sharp mint. Kotetsu starts stocking a bowl of them at work.
He offers them to Barnaby when he passes by in the morning. Barnaby takes one and starts on paperwork as normal, somewhat disinterested. After a few more days of these tests, Kotetsu rules out that Barnaby himself just likes sweet things. Something about that sweet-seeking kiss had to be related to the kiss itself, context and flavor combined.
So Kotetsu asks if Barnaby wants to take a walk before heading to lunch, citing the nice weather and Apollon's beautiful, sprawling gardens. Barnaby agrees, and before they leave, Kotetsu stuffs three mints into his cheeks. Words sound a bit awkward for a minute, but then the mints dissolve, leaving behind a very strong, very sweet aftertaste.
"It's nice out," Barnaby notes. "We should try to do this more often."
"Hmm," Kotetsu agrees, subtly looking for his cue to try and kiss Barnaby again.
After a few minutes, he gets it—a little alcove of trees almost designed for such secret trysts. Kotetsu pulls Barnaby close and kisses him, no tongue, but a little wet, seeing if he can tease Barnaby out once again.
It works. Barnaby tastes that hint of sugar at the front of his lips and just has to go deeper and claim Kotetsu's mouth from the inside out. His fingers curl in Kotetsu's hair, another arm braced across his back, holding him tight. Kissing back, Kotetsu starts guiding Barnaby's actions, drawing him to the points he remembers as sensitive so Barnaby can get the best of both worlds: the sweet taste in Kotetsu's mouth while simultaneously turning Kotetsu's knees to jelly.
Success. Kotetsu thinks when they remember that a lunch break means they need to eat lunch, and they break for actual food. As another data point, Kotetsu notices Barnaby is much less enthused with a cheesesteak-sandwich kiss. Though he remembers his tutoring from earlier about where and how Kotetsu likes to be kissed, it's just a normal 'want' kiss, not a 'need' kiss.
But Kotetsu starts storing the mints in more places—his gym locker, his car, his coffee table, his pockets. He can never know exactly where the mood will strike them. It's best to be prepared.
"It's a captivating socio-cultural commentary about traditional conformist pressures and tempting yet dangerous liberated subcultures. The critics love it, saying it's a marvelous reflection of the human condition…"
Screw the human condition. Kotetsu goes to the movies to be entertained, not… whatever you call it when you go to one of those artsy independent-studio dramas. But Barnaby is absolutely fascinated, and part of being a couple is making compromises and supporting your significant other's interests. So Kotetsu slumps through the line as Barnaby buys tickets, preparing himself for the dullest film of all time.
"Popcorn? Or maybe a drink?" Barnaby offers.
Kotetsu considers getting an extra-large soda so he'll have an excuse to take a break in the middle of the film, but his eyes fall on the candy display.
"Actually, how about a pack of Junior Mints?"
They settle into their seats and Kotetsu is already popping little chocolate-coated mints into his mouth as the previews roll. The theater is mostly empty, with everyone sitting in front of Barnaby and Kotetsu. Barnaby waits attentively, every so often turning to Kotetsu to spout a piece of trivia about the various awards that people involved with this movie have won, to which Kotetsu smiles, nods, and munches more Junior Mints.
Barely fifteen minutes in, Kotetsu is so bored he feels his eyes melting. But he's also out of mints, so he discretely slides the box onto the floor and leans against Barnaby, giving him a kiss on the cheek.
"Kotetsu, this isn't a make-out sort of movie," Barnaby scolds, but he doesn't push Kotetsu away. "Please pay attention, or you won't understand the plot."
"I won't understand it anyway," Kotetsu whispers back. He shifts his head just a little so that his breath ghosts across Barnaby's nose. He smells the sugar and cocoa; Kotetsu can tell in the way he twitches ever so slightly toward the source of the delicious scent. He repeats the action until he Barnaby are face-to-face. Barnaby initiates the kiss, but Kotetsu pulls back before he can slip in tongue, leading Barnaby even closer to him like a dog on a leash. He flips up the arm rests as they go, creating a long folding-seat sofa for them to lie on. Once Kotetsu is stretched out flat, he stops running away, and Barnaby plunges in, savoring the sweet candy taste in Kotetsu's mouth.
Kotetsu's not entirely sure how long he had Barnaby down there with him, but eventually the taste starts to fade, and Barnaby comes to his senses and sits up again. To Kotetsu's satisfaction, the light glow of the projector illuminates Barnaby's rumpled hair and bruised lips.
The movie plays for a minute, and Barnaby's expression becomes more and more confused.
"What's wrong?" Kotetsu asks.
"I must have… missed a lot," Barnaby admits, frowning a bit.
"We'll have to come see it again," Kotetsu says. "I'll make out with you during a different part, let you see what you missed this time."
"Forget it. I won't take you next time."
"But Bunny—"
"I'll take you to a movie that I wouldn't mind missing the entire plot. The new Mission to Greatness film, perhaps."
"Really?" Kotetsu beams. Not only did Barnaby promise to never bring Kotetsu to one of his boring intellectual movies ever again, he agreed to see one of Kotetsu's favorite movies, and to make out in the back of the theater with him.
Kotetsu glances down at the discarded box of candy. Thank you, sweeties.
Keith invites everyone he knows to his birthday party, because "birthdays are wonderful days!" And by virtue of having everyone attend, there's a ridiculous amount of cake, far more than the assembled guests could possibly eat in a whole week.
Barnaby takes a rather average-sized slice, not teeny like Karina or heaping like Pao Lin, and he nibbles on it from time to time. Kotetsu looks over the cake, vanilla base with chocolate frosting, and large globs of sugary icing-art on top of that.
Kotetsu knows his teeth are going to rot out, but he cuts a corner piece twice as big as anyone else's and plops it on a paper plate.
Barnaby gapes at him. "How on earth are you going to stay in shape if you eat all that?"
Kotetsu smirks. "Don't worry about me! Life's about enjoying yourself, right?"
They end up separated—Barnaby is chatting with some of Keith's civilian friends who just can't believe that Barnaby Brooks Jr is at the party. Kotetsu hangs with the other heroes as much as possible, eating his cake with little bites and trying to catch Barnaby's eye.
Eventually, he does. The fans start talking about something only tangentially relevant to Barnaby, but it'd be rude to leave, so he stands there, supposedly listening, when he notices the way Kotetsu lifts his fork to his mouth, touching the cake lightly with his tongue before wrapping his lips around the fork and pulling back, closing his eyes in pleasure. Kotetsu opens again, and Barnaby is still staring at him, so he takes another forkful of mostly-frosting and bites into half of it, leaving frosting all over his lips, which he licks lazily, staring directly at Barnaby the whole time.
Barnaby only lasts for two more bites before he excuses himself, rude or not, and heads Kotetsu's way. Kotetsu himself walks away, too, looking for a more private corner of the party.
Once assured they're alone, Barnaby can't taste Kotetsu fast enough, pinning him against the wall and kissing him so thoroughly Kotetsu's afraid he might never breathe again.
And Kotetsu's fine with that. He'll suffocate happy.
"…Kotetsu?"
Uh oh, that tender-tentative voice. Kotetsu instantly turns the TV off and gives Barnaby his full attention. "What's up, Bunny?"
"There's something I've been meaning to tell you about."
"What is it?" His mind races with worst-case-scenarios: getting bored? Found someone better? Leaving him!
"I… I think I should make you aware of…" Barnaby refuses to stutter, but he slows down so much that Kotetsu wants to tear out his own hair with impatience. "I feel that there might be something a little different about me."
"Different like what?"
Barnaby shifts in his seat. "I don't know if this term actually applies, but I think there's a chance I… I might… have a sort of… a sort of kink."
Kotetsu lets out a sigh of relief. "Okay, that's fine. What sort of kink are we talking about? Feathers or chickens?"
"Excuse me?"
"Never mind. Lots of people have kinks, Bunny. It's no big deal."
"That's easy enough to say," Barnaby said. "I've been thinking about this for a very long time, but I think I might have a…" His face is bright red now, but he plows through and names this awful quirk: "…a sugar kink."
Kotetsu stares at him. Does he think this is news to me? I've known he likes sugar-kisses since our first date.
With that confession, Barnaby's speech assumed a much faster pace. "I'll understand if you don't want to participate, but I was just noticing some of my reactions to certain flavors when I kiss you, and that you're strangely alluring when you're eating particular foods, it's nothing serious, I love you very much no matter what, and I promise—"
"Bunny," Kotetsu cuts him off gently. "You went right from telling me about your kink to telling me to back out of it. Seriously, as kinks go, a sugar kink is a few steps off of vanilla. It's no big deal."
Barnaby looked down. "I just wasn't sure what to think. I started to notice that when I kiss you after you've eaten something sweet, it's more… I don't even know what the 'more' is."
"Satisfying?"
"That suggests I'm unsatisfied with you when we kiss and you don't taste of sugar. That's absolutely not true."
"Well, you like kissing more when I'm sugared up. And it's no loss to me. Hell, it gives me a reason to eat more sweets."
"You shouldn't eat more sweets," Barnaby advises. "There's your health to think about, and if you do it all the time, it stops being special."
"But then why bring it up?"
"I'd like to make… requests."
Kotetsu is shocked for a second, but then he laughs. "All right, Bunny. Request away!"