A/N: This is a continuation of my first T&B fic, Insomnia. It picks up during the night when that fic ended-after a bit of a flashback to events of episode 24. Should go without saying that y'all should read that one first if you haven't. :)

"We did it, Kotetsu!"

Acrid smoke stung his eyes and nose the instant Barnaby flipped up the faceplate. The explosion of the android had left behind smoldering chunks of debris that gave off fumes as they burned, but the hole blasted through the wall was venting it outside in a noxious roil. He stepped forward, peering through the haze with his power-sharpened vision, searching for his partner. He'd been holding the android so that the blast would hit it, he must have moved away- "Kotetsu?" He was starting to worry now, how could he miss something as Wild Tiger in his battle suit? And then he saw the shape in the smoke, crumpled against the floor and looking battered and too small.

The curled form rolled onto his back, revealing that the entire front part of his suit had been torn away, leaving his chest and abdomen bare and glistening with angry pink burns. Barnaby rushed up to him, crouched beside him, and lifted him into his arms, his heart shuddering violently in his chest as he realized that something had gone very, very wrong.

Kotetsu groaned as he was lifted, looking up at Barnaby with a face lined in pain. "Sorry," he said softly. "I got hit."

"What?" No. No no no. That blast had torn apart the android, had melted its entire top half. He couldn't have gotten hit. He said he'd dodge it, Barnaby had hesitated, he'd told him to fire-

"I guess it's hard to dodge without my power..." A weak laugh. "Damn, it had to happen during our only chance."

No, this made no sense! "But you still have time left!" he objected, his eyes going wide. They'd activated their powers at the same time during the fight, and he still had the bluish sheen of NEXT power heightening his abilities, so Kotetsu still had his, he had to, this didn't make sense-

"To tell you the truth," Kotetsu coughed, "my power can barely last four minutes. It's been in decline."

Decline? His heart was pounding. "No... For how long?"

"Several months now..." He shifted, groaning and flinching in pain. "It was tough trying to keep it a secret from you."

No no no no no, this wasn't real, this couldn't be real- "Why didn't you tell me something so important!" he demanded.

Kotetsu was smiling at him through the pain. "Because you'd worry about me," he answered, as if that was the most obvious thing, as if that was the best reason ever to not tell him something.

A memory of the past few days forced its way through the smoke and fogged perception. "Is that why you were going to quit being a hero?" Of course it was. Because Kotetsu was like that, he was always so mindful of those around him. Especially his partner. Barnaby cradled him close. "I'm sorry, Kotetsu," he said, his voice trembling as he started to realize the pain he'd inflicted on the one person least deserving of it. "I never realized what condition you were in."

"Baka. What's the point of hiding it if you noticed it?" He was still smiling, but it was a forced smile, a smile cracked and crazed with lines of pain. Suddenly he turned his head to the side, and his body shook in Barnaby's arms as he coughed. He felt him flinching with each wracking cough, and when he stopped, there were flecks of blood on his lips. "Damn... I think this is bad..."

"Stop talking already!" He had to conserve his energy, they'd get help, get him to the hospital. He'd be okay, he'd survived the worst Jake had thrown at him, he'd be okay, he had to be okay. Barnaby would make this up to him, it was his fault this had happened, he had to be okay so he could make this right!

"Bunny-"

"I said stop!" His eyes were stinging, his heart hammering his chest, there was a terrible sickening pit in his stomach that he refused to acknowledge but it just kept growing and growing, a gaping void that was ripping away at his heart.

"It was fun going after criminals with you," Kotetsu continued, his eyes drifting in and out of focus as he gazed up at Barnaby. "And listening to your silly lectures... When you started calling me Kotetsu, I was so happy, I went out drinking all night..."

"Stop talking like that!" This wasn't happening, it wasn't real, it couldn't be real! He didn't mean for this to happen, he never wanted to hurt Kotetsu! Tears spilled down his cheeks, his ears were roaring, and he couldn't tear his gaze away from that face, the face of his partner, still smiling through the horrible pain that was all his fault.

"Thanks for everything..." His voice was weaker, it was breaking and becoming a half-whisper, and he no longer wore that thin mask of a smile.

"Shut up!" he cried, his body shaking as he held his partner. "Stop talking like you're going to die! You're not!" He was sobbing, he couldn't even follow the words spilling out of his mouth, his entire being had been seized by that terrible fear bubbling out of that growing void within him, a creeping certainty that was forcing him to face it as he watched his partner weakening in front of his eyes. He kept talking, grasping at anything! Anything at all that would keep him here, anything that would deny him from slipping away. The pain-wracked smile returned, briefly, and Barnaby pulled Kotetsu close, refusing to give him up.

"Too close," Kotetsu groaned, his eyes squeezing closed with tears beading at the corners. When he opened them again, he was fighting to focus them and failing, the effort costing him too much There was distance in that gaze, too much distance, a veil of unreality slipping between them. "Hey..." he murmured, his voice tinged with fondness even as it kept fading. "You have pretty long eyelashes..." His eyes closed, and his head rolled down.

Limp. Lifeless.

"Kotetsu?" No. He didn't. He wasn't. No.

But he didn't move. He didn't respond.

No.

This wasn't happening. He couldn't believe it. Something so important to him had been ripped away. Something he relied on was no longer there, torn out of his arms, taken from him when they should have been celebrating their greatest victory. The gaping void inside him ached to overflowing as it echoed the horrible absence of the closest person in his life, the person he needed most, the person who had always had his back and always been there for him. His partner.

His partner was gone.

And it was all his fault.

His voice shattered into razor-edged shards of despair that sliced deep and left wounds he knew would never heal. "Kotetsu!"

"Bunny!"

He thrashed and gasped for breath that tore his throat, his head throbbing with the painful race of his heart. It was dark, he couldn't see anything, his cheeks were wet with tears and he was tangled up and couldn't move. His whole body was trembling beyond his control. Everything was wrong, it would never be okay again, he would have to carry this aching void for the rest of his life-

"Bunny!" A voice was breaking through the tempest of hysteria that was holding him in an unyielding grip. The roaring in his ears was starting to die down, letting him hear something that wasn't his own panicked thoughts ripping into his sanity. And that voice was familiar. But it couldn't be, not after that. Not with what he knew, with those wounds so fresh in his mind.

"Bunny!" Now there was another grip on him, this one on his wrists, shaking him. He flinched and tried to pull away, wrenching one hand free to reach desperately for something, anything. Then he was encircled by an unbreakable embrace, a lifeline in the storm. "Bunny, Bunny, Bunny, it was a dream." A hand moved through his hair, brushing it out of his face, stroking it soothingly. "I'm here, Bunny-chan. I've got you."

He was finally able to identify the voice, and when he did, he couldn't believe it. It went against everything the chaotic turmoil of memories was telling him. "K-Kotetsu?" he stammered brokenly, hoping and terrified to hope.

"Shh, Bunny, I'm right here." That voice, murmuring in his ear, the touch of fingers slipping through his hair, the enveloping support of the arms around him, all undeniable truths. It was his partner.

"Kotetsu!" He clutched him and began to sob like a child, his heart aching and all that horrible pain swarming right under the surface of his skin in unbearable potency. He cried as if each tear was releasing one more tiny piece of all that pain, one after another, a steady stream of condensed trauma. He cried into his chest, his tears soaking into the nightshirt he was gripping, and all the while there was a gentle touch moving through his hair and down to his back, soothing him and slowly returning his awareness to the present, to the truth, to the world where he wasn't alone with only himself to blame for the terrible void in his life.

He didn't know how long he cried, only that he slowly started to run out of tears. They'd moved, he was sitting now, clinging to the pillar that was holding him up. His nose was stuffed from all his crying, and his head was throbbing in the wake of the shuddering sobs. He still couldn't see, the room was dark and he was only aware of the vaguest of blurs from what little light there was. But he knew that it was Kotetsu who was holding him.

"Kotetsu," he whispered.

The arms around him tightened in a hug, then loosened. "I'm right here, Bunny. Bad dream?"

"Not a dream..." Because it wasn't. "You...you almost died... I thought you died..."

"Oh, Bunny." And in those words the weight of understanding. He was murmuring in Japanese now, and Barnaby was fairly sure the words were comforting ones, though right now it was beyond his ability to devote any energy to translation. "But I didn't. I'm right here."

"But...it was because of me..." His voice crumpled again.

Again the hug tightened. "And you went on and we saved the day. And I'm right here with you now."

He drew a shuddering breath. Kotetsu was here. Kotetsu was holding him. Kotetsu was...was in his bed...? A warm flush grew on his cheeks, a distinctly odd sensation completely incongruous with his emotional state. Slowly, memories filtered through the haze. Kotetsu was here because they-

Oh. Right. They were kind of...together now, weren't they?

Kotetsu kept holding him, kept stroking his hair, and didn't seem to notice that startled revelation. "I'm here with you." Or maybe he did notice. Either way, Barnaby needed to be sure that these kinder thoughts were the truth. Barnaby tilted his head up, and closed his eyes, then waited for what would happen. He didn't wait longer than a few heartbeats. Lips touched his for a soft, gentle kiss, one that managed to chase away the remaining doubts and reassure him fully that the terrible fears of before had been just a dream, a horrible memory, and that he had not lost the most important person in his life. It was exactly what he needed.

One more tear ran down his cheek, only to be brushed away. "You won't lose me that easily," Kotetsu murmured. "Need anything?"

"Just you," he said before he could stop himself. Another flush, this one of shame at his lack of self-control.

He could hear his smile. "Ahh, well, you have me. I just thought maybe you'd like some water or something."

"Oh. Yes, water would be nice," he mumbled, drawing back slightly.

Another soft kiss, this one to his tear-stained cheek. "Then I'll be right back, Bunny-chan." The embrace released him, and he immediately missed the warmth of those arms as Kotetsu got up from the bed.

He listened to the footsteps in the carpet leaving the room for the hallway, and then sighed deeply and leaned back, bracing himself with his arms. He remembered now, the drinking and the arguments and the breakdowns and the confessions and all that amazing kissing and touching, all in the past day and change. The most amazing day of his life and he had to wake up from a nightmare and sob like a lost child? This was no way to endear himself to his partner. But then again, he hadn't been the easiest person to have as a partner, and Kotetsu was still here. Maybe there was something to their partnership that wouldn't make it so easy to break.

He ran a hand through his hair and sighed again. He was a mess. An absolute mess. And this was not a good time to be a mess, not with everything changing so quickly. Kotetsu was moving back with his family soon, and Barnaby didn't want to get in the way of that and complicate things for his partner. Except he feared he already had, with what happened this weekend. What could this be called if not a complication?

Could call it about damn time, suggested one part of his mind, and he brushed it away irritably. So he'd been in love with his partner for a long time. A very long time. Could anyone blame him for not recognizing it sooner? Well, yes, he could blame himself. It wasn't a terribly observant thing, to miss something happening within one's own heart. But then again, he did have to take into consideration the fact that he really wasn't the most well-versed at matters like this.

He had told Kotetsu the truth when he'd said there had never been anyone else. He'd never been interested before. Oh, he'd learned how to use charisma and charm to maintain his public appeal, but it had only been one more delicate dance to him, one more set of intricate steps to take in order to get to his goal. There just hadn't been anyone who had interested him, and absolutely no room in his life to begin considering attraction even if it happened. His life had one singular goal and everything else was a distant second in priorities. Until his partner. Someone he would never have personally chosen to work with, someone he'd fought with rather than alongside, someone who irritated him and seemed to do it on purpose just to get a rise out of him. And somewhere along the way, he'd fallen in love with him, and then wrapped those feelings into a neat little box of denial and stuffed it away to never be seen by the light of day.

There was the night they'd opened up to each other, fueled by the tongue-loosening and inhibition-lowering power of champagne. It had been hard to tear his eyes off Kotetsu, shirtless but wrapped in bandages, lounging in his chair. They had talked, he'd revealed some of those secrets he'd tried so hard to keep to himself, they'd somehow grown closer in the process. And...something...had happened. Frustratingly, the memory remained just out of reach. But they'd talked, and...something, and then woken up from passing out on the floor, and his first thought had been to chide himself for his carelessness. What had happened in the time between those memories? The not-knowing was very suddenly horrific, and he shied away from the tinge of panic that accompanied it.

With amazing timing, Kotetsu returned then, his footsteps soft as he approached the bed. "Here you are, Bunny," he murmured, and as Barnaby reached out, a cool glass of water was pressed into his hand and held there until he had it in his grip. He drank the water gratefully, knowing that it wasn't for thirst-quenching, but for granting him some form of clarity. And the simple act of drinking was a rather reassuring one. It was with surprise that he realized he'd drained the glass. Kotetsu chuckled and took it from him. "Need any more?" he asked.

"No, I think I'm good now, thanks," he answered. He heard the sound of the glass being placed down on the bedside table, and fought the itch of worry for the lack of a coaster. Now was not the time for that pettiness. Now he wanted Kotetsu back in bed with him, and he wanted to curl up in his arms and fall back to sleep and rest peacefully and non-traumatically with his partner, instead of spending another night tortuously awake for hours with all of his insecurities running through his head. Just a small comfort, was it so much to ask?

Apparently not, for then there was the slight shift of the mattress, and then arms wrapping around him, pulling him back down. He didn't resist. Kotetsu's embrace was an amazing thing, because he could feel the warmth but also the power held in check beneath it. Of course his partner was amazingly fit, he had to be in this line of work, but it was a different matter to know this through intimate contact. Very nice, though. He almost laughed at himself for the scattered pathways his thoughts were taking, but then he'd have to explain it to Kotetsu, so he settled on a soft smile instead.

"I wish I knew a way to keep away your bad dreams," his partner murmured as they settled back into bed. Kotetsu was on his back with one arm around Barnaby, who was cuddled up beside him and resting his head on Kotetsu's shoulder. It felt nice to have his arm on Kotetsu's chest, feeling the rise and fall of his breathing. It was constant confirmation that he really was here, they really were together like this, he really wasn't dead. And Barnaby had to admit to himself that he really needed that right now.

"I'm used to nightmares," he said softly. "It's just that that one was rather...vivid."

"Well, I'll be here if you have another one tonight, but I hope you don't."

"Thanks. Me too."

A soft chuckle in the dark. "I suppose so. Ah, Bunny..." and his free hand was stroking his hair again.

"Mmm. You must like that."

"Hmm?"

"Touching my hair. You keep doing it."

Another chuckle. "I do. Your hair is very nice. I just didn't have good enough excuses to do this before."

"And you think you do now?"

"Well, you didn't tell me to stop."

"Point," Barnaby admitted. He wasn't sure if he wanted to also admit that he liked it too. Maybe the old man already guessed. He could be surprisingly perceptive.

They were together now. Being partners had taken on a new meaning. The entire prospect terrified Barnaby, because he had no idea how to live a life that had room in it for anything other than himself. Admittedly, there had been those blissful months when he thought he had achieved his goal. Some questions had gone unanswered, but he thought he had enough closure on his parents' murders to relax and start to live life for other reasons. He'd made a good effort at it, he was enjoying the life of a hero, he was even warming toward his partner. The events of the past weeks had shattered the illusion that he'd achieved anything, and now he was back to square one, trying to put the pieces back together and realizing they didn't fit, they'd never fit, but he didn't know how to build a life any other way.

But right beside him was Kotetsu. The one person who had never asked anything of him that he wasn't willing to give. The one person who supported him wholeheartedly. The one person he was comfortable enough with to get into loud arguments, which should really have told him something if he'd been paying any attention. This was the person he'd fallen in love with. Hard to see how, from some angles, and from others it was hard to see how it was anything but inevitable. He wondered if anyone else had seen it coming...

No, that would lead to more worrying if he thought about it in this state, and he needed to get some rest. There was a fatigue clinging to him that he knew would not be assuaged with a few hours of sleep and determination to see through the day. It was the fatigue of emotional weariness, and he suspected that his past methods of dealing with it had only painted over the problem, given where he'd often sought his advice. What he needed was time to figure out his life, decide what he really wanted, what really mattered.

Of course this was also the time when Kotetsu was leaving Stern Bild, to go back to his family and start his life there, out of the spotlight and without the burden of being a hero. So just as Barnaby was getting to enjoy the sensation of falling asleep with Kotetsu in his bed, he'd have to get used to sleeping alone again.

But those thoughts were also getting in the way of rest. He'd have to deal with them sometime, but not now, not if he wanted to actually relax enough to fall asleep.

Barnaby sighed softly, shifting alongside Kotetsu and closing his eyes. Whatever this revelation had done for him, it had not solved all his problems. But that wasn't the point of love, was it? It wasn't about solving problems. It was about working through those problems, and doing it together, and being stronger because of it. Of one thing he was certain, and that was the fact that having Kotetsu in his life made it something Barnaby wanted to see through, to find out where it would take them, discover the twists and turns together. He hoped Kotetsu felt the same.

They hadn't even talked about the future yet. Kotetsu still wore his wedding band. But maybe, just maybe, the future would allow them to be together.

That would be worth all the hardship he'd endured.

"G'night, Bunny," his partner mumbled into the dark, drawing his attention out of these insecurities and back to the fact that he was curled up in bed with him. Yes. This was much better to think about, the comfort that he'd found in his arms. Comfort to both of them...?

He smiled softly. "Goodnight, Kotetsu." Unspoken, but drifting on those words, was the true sentiment the words conveyed. I love you.