Title: From Land to Foam – prologue
Pairing/Characters: Kaburagi Kotetsu / Barnaby Brooks Jr.
Rating: R (M for Mature)
Disclaimer: I do not own the characters (of Tiger & Bunny).
Genre: AU
"Kotetsu."
Kotetsu turned, lifting a hand to shield his eyes against the sun. His wife's smile was just as bright as she tucked a loose strand of her dark hair behind her ear.
"Kotetsu. You'll make him sad if you do that." Tomoe's smile grew wider—brighter—at Kotetsu's obvious confusion. "Breathe," his wife whispered.
Kotetsu inhaled deeply and his mouth widened as he silently screamed. There was a burning in his chest, along with the feeling of choking. 'I'm drowning...!' he reminded himself, remembering that he'd walked into the surf with no intention of walking out.
Kotetsu flailed, arms slicing through the water as he fought to reach the surface. He was caught in a particularly strong undercurrent; the waves had dragged him far while he reminisced on what he'd lost. Kotetsu gulped for one final breath, feeling the water invade his lungs. He stopped fighting then, and closed his eyes with a wistful smile. 'This is... what I wanted.' Resigning himself to his fate, the man sank into the welcoming darkness of the ocean floor.
X
"...an!"
Kotetsu cringed inwardly.
"Old man!"
Me? I'm not old.
"Wake up, old man... please!"
Kotetsu distantly felt firm hands pushing at his chest, and lips on his. He wondered why, but then felt the bubbling in his lungs. He started awake with a cough, curling onto his side as he choked up the excess water that barred him from breathing properly.
"Thank God..." a relieved, almost tearful voice sighed.
Kotetsu moaned in disagreement. There should be nobody to thank for the pain he was experiencing. He buried his face in what he believed was sand. Having rolled around in it often during his lifetime, he knew the grainy, course feeling quite well. The hands gently touching him, however, were not familiar in any way. With another groan, Kotetsu attempted to open his eyes. It was a difficult feat, but he managed. He regretted it when the afternoon sun almost blinded him, but fought against it to see. There was a burst of spun gold, then worried emerald green eyes. "I don't know you..." Kotetsu whined, laying his head back down in the sand. "Leave me—"
"No."
Kotetsu whimpered pitifully. "What if I say 'please', like you did?"
His blond rescuer scowled—Kotetsu didn't see it—and placed a hand to his shoulder, shaking him a bit more. "Old man—"
"One," Kotetsu cut in, sitting up and ignoring the sharp pain in his head. "I'm not—naked like you are?" More aware of his surroundings, he gave the young man a once-over before letting his eyes rest on the frowning face. "Why are you naked...?"
"Barnaby," the stranger supplied, his expression serious. As Kotetsu noticed, he was naked, and very nonchalant about the fact. He was kneeling on the sand, hands resting casually atop his thighs.
"Did you... lose your clothes rescuing me?" Kotetsu questioned, trying to keep his eyes locked with the green ones across from him, instead of wandering lower on the toned body.
Barnaby cocked his head to the right. "Would you feel better if I agreed that's what happened?"
"No," Kotetsu choked out, hanging his head. He squeezed his eyes shut and twisted away, awkwardly clamoring to his feet. "I thank you, for rescuing me—"
"Will you attempt to do it again?"
Kotetsu stiffened, his features shadowed as he stared at the sand beneath his feet. Forcing himself to smile, he faced at the stranger that was now standing behind him. "Find my hat for me," he combed his fingers through his damp hair, "and I won't."
The bright green eyes narrowed. "I will do that, and when I find it, I'll return it to you."
Kotetsu chuckled softly. "I'll know if it's mine, so don't buy a cheap knockoff or anything."
Barnaby smiled and Kotetsu found that it was an amazing look for the young man. "I won't bring a knockoff."
Humming, Kotetsu turned away, waving over his shoulder as he slowly made his way back up the beach to where he hoped his car was still parked. The authorities in this area were very strict, and very tired of seeing his work badge as an excuse for parking any and everywhere. As for work... he would be able to worm his way through an explanation—"We're marine biologists! We have to become one with the sea!"—but his childhood friend would see through such a flimsy excuse.
Kotetsu dug around in the cluttered backseat of his SUV, searching for a towel. Finding one, he roughly dried his hair. He thought he'd had everything under control, but starting a new project reminded him of his deceased wife and the emotional feedback had been strong, almost deafening. One harmless drink turned into two, and then Kotetsu was driving to the beach with a bottle of rum beside him in the passenger's seat.
The towel settled around his shoulders and Kotetsu exhaled deeply. "Pull yourself together, Kaburagi..." He shook his head and walked around his car to the driver's side and climbed in. Kotetsu took a few minutes to pull himself together before beginning the hour drive that would take him back to his "office".
Kotetsu didn't get any time to himself until almost two weeks later, and with each passing hour, he thought less and less of the naked blond at the beach. Ivan Karelin and Karina Lyle kept him aware for the first few days, both high school interns questioning the disappearance of his usual headgear. Research then piled up and all thoughts of his mysterious savior were pushed aside. Antonio was the reason why he was now driving back to the beach with another excuse of "more research!".
-x-
"Are you going to talk to her?"
Kotetsu kept his eye pressed against the viewing scope of the microscope, no longer staring at the sample on the petri dish below.
"Kotetsu. You can't keep running away."
"I'm no good to her."
"She needs her father!" Antonio argued, slamming a hand down on the desk, empty glass flasks rattling dangerously. Kotetsu lifted his head to glare at the burly man. Antonio glared back. "You're my friend—"
"And should be able to realize when a subject needs to be dropped," Kotetsu sighed, suddenly feeling tired. Antonio left without another word, but Kotetsu could feel him being judgmental on the other side of the hall.
-x-
Kotetsu stared out at the waves that gently crashed into the surf and lapped over his bare feet. "Maybe I dreamt him up," he sighed, kicking up the water.
"Are you referring to me, old man?"
Kotetsu glanced over his shoulder and almost fell over in the salty surf. "Oi! You're gonna get yourself arrested if you keep walking around naked!"
Barnaby cocked his head questioningly—a habit? Kotetsu wondered. "This is the skin I was born in, and it's quite comfortable." He smiled brightly and Kotetsu focused on that rather than the chiseled abs of the well-endowed young man. "I found your hat."
Kotetsu's eyebrows rose, a grin tugging at his lips, not quite ready to grow. "Did you? Really?"
Barnaby removed his hands, which he'd been hiding behind his back, and extended them outward. In his upward-facing palms was the white and black beret he'd worn almost every day since marrying Tomoe Amamiya—Tomoe Kaburagi after they were officially pronounced man and wife. He showed the blond a skeptical look, reaching out to pick up the headgear. Turning it over, Kotetsu searched the inside lining. His heart seized, skipping a beat as he found the phrase his wife had stitched there. You'll always be my wild tiger. He stared at the other man, mouth opening and closing, but no words tumbled forth. "How...?" he finally squeaked.
Barnaby smirked. "I promised I would, didn't I?"
Kotetsu laughed, nodding. "For now, I'm going to ignore the fact that you're obviously a crazy, naked stalker and just go ahead and thank you." He moved forward, his steps slow and careful until he was free of the ocean water, and stopped in front of the blond. With another laugh, he slipped an arm around the bare shoulders. "Thank you, Barnaby."
"Don't forget your end of the deal," Barnaby reminded him in a stern voice.
Kotetsu laughed, "Let's make a new one. Whenever I have time, I'll visit the beach and hope you're here to sit with me—keep me company. Maybe I'll be able to understand why you walk around naked."
Barnaby lifted his hands, tentatively returning Kotetsu's embrace. "Maybe."
"Oi," Kotetsu laughed, gently shoving the blond. With a grin, he pulled on his hat, which was surprisingly dry, and posed. "Cool, aren't I?"
Barnaby arched a skeptical eyebrow and shook his head.
"Coming from the nudist on a public beach. Police!" Kotetsu ducked away from the swat with a laugh, splashing back into the waves. Barnaby admired the moment—water droplets sparkled like diamonds, making it even better—before giving chase.
X
When Kotetsu returned to the office that evening, everybody noticed the change in his behavior, but only one was man enough to point it out. "I'm afraid to ask what happened..." Antonio muttered, standing in the doorway of Kotetsu's workroom.
Kotetsu grinned at his friend, pulling on his white lab coat. "Then don't? We're here to do a job... and play with the dolphins," he added with a giggle.
"Correction—we're studying them and nursing them back to health."
"Same difference," Kotetsu scoffed, pushing aside papers on his cluttered desk. His face lit up as he found what he sought: a black elastic hairband. Pulling back his hair, he wrapped the band around the short tuft, creating a small ponytail. He looked around, eyes widening questioningly at the man still darkening his doorway. "Well, c'mon! The dolphins are waiting!"
"When is it that you're scheduled to work the shark tank?" Antonio sighed, uncrossing his arms as Kotetsu walked his way.
"Never!" the smaller brunet crowed, dancing by his friend.
Antonio shook his head, but smiled at Kotetsu's back. Something happened while Kotetsu was out that brought his friend genuine happiness. He would have liked to know what, but the subject matter was delicate and he wouldn't push.
Kotetsu had left his hat outside in the car. It sat primly in the passenger's seat. He would never again wear it to work; only to the beach.
A/N: Completely different angle! Haha...ha... this what not what I was working on next. I need to stay away from the TnB anon kink prompts. Gonna have to do a fair amount of research on Kotetsu's spur-of-the-moment job that I gave him, but... maybe it'll be worth it? *nervous smile* Don't... expect monthly updates. If I'm lucky, I'll have another chapter of this done before May *ffffs*
(I also need to continue my Bleach fic before they flog me...)