Face It All Together
Author's notes: I haven't written a fanfic in a LONG time. I decided to start a new account and start with this story as my first new one. Please read, review, and provide constructive criticism. Thanks!
I am going to include a list of songs I was listening to as inspiration for writing each chapter.
Chapter 1 | Singing in the Old Bar
Published 12-12-12
Playlist:
Born to Die – Lana Del Rey
Off to the Races – Lana Del Rey
National Anthem – Lana Del Rey
Blue Jeans – Lana Del Rey
Video Games – Lana Del Rey
Karina Lyle was on stage at the Heroes Bar and Restaurant, microphone in hand. Singing a rhapsody, she let herself drown in the music. Her spirits soared. Singing was the one true thing that she was passionate about, in regards to herself. Other than that, she did not see herself as being anything special. She was just a teenage girl, wanting to be a grown up faster, so she could make her own decisions. In this moment, she forgot all of that, forgot everything. There was one small thing in the back of her mind as she sang: him.
Kotestsu Kaburagi. She was madly in love with the man. His dark, honey-amber eyes; that grin; his goofiness… This one-sided love was madness. He always preoccupied her thoughts. It had gotten to the point where her hero work was being affected.
Once she thought about him, she let that passion pour into the microphone. Her voice and spirit soared. She was not even looking directly at the audience, her vision blurry as she experienced the music.
Once she finished her song, the audience applauded.
"Thank you," She breathed, as she looked around. Then, in the crowd, she saw those amber eyes that haunted her dreams, which locked with hers. Kotetsu was sitting in a relaxed pose at the bar, drink in hand. He flashed that smile she craved to see so very much at her as he raised his glass. Her cheeks flushed instantly, brushing back a curl of hair from her face as she smiled a small smile. She noticed he was with his friend Antonio Lopez.
"These next few songs are for someone special…" She drifted off and began her next set of songs.
Kotetsu and Antonio had come to their usual hang out spot, the Hero bar. The bar had a fun atmosphere, full of people making bets on the hero's actions. It was rather amusing. The bar is generous on the amount of alcohol they give in the drinks, if you tip well, as Kotetsu made sure to always do. Plus, the bar has live music gigs. Lately, they had been casting Karina, Kotetsu's fellow co-worker, as one of the featured musicians. Kotetsu really enjoyed listening to her sing, her voice resonating deep in his soul. It helped him unwind after a long day.
Kotetsu saw that Karina had recognized him, sharing that special smile with him, as she brushed a golden lock of hair away from her face. Karina hardly ever smiled, but when she did, she shined. "She always seems to be so much older than what she actually is." He thought.
Karina had just turned 18 several weeks ago. The team of heroes had thrown together a small party for her, including a cake, some flowers courtesy of Barnaby, some questionable magazines, and a small hair clip in the shape of a blue rose from Kotetsu.
The music she was signing tonight was very jazz-inspired. The lyrics were dark, but deep and raspy. Kotetsu stared, spacing out as the music poured in his ears.
"Seems like the music has a theme tonight, huh?" Antonio whispered as he leaned in towards Kotetsu.
"Yeah," Kotetsu replied, sipping on his drink. He was resting his hand on his chin, leaning on the bar counter top.
"Dude, you're pretty spaced out tonight, more than usual."
Kotetsu didn't say anything as he drank more. "Eh, I'm my usual self."
"Are you sure you're not thinking about a pretty little blonde siren in a little black dress?" Antonio nudged Kotetsu with his elbow.
Kotetsu's eyes grew wide. "EH? What are you talking about?!"
"You know," he nudged his head towards the direction of the stage, drawing with his hands a curvaceous silhouette in the air.
"I WAS not thinking of THAT with Blue Rose!" He practically retorted.
"Hmmm, if you say so." Antonio scratched his chin and took another drink.
Kotetsu pouted back and took a long drink of his whiskey. "Her singing is nice."
"What's wrong with that, if it was the case? You liking her."
"Eh," Kotetsu scratched his head. "She's young, man. She'd have no interested in an old guy like me, and second, yeah, second that motion." He took another sip of his drink.
Antonio nodded. "Well, it seems like she may feel differently than what you think. You're too nice of a guy to notice when people like you. It's part of your nature. Listen to the lyrics closely tonight. I won't talk about it anymore."
"Meh, whatever." Kotetsu downed the rest of his drink. "Barkeep, one more round over here."
He sat and listened to the music closely the rest of the night, the wheels in his head turning.
Karina finished her last song of the night. The crowd did a standing ovation as she bowed. She got a lot of tips tonight, not that it mattered, and got off stage. Taking a deep breath, she confidently walked towards the bar, next to Antonio and Kotetsu. She leaned on the countertop, trying to get the barkeeper's attention.
"Great job tonight, Karina," Antonio stated as he patted her on the back.
"Thanks Antonio." She looked up at him, and then glanced towards Kotetsu briefly before leaning back against the countertop.
"You're singing was great, BR." Kotetsu waved. "Did you want anything to drink?"
"Just a water is fine, please. I'm parched from all of the singing."
"Yo, barkeep. Hey! Get one of those sparkling waters over here, will ya? And another one of these." He pointed at his empty glass.
Antonio patted Kotetsu on the back, getting up. "Well, I've gotta turn in early tonight. Later." He walked away from the bar.
Kotetsu scratched his chin. "I dunno what's with him tonight. We always stay out late. Whatever." He slid down a seat next to Karina.
Karina was looking at the shelf of liquor, trying to keep balanced in her thoughts. She didn't notice Kotetsu looking at her face, a look of contemplation on his face.
"Uh, Karina, are you sure you just want water, you're staring hard at the shelf."
She turned to face his voice. Realizing he was so close, she turned away quickly, and then looked at him again. "I'm fine, really."
The barkeeper brought over their drinks.
"You really shined on the stage tonight."
Karina blushed, picking up her water glass. "T-thanks. I guess I had more energy tonight."
"No, you really did. You've grown a lot since I met you-" Kotetsu realized what he just said as he saw her frown. "Um, I don't mean like that! I mean with your singing! It's really great! You're a pro for sure."
The frown evaporated from her face. "Well, I –am- a pro now, thank you very much." She stated with a smirk.
"True," he nodded in agreement.
"So, you guys came by tonight with Antonio. I thought you and Barnaby would be super busy with promotional stuff or that he would had tagged along."
"I thought so, too. But a bunch of stuff got cancelled last minute. I'm actually appreciating the time away from doing special interviews and stuff."
"Also babysitting Barnaby, right?" Karina said teasingly.
"Aw, man, I know! Bunny's a good guy, one of my best friends, actually. But yeah, a man needs a break sometimes from even his best bud."
An awkward silence formed between the two. Kotetsu scratched his head.
"Um, Blue Rose, do you have free time after this?"
Karina nearly sprayed her water out of her mouth. Quickly, she grabbed a napkin and dabbed at her face. "O-of course! Why?"
"You wanna go get something to eat and have a change of scenery?"
About a half hour later, the two were seated in one of those diners that are open 24/7. Each of them had a mug of coffee.
"Wow, I'm still surprised that you like coffee!" Kotetsu exclaimed. "I didn't like it until my mid 20s."
"It was an acquired taste, to say the least. But doing all of the hero work made me have to find an quick energy fix for getting up at odd hours."
"But still!"
"Is it really so surprising that I like it?" She took a big sip of her mug of coffee. She started giggling at how he overreacted at it. It was something she liked about him.
"So… uh, how's school and all?" Kotetsu found it awkward asking her about school, but he could not think of anything else to talk about.
"It's fine. I'm in my last year." She slightly thought "finally."
"Everything going good with your studies? It must be tough being a student with hero work."
"It's been ok. My teachers understand and have kept my secret." She took another sip of her coffee. "Not like it matters if I graduate or not."
"Eh? Why doesn't it matter? You've got to pick a major for college and all that."
"Nope. I want to sing, remember?" She grinned and winked. "I've signed a contract with the company to sing full time after I graduate."
"Sounds like a sweet deal…" Kotetsu drifted off. His eyes grew wide. "EHHH? Does that mean you'll stop doing hero work?"
Karina got up and covered his mouth with her hands. "Not so loud," she whispered. She sat back down. "It was part of my terms of agreeing to be a hero, but I'm not sure… I kind of like doing the hero work now, too."
"I remember when you hated doing the hero work and that you were only doing it so you could sing."
"Yeah…" Karina's thoughts drifted back to over a year and a half ago, when Kotetsu took her aside to talk. At that time, she had confided in him her true reasons for being a hero.
"Plus, I have a lot of fans, and they would be disappointed."
"I know for sure one fan would be." Kotetsu smiled and pointed to himself.
Karina blushed. "R-really?"
"Yeah, it's fun working with you. We need the ice queen to freeze criminals in their tracks."
"Bang!" She put her hands in a fake gun pose. He put his hands up. The two both started laughing as their food was brought out.
"Here you go miss, one ice cream sundae. And sir, here are your waffles."
Kotetsu turned to the waitress. "Did you bring extra syrup?"
"There's syrup on the table right over there." The waitress pointed near the window.
"But that might not be enough," Kotetsu pouted.
"If ya want more syrup, just let me know." The waitress laughed and walked away.
Karina laughed once the waitress was out of earshot.
"What's so funny?" Kotetsu asked.
"You."
"I like my waffles with syrup! Oh well." He grabbed the container of syrup and proceeded to pour the whole contents on his waffles, drowning them. Karina's eyes grew wide.
"Wow, you really like syrup."
Kotetsu took a bite of his waffle. "Mmm the way I like it. I always stick to the three main food groups: sugar, alcohol, and fried rice."
Karina tried to suppress her laughter, but it roared out of her, a huge grin on her face. Kotetsu took the opportunity to take a few big bites of his waffle.
"There's that smile again." Kotetsu smiled. "You are really pretty when you smile."
Karina continued to laugh. Once it registered what he said, her laughter died down. "Thanks, Tiger…" She looked away from him and then looked at him again. "You really think so?"
"Of course." Kotetsu waved his fork in the air. "Who wouldn't think that you were beautiful? They would be crazy! I'm sure you have tons of boys asking for your number."
Karina stopped giggling and looked downcast. "Yeah..."she sighed.
Kotetsu took this opportunity to ask what he had been thinking about all night. "Everything ok? Did some guy dump you or something?"
Karina bolted upright. "No, I did not get dumped! What made you think that?"
"Well, you sighed and seemed down, is all…" Kotetsu rested his hand on his chin. "Are you seeing anyone?"
"No and it's not your business!" She snapped back. Why did I do that? She thought.
Kotetsu held his hands up in a surrender pose. "I was just wondering. It's so surprising that you wouldn't be seeing someone."
Karina turned away from him. "You wouldn't understand."
"Try me." His eyes were focused on hers, in a serious look.
Karina was silent for a few moments. "There's no one at school that I like… and there's someone else that I do. It's as simple as that."
"Hmm… ok." Kotetsu looked at his watch. "Oh man, did you need to get home or something? It's pretty late."
"No, I'll be ok. Would it be ok if we walked a bit before I went home?"
"Ok."
The two left the diner and walked the city streets, mostly in silence. The starry sky was blotted out with clouds, as it threatened to rain. They found a park in the city and walked the path around the lake.
"Umm… Bl- I mean, Karina?"
Karina looked up at Kotetsu, hearing him say her real name. She had wanted him to say it for so long.
"You were really amazing out there tonight, on the stage. You looked great. All I could think about was taking you off the stage and kissing you…" He looked away, embarrassed by his confession.
Karina's eyes grew wide as saucers. Knowing this was perhaps her only chance; she turned towards him, and wrapped her arms around his shoulders as she leaned up on her tiptoes to brush her lips against his full lips. Once he had seen her intention, he brushed his lips against hers as well, experimentally at first. She pulled back away from him, eyes locking with his gaze. Her eyes lit up with fire, his eyes a mirror of her own as they leaned into each other, lips meeting with need and desire. They leaned into each other's embrace, their senses overloaded by that physical touch. Her arms wrapped tighter against his shoulders as his arms grew tighter agaist her body, his hands dancing along the contours of her back.
Finally, their kiss ended. Karina was breathless as she hugged Kotetsu. "Did that really just happen?"
"Yes," he replied. He smiled at her, causing her to blush, her lips turning upwards into that special smile.
"Did you want me to take you home?"
"Ok."
Using his better judgment, Kotetsu called a cab and had the two of them picked up. They sat in the back seat in silence, leaning against one another and holding hands. The cab ride seemed to end too soon as the city sky scrapers were replaced by suburbia. "Here is fine." Karina told the cab driver. She turned to Kotetsu, not quite sure on what to do.
"So, I'll see you tomorrow?" Kotetsu asked, unsure himself.
"Ok." She did not want the night to end. "Good night, Tiger." She hugged him before getting out of the cab.
"Goodnight," Kotetsu replied back. They stole glances at each other one more time before she turned and went inside the house.
Karina went into her house quietly, knowing that her parents were already asleep. She went upstairs, going into her bedroom, when her phone vibrated. She looked at the screen, reading the message "Goodnight 3" from a contact called Tiger. She texted back "sweet dreams… " and smiled to herself before getting ready for bed.
To be continued...