I think I may just upload them all in one go to start, sorry bout that.


The silence goes on until Kotetsu decides to drag Yuri with him to the kitchen for a snack. A few hours is a long time, he insists. They didn't eat much on the way here, so they should have something small to tide them over now.

On the table are some fairly fresh-looking cookies, Anju notes she and Kaede made them to celebrate. Jam cookies weren't his favorite, by any means, but it was nice to see Kaede branching out.

"I definitely need to give her her present, oh man," he glances towards the door. "Mom, can you keep an eye on Yuri for me? I'll be back before you know it."

"You talk about your friend like a lost child," Anju chides. "But yes, I'll keep an eye on him, go ahead."

He starts off and hears just the beginning of a conversation about the cookies and mothers before he gets too far away to really hear anything. He finds the poster and makes for Kaede's room, not thinking all too hard on it. None of his business, at least not now. Anju would probably mention anything worrying if it came up, anyway.

He knocks, and Kaede peeks out. "Oh, hey Dad."

"Hi honey!" He chirps, poster behind his back. "Guess what Daddy got you?"

She opens the door fully, raising an eyebrow. "You got me something?"

"Yep!" With a grin, he holds it out. "A limited time poster, with a whole bunch of signatures from some of your favorite heroes!"

Kaede takes it with a smile, looking it over. "Thanks, Dad! But… there seems to be one missing."

"Huh?" Kotetsu frowns. "I swear I got everyone to sign it, though… Was it Antonio?! Oh if he didn't sign it to get a rise out of me-"

"No, nothing like that," Kaede shakes her head. "It's just… nevermind."

Before Kotetsu can question what she means anymore, she's back in her room with her door closed. He remembers that a girl's room is the last place one enters without permission, and so he leaves her to it after a few words of hoping she still enjoyed it.

Back to the kitchen he goes, but only Anju is there. He peeks around a bit, trying to make sure he isn't just missing something obvious, or that Yuri wasn't just trying to stay out of sight… But nothing, he wasn't there.

A bit of a panic causer, but Kotetsu needs to remain calm. No one else knows just why Yuri is here, and so he can't really panic and have to explain it now of all times. Stay cool and collected, he tells himself.

"Hey, Mom," he says. "Did Yuri get off to somewhere?"

"Oh, we chatted for a bit and he had one of the cookies, before saying he had a bit of a headache and wanted to lay down," Anju replies. "I hope it was alright for me to shoo him. He looked like he could faint at any minute."

"It's fine! Just wanted to know where I can find him! Thanks!" He waves with a smile, but when back in the hallway, he frowns. This doesn't seem good.

Yuri is in fact in the room they're now sharing, laying down with his back to the door. His shoulders seem to be shaking, almost as if he's crying. Kotetsu frowns, closes the door behind him as quickly as he can to mask any sound that could escape.

"Hey," he says, trying to keep his voice soft enough to not startle. "You okay?"

"Leave me be," his voice has the scratch of a man who has, in fact, been crying for a while.

"Well, that didn't answer my question," Kotetsu jokes, wanting to at least attempt clearing the air a bit. "Guess I have to come over there and find out."

"Do as you please," Yuri replies curtly.

And so Kotetsu does, coming closer and sitting next to him. His cheeks are tear-stained, a few noticeable lines of water still there. Without thinking, he reaches out and wipes them away. Yuri tenses for a moment, but not for long.

He puts a hand over Kotetsu's, and Kotetsu let's it linger for a moment. He wonders if anyone's ever done this for Yuri before. Having someone there who can wipe your tears, who can comfort you…

Kotetsu wouldn't have made it out of everything sane if not for people like that. He doesn't want to think about Yuri not having that. He has it now, at least, he tells himself. Kotetsu can try and offer that.

"Don't let me stop you," he says when he finally pulls his hand away. "If you need to cry, cry. Wouldn't be the first time a grown man's cried in front of me."

"That partner of yours?" Yuri asks.

"Rock Bison before we even became heroes," Kotetsu corrects. "Sky High and Origami Cyclone before Bunny, too! Really, you're probably just about the last one to beat him out in terms of holding out around me."

"You have an ill effect on people," Yuri sniffles.

"That or I help people be honest with themselves," Kotetsu offers, not very sure of his answer. "Or you could be right and I just have an ill effect on people. Didn't stop you from saving my bacon-"

"You already thanked me for that," Yuri says.

"Actually, I was thinking even further back," Kotetsu says. "When I was framed for murder. I thought for sure you planned on killing me for it, but you helped me out! Guess it makes sense that you knew I didn't do it, what with your connections and all."

Yuri just glances at him. "You being punished for a crime you didn't commit would go against my sense of justice."

"Well, yeah, but I can still thank you for helping," Kotetsu replies. "You did a lot of bad stuff, Yuri. But you did some good, too. I figured you deserved to be reminded of that."

Yuri says nothing, and Kotetsu thinks he's just fine with that for now. He is laying it on thick, after all. Maybe Yuri is just chewing on it, actually taking what he said to heart.

Without really thinking about it, he runs a hand through Yuri's hair - something he remembers doing with both Tomoe and Barnaby when they were in the hospital. Not the most pleasant habit, but at least it usually seemed to be comforting.

"You're an odd man," Yuri finally says. "I can't decide if I despise you or not."

"Well, you'll have plenty of time to figure it out now!" Kotetsu chirps, hand still in Yuri's hair. "I look forward to hearing what you decide."

Yuri once again falls silent, and it stays that way for a while.