Barnaby stretched, the sun peeking through the windows and bathing his skin. He groaned, snuggling into his pillow before he remembered. His eyes snapped open and he reached out, nearly hitting Kotetsu in the face. He smiled unabashedly, running his hands softly over Kotetsu's body.

"Good morning," Kotetsu murmured, his dark lashes fluttering against his brown skin.

"I can't believe you're still here…" Barnaby sighed, adjusting his pillow so he could comfortably stare at Kotetsu.

"Yeah, well," Kotetsu laughed, looking down bashfully. "I can't exactly run away, can I?"

"Do you want to?" Barnaby asked, his face falling.

"No." Kotetsu said quickly. "Though I worry you might be attracted to invalids, or worse, beds…"

Barnaby's face reddened. He lifted his arm above the pillow, blocking his face from view. "Shut up."

"Sorry, Bunny-chan," Kotetsu drawled with a smile. Kotetsu's smile faded and he leaned in closely, "So, can I borrow your phone? I have to make some calls."

"Yeah." Barnaby agreed, feeling nervous. "I'll go get it."

"Thanks." Kotetsu's smile returned.

Barnaby climbed out of bed. He pulled his pants on, leaving the rest of yesterday's clothes abandoned on the floor. He crossed the room, his bare feet padding softly against the wooden floor.

"Ah, Sir." The doctor nearly fell inside as Barnaby opened the door.

"Good morning," Barnaby said in greeting.

"It's past time for his medication, but we were told not to disturb…" the doctor explained.

"Yeah, go ahead." Barnaby said, waving the man out of his personal space.

"Charlie-Boy, I need my phone." Barnaby requested.

Charlie-Boy tossed Barnaby his cell phone, hardly looking up from his Sudoku booklet. "Here ya go, Boss."

Barnaby returned to Kotetsu, handing him the cell. He sat on couch beside the bed, his hands in his lap. Kotetsu dialed quickly, he cursed, unable to hold the phone up with his injured arms. Barnaby leaned forward, taking the phone from Kotetsu and holding it against his ear.

"Thanks…" Kotetsu murmured, flashing Barnaby a grateful smile.

"Lopez."

"Hey, Antonio," Kotetsu breathed out.

"Where the fuck have you been? Jesus Christ! Where are you?"

"I'm safe." Kotetsu replied, licking his lips. "Kaede's with me."

"Oh, thank fucking God." Antonio sounded exhausted. "I was losing my mind over here."

"Martinez is dead."

"Yeah, we found 'em."

"He deserved it." Kotetsu cast a quick glance at Barnaby. "Is there any way you can cut me some slack on that."

"Your blood is all over the crime scene."

"I don't wanna talk about that. I'm pretty laid up right now. Can you help me out or not?"

"You don't have a badge to protect you anymore. Who shot him anyways?"

"Me."

"Don't lie."

"I'm barely lying." Kotetsu exclaimed.

"Where are you?"

"I'm safe."

"That Russian Psychopath isn't involved in this is he?"

"Ah…" Kotetsu groaned, his head dropping backward. "Thankfully, no…"

"You owe me a beer."

"I owe you a keg."

"That sounds about right."

"I have to go. I hate to ask, but I need this to go away quietly…"

"Yeah. Call me soon."

"Bye." Barnaby pulled the phone toward him, ending the call.

"Need to call anyone else?" Barnaby asked, relief flooding over him.

"No. That person will make all the proper calls." Kotetsu explained. "Thank you."

Albert walked past the dining room, giving a distracted wave. He entered the kitchen, and then, slowly walked backwards into the dining room. His eyes narrowed, his large brows knitting together in bafflement. "Barnaby-boy…"

"Good afternoon, Albert." Barnaby said simply. He was focused intently on the chessboard in front of him, his eyes sharp and cautious.

"Take your time," Kaede murmured. "You're gonna lose anyway…"

"Don't be over confident." Barnaby warned, making his move.

"And checkmate!" Kaede pronounced, knocking over Barnaby's King.

"Fuck me!" Barnaby spat, throwing himself back in his chair. "Damn it!"

"Barnaby?"

"Yes, Albert?" Barnaby asked irritably. "What is it?"

"Who is this?" Albert asked, blinking pointedly as he pulled out a chair. He sat down, staring at Kaede with disdain.

"This is my chess tutor." Barnaby explained, knocking his shoulder against Kaede's gently. "This is Kaede, Kaede this is Uncle Albert…"

"Hey, Uncle Albert." Kaede said, smiling politely.

"Who's the Chinese kid, Barnaby?" Albert snapped.

"I'm not Chinese." Kaede argued, rolling her eyes. "And I was born in Sternbild."

"She and her father are our guests." Barnaby barked. "Anyway, I'm mad at you right now."

"Pardon?" Albert looked at Barnaby in bewilderment.

"Do you have any idea how disgusting it is to remove a bullet?"

"I don't follow you…" Albert grumbled.

"Never mind." Barnaby replied, smiling at Albert. "I wanted to let you know that Kotetsu will be staying here until he gets his casts off…"

"We discussed this…"

"And I'm doing what I think is best." Barnaby countered. "I'm sure you can understand that."

"I hardly understand anything you do, Barnaby…" Albert snapped. "You're not a child anymore."

"I'm not acting like a child." Barnaby glowered. "I'm acting like the Boss."

"By harboring an old enemy?"

"He was never our enemy." Barnaby argued.

"Let's not fight." Albert sighed, raising his hands peaceably. "We can discuss this more later."

"I've made up my mind. It's not changing." Barnaby said simply. "Deal with it."

"Who are you?" Keith demanded, tossing his backpack on the closest empty table. "Where's Tiger?"

"Hey, you must be Keith Goodman." Keith eyed the broad, muscled gentleman distrustfully. The man smiled, exposing two rows of unnaturally perfect teeth. "Mr. Kaburagi said you might come check on the place."

"And who are you?" Keith repeated.

"My name's Paulie." The man smiled even wider. "We're running the place for a few weeks while Mr. Kaburagi heals up."

"Heals up?" Keith asked, his grey-blue eyes widening.

"He was in a little accident, nothing too extreme…" Paulie explained. "He broke his legs."

Keith took a step back, watching the two men behind the bar. They were complete strangers. Where on Earth did they come from? And why would Kotetsu trust them to run his bar?

Keith pulled his cell from his pocket; he dialed nervously, his screen lagging behind his touch. "Hey, Keith…"

"Tiger!" Keith exclaimed, eyeing Paulie and his companion. "What the hell is going on? I came to the bar and you're not here… and there's these guys. I mean, they look like WWE wrestlers…"

"Keith, calm down…" Kotetsu said soothingly. "I broke my legs. I can't work. As a favor, a friend sent some people to run the bar. I don't know them personally, but my friend said they're reliable…"

"Mr. Tiger…" Keith groaned, sinking into a chair. "The things you get yourself into…"

"I'm fine." Kotetsu insisted. "You don't need to worry."

"I wish I could believe you…"

"Keith, things are gonna calm down a lot. I promise. You don't and shouldn't worry about me. I'm an old man and I can take care of myself for the most part…"

"Are you taking care of yourself right now?" Keith asked pointedly.

"Well, uh, that's…"

"Where are you, Tiger?"

"I'm staying with a friend."

"Which friend?" Keith asked quietly. "I always thought you didn't seem to have any…"

"I'm sorry, Keith." Kotetsu murmured. "About before. I've made a shit ton of mistakes, but making you go was not one of them. Martinez came after me. He was going to kill me… if you had been there…"

"So what really happened? The Martinezs broke your legs?" Keith asked, swallowing thickly.

"Yeah."

"Where are you? Please tell me…" Keith whispered, his head sinking into his hand.

"How's your summer class going, Keith?"

"It's fine…" Keith breathed.

"Good, I'm glad. Taxes sound hard…"

"I came to the bar tonight to talk about my paycheck." Keith said suddenly, his voice still quiet. "It's not right."

"O-oh? It's not?" Kotetsu stammered.

"There's way too much." Keith said sadly.

"Well, I put in 6 months severance pay…" Kotetsu explained. "I thought that'd be fair…"

"You could have paid Martinez." Keith pointed out. "You obviously have the money."

"It wasn't about the money." Kotetsu admitted. "It's the principle of the matter…"

"What am I supposed to do with six months extra pay?" Keith snapped unexpectedly.

"It's not much, but I figured it was enough to start a few classes…" Kotetsu said softly. "You know. If your parents don't write the check they don't need to even know about it…"

"What?"

"Come on, there's no reason not to start now." Kotetsu insisted. "I don't know what classes a vet needs, but I do know you'll make a great one…"

"You're doing it again…" Keith choked.

"What?"

"You're talking like you're going somewhere…" Keith rubbed his sleeve over his face. "Bye, Mr. Tiger."

"Did Kaede already come see you?" Barnaby asked, gesturing for the attendant to leave the room.

"Yeah. She left about half an hour ago…"

"I think she likes it here." Barnaby suggested, tossing his fine, tailored jacket on the couch. He removed his gun holster slowly, placing his pistol on the bedside table. He smiled devilishly, his green eyes searching Kotetsu hungrily.

Kotetsu shivered, his cheeks warming. He looked away, fumbling with the blankets. "Don't spoil her too much."

"It's impossible to spoil a child…" Barnaby reasoned. "Especially one so dear to my heart…"

"Give it a week." Kotetsu laughed. "She can be a real pain in the ass."

"I didn't know how I'd feel about her," Barnaby admitted, sliding his belt from the loops of his slacks. He tossed the belt onto the foot of the bed and unbuttoned his pants. "But she's just like you. She looks like you and talks like you…"

"Why didn't you have more kids?" Barnaby asked, crawling toward Kotetsu.

"Uh, well…"

"Grownups are complicated?" Barnaby asked with a smirk. He pulled down the sheets, nearly tearing them off the bed.

"Yeah, that's right…" Kotetsu sat propped up in bed, wearing only underwear and a v-neck undershirt.

"If only we weren't both men…" Barnaby breathed. He kissed Kotetsu's toes, moving above the cast to suck on Kotetsu's knee. He licked and kissed, tickling Kotetsu so much that the older man bashed him with his cast.

"Ah, sorry," Kotetsu breathed. "That tickles…"

"Sorry, we didn't hurt your leg, did we?" Barnaby asked, running his hands up Kotetsu's bare thighs.

"S'okay…"

Barnaby nodded, knocking Kotetsu's knees further apart with his shoulders. He kissed the inside of Kotetsu's legs, making his way upward. He licked Kotetsu through his underwear, soaking the cloth with spit. He pushed himself even further up Kotetsu's body. He lapped at his belly button gently before sinking his teeth into his flesh.

"Ah…" Kotetsu hissed, his fingers tangling in Barnaby's shaggy, blonde hair. He tugged Barnaby's hair, his eyes closing. Barnaby nipped along Kotetsu's stomach until he reached the ugly, puckered scar. He licked it with a broad, wet tongue, his saliva tingling as it dried. Kotetsu yanked Barnaby's hair, directing his mouth away from the scar.

"Aww…" Barnaby breathed. "You don't want me to touch it?"

"It's weird." Kotetsu protested.

Barnaby shook his head from side to side, freeing himself temporarily from Kotetsu's grip. He licked the scar again, paying special attention to the fresh cut across it. Jake had touched this. Yuri had touched this. Barnaby pissed himself off. He sucked the scarred flesh, ignoring Kotetsu's fingers' grip on his hair.

"It's not weird." Barnaby said, lifting his mouth at last. He licked his lips and smiled. "I'm making it mine…" Barnaby dragged his finger over Kotetsu's belly. "I can't help it. I'm so fucking jealous."

"Jealous?" Kotetsu shook his head. "You don't wanna shoot me too, do you?"

"No," Barnaby said firmly. "I don't wanna ever hurt you. I just want to make you all mine…"

"You're surprisingly perverted, young man." Kotetsu teased.

"You had a baby with some woman I never knew…" Barnaby muttered, pressing kisses all over Kotetsu's stomach. He caressed Kotetsu's firm stomach lovingly, rubbing his cheek against his skin. "No matter what, no matter how many times we fuck, I can never give you what she did…"

"That's…"

Barnaby sank his teeth into Kotetsu's stomach. He mischievously bit and sucked, just enough to make Kotetsu jump and squirm. "I can't imagine this feeling, being so pointless…" Barnaby murmured. He nuzzled Kotetsu's belly. "I wanna be your most important person."

"You're starting to piss me off, Bunny-chan," Kotetsu growled, snapping Barnaby's head up by his hair. He yanked until he and Barnaby were face to face. He bit Barnaby's bottom lip enough to make it bleed, sucking it gently afterward. "I've never sacrificed so much for one person."

"Sorry…" Barnaby groaned, his pale skin flushed a delicate shade of pink.

"S'okay." Kotetsu whispered. "Just remember your place…"

"Yes, Sir." Barnaby breathed, kissing Kotetsu deeply. They kissed, wet, hungry kisses, that seemed to have no end.

Barnaby rubbed his hand over Kotetsu's crotch, squeezing his erection through the wet, sticky cloth. Barnaby unhurriedly removed Kotetsu's underwear, the fabric rolling and twisting down to his knees and then over his casted feet. "Such a beautiful body, Kotetsu…"

Kotetsu grunted as Barnaby slid a finger inside of him. Barnaby moved teasingly, a single, thick finger rubbing him from the inside. "You're really hard, Kotetsu…"

"Shaddap…" Kotetsu muttered without heat. His amber eyes seemed afire, his entire body spreading out and relaxing. He let out a sexy moan making his dark skin flush in embarrassment.

"You're so cute." Barnaby cooed, sliding a second finger inside. He pumped his fingers in and out, reaching deeper and deeper.

"Cute? Ha…" Kotetsu scoffed and then gasped, his eyes fluttering to a close as Barnaby added another finger.

"Look how easily it's going in and out…" Barnaby licked his lips. He was so turned on he thought he might die. He spread his fingers out gently, nearly coming from the lewd noises that escaped Kotetsu's lips.

"That's e-en-ough…" Kotetsu whined.

"So impatient." Barnaby teased, kissing Kotetsu's temple. He crawled carefully around Kotetsu, lifting Kotetsu by the legs, just above the knee. He positioned himself against Kotetsu, resting the casts on either shoulder. He entered slowly, letting Kotetsu's legs slide down his body and back to the bed.

He wrapped his arms around Kotetsu's waist and hoisted the other into his lap. Kotetsu cursed, sinking even lower onto Barnaby's cock. Barnaby leaned back on one arm, supporting Kotetsu with the other. He thrust into Kotetsu slowly, Kotetsu's weight bearing down on him in a truly delicious way.

"Feels good…" Kotetsu moaned, finally lifting one hand around Barnaby's neck. He hugged tightly, his sore arm straining. He tugged on Barnaby's hair, directing Barnaby's mouth to his.

"You're so hot." Barnaby murmured between kisses.

"Nuh uh…" Kotetsu mouthed, his breath tickling Barnaby's ear. "You are…" Kotetsu licked his ear from top to bottom, sucking and biting on the lobe. "Inside too… It's so hot…"

"Damn it, old man," Barnaby growled. "Are you trying to kill me?"

"You, uh," Kotetsu panted, his amber eyes meeting Barnaby's. "Can't manage this much?"

Barnaby snarled, knocking Kotetsu onto his back. He pulled back, nearly pulling out, before thrusting suddenly into Kotetsu. He pounded mercilessly, gasping and grunting as Kotetsu's fingers bruised the flesh of his back. "You got quiet, Ko-tet-su…" Barnaby chimed. "You okay, right?"

"O-o-kk-kay…" Kotetsu stammered, his cock leaking across their stomachs.

"Hey, wait… let me roll you over…" Barnaby muttered, his cock bouncing and twitching against his stomach as he pulled out. He rolled Kotetsu over roughly and then, ever so gently, arranged his legs. He backed up, his hand resting on his forgotten belt.

He snapped the belt loudly in the air before smacking Kotetsu's perfect, round ass. Kotetsu jumped, breathing deeply into the mattress. Barnaby repeated the action, whipping Kotetsu with the belt again, and then again. The leather left red welts and his skin prickled all over.

"You like that?" He didn't need to ask, Kotetsu was practically shivering. Kotetsu muttered incoherently into the pillow, nodding his head in response. Barnaby laughed, lifting Kotetsu's hips. He pushed his leaking cock inside and closed his eyes. God, it throbbed. He quickened his pace, slamming his hips against Kotetsu's ass.

Barnaby mostly held Kotetsu up, the casts launched him forward and on his face. Barnaby kept his face from dragging roughly against the mattress. "It's so good…"

"Yes… Good… Ah…!" Kotetsu moaned, gripping the sheet beneath him desperately.

"Are ya gonna come?" Barnaby breathed.

"Yeah…" Kotetsu whimpered.

Barnaby ejaculated, his hips becoming useless almost instantly. He faltered, his come dripping out of Kotetsu and into the bed. Kotetsu's orgasm was different, it left him quivering and gasping, tears dripping from his eyes. Barnaby pulled out and sat back, watching his come leak out of Kotetsu and down his thighs.

Barnaby helped Kotetsu back over, propping a pillow under his knees for comfort. Kotetsu made a face. Every inch of him and the bed seemed to be a sticky mess.

"You're good at that…" Kotetsu said, finally regaining his breath.

"Eh, I manage." Barnaby teased.

Kotetsu rolled his eyes, smacking Barnaby on the chest. "Shaddap, smartass…"

"You're my exact type," Barnaby said. "No, I mean it." He elbowed Kotetsu for laughing. "I didn't know it, but my whole life I've been thinking of that first time…" Barnaby looked down, blushing. "Watching you fuck Yuri. It blew my mind. I didn't even remember any of it, but something about that moment stuck with me…"

"That's called trauma…" Kotetsu groaned, covering his face.

"You were the most beautiful thing I had ever seen." Barnaby continued, his eyes intent on Kotetsu's face. "And ten years later, I still feel that way…"

"I am not prepared for this…" Kotetsu sighed. "Mentally or physically…"

"It doesn't matter." Barnaby said softly. "Timing's everything."