I love this fandom bunches! I should finish working on other things, but this idea suddenly hit me about thirty minutes ago. Gonna try out the short chapter idea! Short chapters mean less stress and quicker progress, right? ouo Hope you enjoy~
It's when a bouquet of tiger lilies is thrust into his face that Barnaby actually realizes how unused to being loved he really is. He knows he's got little experience in showing and being shown affection, what with his parents gone and his own heart caged away, but he's never actually thought about it.
The lilies are a vibrant orange, and undeniably beautiful. Though he's an old-fashioned rose type of person, Barnaby appreciates the curve of the lily petals and how they start off as a faint yellow-orange before gradating into brightness. They're huge, too, about as big as his hand.
"Well? You like 'em?"
He'd almost forgotten that the bouquet was attached to a hand, a tan hand, attached to a tan arm, that was attached to a tan body, and-
"Bunny? Did you break?"
"I don't much like flowers." He doesn't know why it's the first thing out of his mouth. It's not even fully true; he wouldn't pick flowers as his first gift idea, but he likes how they look in a vase on a table. The smell is nice, too. "Why did you do this?"
Barnaby hates how his version of surprise sounds either very angry, or very annoyed.
"W-well, I..." Kotetsu falters now. "Just thought...it'd be nice. You wore an orange shirt one day, and you liked when a fan gave you lilies, and your place does look pretty dreary."
He's truly surprised that Kotetsu went through such thought just to find suitable flowers. Surprised, and a little thrilled. His voice doesn't show either, "Why didn't you just ask me?"
Kotetsu gives him a look. "It'd ruin the surprise, duh."
"Right, of course." He doesn't say anything after that, and neither does Kotetsu.
Apparently six minutes and forty three seconds is all the silence that Kotetsu can take, and he rubs the back of his neck awkwardly. "Well, guess I'm off. Hope you like 'em...if not, give 'em to someone else, I guess."
Barnaby doesn't like that nonchalant, slightly apathetic tone. But Kotetsu's gone before he can reprimand and, as Barnaby realizes much later in the night, gone before he can remember to say thank you.