The week leading up to Christmas was rather chaotic. Barnaby and Kotetsu had to prepare for their interviews, which normally wasn't so bad, but with the changes in what the interviewer was going to ask just Kotetsu and the addition of Barnaby, whole days had to be changed. It created chaos in the studio; there wasn't a makeup artist ready for Barnaby which made them late starting the filming. Kotetsu struggled with the information that Agnes had prepared for them and had to request a break more than once during the interviews in order to review, making stupid excuses about his stomach hurting.
Worse of all Barnaby was having the dreams almost every night, and unlike before the chamber didn't seem to be helping. Saitou actually recommended he sleep at home for a while and see if his body resets a bit, perhaps prolonged exposure to the machine had been enough for it to get used to its effects. So Barnaby had been sleeping at home all this week and it was starting to show. The makeup artist (once she finally showed up) had complained that no amount of concealer was going to hide the bags under his eyes.
Barnaby stood out in the hallway to the recording studio, this was their last session for the week and then they would be off for Christmas. He was dreading Christmas as well, it was the worst time of the year for him. He had a can of coffee in his hand, from a vending machine by the wall, he had always wanted to try canned coffee, it wasn't bad, but he preferred a fresh brewed cup.
Kotetsu came out from the studio doors and looked around before his eyes landed on Barnaby, he waved at him "Hey, they are calling us back on set, something about needing to redo the last set of questions before we can go, the sound production was picking up feedback from something and our voices aren't coming through," Kotetsu looked worn out as well, he had always hated interviews, but at least with live ones once they said something it was said, and he could move on. These pre-recorded ones for DVD releases and promotions were harder, the directors and producers always wanted several takes, and they were expected to look candid each time and Kotetsu was a bad actor.
"Coming," Barnaby said with a sigh and finished his drink before placing the can in the recycling receptacle. The two walked back into the studio, Kotetsu put his hand on Barnaby's lower back as they walked. "Hey, you look pretty done in, should I fake a stomach ache and we can both bail?" Barnaby did everything in his power not to pull the hand on his back away, Kotetsu had no idea how much worse the physical contact he gave was making Barnaby's life.
"No, let's just get through this with no mistakes and then we can leave," Barnaby said, trying to keep his voice even. The dreams had shifted into his high school years; it seems most of his Europe trip actually did happen, other than going to London he didn't dream of Europe much at all. High school was a totally different story. He had had friends, had enjoyed classes, it was very similar to his experience at Hero Academy. However, the thing that was affecting him now was that he was remembering what it was like to be a 16-18 year old, the years of his high school memories were rather jumbled, and perhaps he was going back far enough now that the years all mixed together, as the others had described, or perhaps Maverick had had to make multiple changes.
All Barnaby knew was that most of his nights he remembered what it felt like to have hormones running through his body that made him angry, ecstatic, upset, and in love, all at once and the memories were like real life, so he experienced all of these emotions fully as he slept. He fell in love and hate with people constantly all night long. Even if the machines hadn't stopped working Barnaby was sure he would have started sleeping at home again, as most mornings he woke up with a raging hard on that would not subside until it was dealt with.
Barnaby shook his head, now was not the time to think about the dreams, especially those ones, the ones he tried so desperately to put out of his mind. He couldn't think about those now, not until they were done with these interviews. He pulled away from Kotetsu, he had been trying to avoid the older man as much as possible, the effect he had on Barnaby was way too strong right now and Barnaby wasn't sure what he would do.
They got through the interview and as they were giving their thank you's to the directors and production team Barnaby made a hasty retreat before Kotetsu could offer to hang out. He had to get home, to get away from Kotetsu before he was driven crazy.
Barnaby was driving home when his phone lit up in the console beside him, a text from Kotetsu, probably asking where he went. He kept his eyes on the road; he would ignore it until later, when it was too late for Kotetsu to invite himself over.
He got home and settled in for the night, his phone tucked in his pocket, message still unread. He knew he shouldn't be giving Kotetsu the cold shoulder, that the man didn't deserve this, but how could he possibly explain what was going on? How could he possibly tell him that!?
Barnaby closed his eyes meaning to just take a break on his lounge chair before watching some TV before bed, but with his exhaustion from lack of proper sleep, as well as the stress from the interview, he fell asleep almost as soon as his eyes were closed.
Barnaby was at school, he felt a rage in his chest as he looked down at his books. He had been scolded by a teacher for talking in class, when all he had been doing was correcting someone else's mistake. He hated being accused of an action he hadn't taken. A girl sitting next to him, blonde and pretty, threw a note onto his desk. He blinked in surprise but opened it. Inside it said: "Hey, are we still on for the mall tonight?" he looked over at her and then back down to the note. Of course they were, weren't they all going? He had been dragged into the event by the other boys in class, or so he had said, but he had desperately wanted to go, not to be with Amelia, the blonde girl beside him, but because of the boy to his right. His name was Salvador and he was new to their school. His chocolate skin and long wavy hair, he was absolutely stunning. Barnaby felt his face heating up just looking over at him.
He took up his pen and scrawled on the note, "of course" folded the note back up and slid it onto Amelia's desk. She practically squealed when she opened it, looking over at him with hearts in her eyes.
Barnaby was at home; Maverick was nowhere to be found, which was exactly what he had hoped for. He went into his room and shut the door. He dug around under his bed and pulled out an old copy of Hero Monthly After Dark Magazine. It was an old series that had stopped producing a few years ago, which was a shame because they really had some interesting articles. He opened the magazine and looked inside, there was Mr. Twister, wearing nothing but his grey tornado shaped mask and his silver cape, tastefully draped over him in such a way to cover just his naughty bits as he lounged on a bunch of pillows. His stomach was a toned set of abs, his arms were corded, one of them raised and being used to cradle behind his head. The other stretched up above him, one knee raised. Barnaby felt his body begin to react, this image was good, but there was better in here. He turned the page, an actual small article, with some standard pictures on Tornado. He turned the page again; a female hero this time, Magneta, her hair from her wig had been changed, let loose to flow down over her breasts, purple strands just barely covering what needed to be to be considered "decent". She was sitting on a chair, her legs crossed, just right, her foot up in the air twisted so the sole of her foot was partially visible. Her calf muscle stretched showing its deep tone.
Barnaby slid past her page as well as her article quickly, moving through the next set of Heroes. No, he didn't need to see these pages; he knew what he was looking for. He got to the centre page, the special for this month's issue. A Rookie Hero for the year, though he was no Rookie anymore. He flipped the centrefold open and inside was the most gorgeous creature Barnaby had ever laid eyes on.
Wild Tiger, wearing absolutely nothing but his domino mask and a smile was lying down on a bed, arms crossed under his chin, face tilted up looking at the camera, dark brown hair brushed back out of his face, a few bangs falling down onto his forehead. His right leg was laying relaxed stretched out on the bed, his left leg bent at the knee, ankle pulled in just right for his foot with long straight toes pulled together to be pointing towards the camera. His thigh, calf, and butt clenched with the flex he was doing. His olive skin contrasting perfectly against the pure white linens he laid upon, the light directly above him preventing any shadows from forming. The curve of his back, the jut of his shoulder blades, and the contours of the muscles in his back all highlighted by a slight glisten, as if oil had been applied to him to make every little detail show. His eyes smoldering into the camera, sharp teeth showing in his smile. Wild Tiger was Adonis in the flesh, the Greek God had returned as a Hero to walk amongst them.
Barnaby slid his hand into his pants, grabbing his stiffened member. It didn't matter how many times he looked at this picture, Wild Tiger was still the sexiest thing he had ever seen.
Barnaby was watching a Hero TV interview; Wild Tiger had been awarded King of Heroes. It was only his second year as a Hero and he was already King, people were talking about how he might be the next Mr. Legend, if only he could keep his damage fines down.
The interviewer asked Tiger, "how does it feel to be crowned King of Heroes in only your second year, the first Hero to ever do so?"
Tiger was rubbing the back of his head, his blue mask obscuring most of his face and covering his hair, he really should get a better suit that allowed people to see his hair more, he had beautiful hair. "Well… I didn't really plan on being King of Heroes; I was just trying my best to help as many people as I could. If that means I got the most points this season then it just means I was able to do my very best and help out the people of Sternbild." he was being completely genuine when he said it too, it wasn't like when other Heroes said they were just doing their best, it really felt like he meant it. Tiger was known for always going for rescue points over capture points, and even when the points for rescues were less than captures he was always willing to save someone if they could be saved. Barnaby was smitten with him, he was exactly what a Hero should be like, compassionate towards the citizens, always doing his best for the people of Sternbild. It also didn't hurt that he had the same powers as Barnaby. Every time he turned Hero TV on Barnaby got to see what his powers could do to help people, how awesome a Hero with his strength could be. He wanted so badly to ever live up to the strength Wild Tiger showed.
Barnaby was out on the streets asking about Ouroboros. He heard there was a meeting going down in a club nearby. Having just turned 18 getting into bars was a lot easier, and that was always the best place to ask around, shady bars always held more secrets. He walked into a nightclub, the bouncer verified his age on his ID twice before letting him through. He walked in and looked around, spotting the VIP section, what better place to hide a secret meeting than in a closed off section.
He looked around to see if anyone was watching the cordoned off area, the bouncer at the door was checking IDs but were there more bouncers inside? He didn't see anyone so he quickly ducked under the red cord and made his way towards the tables in the back. He slid up beside the wall trying not to be seen as he turned the corner, there was a card game going on, naked women dancing on a stage beside them. The men at the table were all wearing fancy suits and smoking cigars as they played their game. They were talking quietly amongst themselves about where they would hit next, and how many NEXT would be involved in the attack. They also mentioned how they better get extra compensation pay if more than one Hero showed up to stop them. Barnaby turned to make his escape; he had enough information to alert the authorities to stop whatever it was they were going to do. As he turned around he walked face first into a brick wall of muscle, a huge bouncer had come up on him as he had been listening in.
Barnaby awoke in his chair and let out a sigh as he slowly came to the realisation of where he was. He let his mind wander through the events, let his body calm down from the adrenaline it was producing. His heart was pounding and he had a hard on, again. Great.
He just had to dream about masturbating to that image of Kotetsu again. This was the third time this week alone. It had been mortifying the first time he dreamt about it, but to keep having different dreams about going home to whack his meat thinking about his future partner was stressing him out. The revelation that he had not only been physically attracted to Kotetsu but also been completely smitten with him as a Hero was not only insane to him, but also left him in a terrible predicament. As an adult he once again had those same thoughts and feelings for the older man. Knowing he had felt this way, technically, since he was 16 (possibly younger) left Barnaby feeling very uncomfortable. He had been in love, or at least in lust, with Wild Tiger for over twelve years.
Even Kotetsu's ideals had intrigued him; back then he had seen Wild Tiger as the epitome of what a Hero should be like. Something Maverick didn't agree with and had forced him to forget, along with his budding romantic feelings.
Since the dreams about this had started he had forced some distance between himself and Kotetsu, not because he didn't want to see him, gods did he want to see him, but because every time he saw him he felt like his heart was going to burst out of his chest, or he was going to blurt out his feelings.
He finally got out of his chair, which was a little uncomfortable as he was still hard, and made his way into his bedroom. It was already pretty late, and no amount of sleep would ever be enough to make him feel rested.