Kotetsu woke the next morning to a pinging bell. Just a tone, ringing and ringing and ringing and ringing without end. He sat up and rubbed his eyes, body still sluggish and half-asleep, before he looked around. Barnaby was sitting on the floor, too, sort of on the other side of the room, his curls all tangled and sticking out at odd angles. He looked funny like that, almost kind of cute…
Before Barnaby acknowledged Kotetsu, he addressed the pinging, and found the source to be a very irate Agnes Joubert, bringing them supplies for the baby, and Barnaby paged her through. Kotetsu stretched and yawned, and noticed the beer cans and wine bottles strewn about the room—way more than Kotetsu had drank before he fell asleep. So Barnaby got drunk by himself after Kotetsu fell asleep? Yeah, Barnaby looked really hung over: pained face, slow movements. But why?
"You okay, Bunny?" Kotetsu asked.
"Fine," Barnaby answered, but he didn't have much force in his voice.
"Did you… drink all this?"
"I had difficulty sleeping."
"You coulda slept in the kids' room, if my Scent was—"
"We've had enough trouble taking care of Sam. I chose to stay out here rather than risk disturbing him," Barnaby pinched the bridge of his nose. "In any case, Ms. Agnes will be here soon. You'll need your shirt."
"Eh? Oh! Right, right!"
Kotetsu had meant to put his shirt back on after he changed his bandages, but it just slipped his mind, like a lot of things did last night. Quickly tracking down his shirt, he rushed into the bathroom, but didn't dress himself immediately. If Barnaby had been drunk, there was a chance his judgment had lapsed. Well, Kotetsu didn't remember waking up in the night, and nothing 'private' hurt that morning. In the mirror, Kotetsu scrutinized his reflection for hickeys, bite-marks, or scratches, but found no evidence of them. No (new) damage to his skin.
He really did leave me alone, for the whole night.
Before Barnaby could get too suspicious of Kotetsu's extended bathroom break, Kotetsu hastily buttoned up his shirt, vest, and even tied his tie before he left the room and let Barnaby through. The kid needed a comb, and fast.
Barnaby had at least started cleaning up the room, so Kotetsu picked up where he left off, gathering cans and bottles. A few weren't actually empty, just discarded partials, and some of them had likely started off half-full before Barnaby emptied them. The supposed intensity of Barnaby's hangover (which Kotetsu perceived as a six-point-five out of ten) didn't match the amount of alcohol all those bottles would have contained if full. But it was still a lot of booze, a lot to just binge by himself. Seriously, what made Barnaby think that getting drunk so he could sleep in a room with an Omega was better than sleeping in a room with kids? Nothing Barnaby did made any sense, and all those 'theories' he'd been clinging to were unraveling.
And then the serial kidnappers Agnes had warned them about called—Pao Lin and Sam were their hostages.
You've got to be kidding me!
Two days of fear. Two days of hell. Two days of feeling powerless, unable to save himself, let alone the people of the city… but then, the light.
Barnaby's light.
Kotetsu shouldn't be this happy. He's the one who figured out Jake's power, asked Saito for the sonic/flash grenade, and he even prevented Jake's escape, but no one's recognized his efforts. All Barnaby did was kick him once and find the moral courage not to kill. Good for him. Kotetsu almost wished he could feel at least a little upset about this.
But Barnaby called Kotetsu by his name. And suddenly, all that pain was twenty-bajillion percent worth it. Barnaby trusted Kotetsu. No doubts our guesses, by certain fact, Barnaby trusted him. And even if Kotetsu's trust shook during the crisis, he had his answer, too. He trusted Barnaby. Even when nobody could do anything but chant Barnaby's name and thank him for a job well done, Kotetsu's mind spun with Barnaby's voice saying his name: Kotetsu. Kotetsu. Kotetsu.
The hospital staff swiftly killed Kotetsu's happiness. They were very angry about his little jaywalk down to the stadium. The medical professionals completely disbelieved that Hundred Power could heal extensive internal injuries and broken bones (and they were right: Kotetsu had only covered up the scrapes and made a convincing show of being healed). The head nurse made it clear that, if he tried to pull any more leave-the-hospital-early shenanigans, the hospital would be forced to employ their wide array of NEXT-proof restraints. They'd chain him to his cot if they deemed it necessary.
Eep.
Barnaby came in for a few checkups, but all they found were some bruises so they let him go. Keith, Antonio, and Ivan had similar short treatments, not because they were fully healed, but because the hospital staff trusted them to take it easy with casts and crutches. Kotetsu, on the other hand, with his absolutely atrocious record of following doctors' orders, had his mandatory bed rest set at one week, and the staff warned everyone at the office to send him straight back to the hospital if they caught him at work. A week in a stupid hospital bed! He'd go absolutely crazy if he had to stay still for that long! He spent his first day in bed wheedling at the nurses to reduce his sentence, asking for clearer explanations of what exactly was wrong with him, because it couldn't be as bad as they thought…
Nope. No luck. Playing the "better safe than sorry" card, no one agreed to let Kotetsu out. Not even when he demanded to talk to the doctor. No release for Tiger.
After sundown, in the silence of the hospital, Kotetsu largely resigned himself to his fate. A familiar voice played in his head over and over again, almost keeping him company: Let's go, Kotetsu… Let's go, Kotetsu… Kotetsu… Kotetsu…
The next morning, Antonio managed to get him a cell phone. Connection kept breaking because Ouroboros had taken out a few cell towers in their crazy invasion, but eventually Kotetsu got a hold of his family, specifically Kaede. Kotetsu's daughter forgave him at least a little bit more than usual, because there had been a city-wide, well-publicized crisis that clamped down all transportation, and not just one of Kotetsu's usual excuses. The most she knew of Kotetsu's injuries is he got "a little banged up" in the confusion. Eventually, Kaede told him to feel better soon—and then come and visit—and accepted Kotetsu's reason to stay in the city.
"Still can't believe you pulled that stunt with your power," Antonio said.
"What? I had to get out there! And you guys might have called the staff on me if I didn't look healed."
Antonio shrugged, but left it at that. At this point, he knew to expect this kind of logic from Kotetsu.
The hospital had given Kotetsu his tray of disappointing, TV-tray ration-mush when he saw another familiar face: this time, Barnaby. Kotetsu definitely perked up at his appearance, but curiosity replaced his cheer, as he noticed the large cardboard box in his partner's arms. He craned his neck to try and look inside, but Barnaby set it at the foot of Kotetsu's bed, effectively out of range.
"How are you feeling?" Barnaby asked.
"Great!" Kotetsu said, lifting his fists to demonstrate. "Almost ready to get out of here!"
"The doctors say you have six more days."
"They don't know what they're talking about!" Kotetsu griped. "Can you tell them how much better I'm feeling? Maybe they'll believe you!"
"While your enthusiasm is fully healed, you should rest. I'm going to listen to the doctors."
"C'mon, Bunny! I hate lying here like a useless log! There's nothing to do!" Kotetsu complained. Then again, things weren't so bad when he had Barnaby's Scent around. Just like back when Kotetsu spent the night in the hospital for Lunatic's burns, Barnaby's pheromones overpowered the disinfectant stench, and left Kotetsu feeling warm and peaceful. He could spend hours in the hospital without complaint like this.
"Why do you think I've come to visit you?"
Kotetsu blinked. "Eh?"
Barnaby brought the box closer to Kotetsu so he could peek inside. Familiar stacks of paperwork sat piled neatly inside—all of Kotetsu's backlogged work from before the Ouroboros attack.
"It's a present," Barnaby said. "Since you'll be here for a week, you need something to help pass the time."
"Oh… Bunny," Kotetsu grimaced. "You… really shouldn't have…"
Barnaby smiled the brightest and most honestly happy smile Kotetsu had ever seen on his face. Not cool and detached like the smirks for the cameras and fans, no, Barnaby grinned a full, eye-crunching smile. Wow. Kotetsu sympathized with his partner's tragic past, but he had never understood how dark that life had been for Barnaby until now, with the chance to see Barnaby in the light. And Kotetsu couldn't help but smile back.
"You'll have disaster relief to look forward to when you get out," Barnaby said. "Ouroboros completely destroyed three bridges in the attack and knocked out utilities for large areas of the city. They've put some patches in place for now, but reconstructions will surely need out help."
"Sounds good," Kotetsu nodded, already anxious to get back to work. "So the girls are helping right now?"
"Yes. I'll be joining them shortly."
"Huh? So get going then! The City isn't gonna save itself!" Kotetsu waved his hands to brush Barnaby out of the room. "Sternbild needs its savior, the great Barnaby Brooks Jr!"
"I can't go without saying thank you first."
"Wha—huh?"
Barnaby smiled again, that beautiful, light-filled smile. "You believed in me. Not just that I could defeat Jake, but you believed I was a better person than him, too. So, thank you."
Kotetsu glanced away and scratched his beard. Dammit, what's with the surge of feelings? Just last week Barnaby had been such a cold, severe person. Not that Kotetsu was complaining about the change, he could get used to a Barnaby that didn't constantly lash out at him, trying to put him in his place. But all at once, that kind face, the heartfelt thanks, the dizzying Scent…
"If… If it meant that much to you," Kotetsu struggled to pull his thoughts together. "Then you—you should've brought me a magazine! Or a game! Not dumb paperwork!"
Barnaby chuckled. "Make progress in the paperwork and I'll consider it."
Kotetsu pouted and folded his arms. "That's not cute, making fun of an old man in the hospital…" he complained.
"I'm not making fun of you, Kotetsu," Barnaby said. Kotetsu felt his cheeks heat up as Barnaby said his name, a more forceful show of Barnaby's trust than his own declaration of gratitude. "Well, only a little," he admitted.
"Aha! So you are making fun of me!"
"I consider this to have equal standing with a stupid nickname."
"It's not stupid, it's cute!" Kotetsu put his hands beside his head and wiggled them like bunny ears. "Hop about, save the day, Lil' Bunny! Wild Tiger and Lil' Bunny!"
Barnaby shook his head and sighed—a vast improvement over "I command you to stop!" in Kotetsu's book—and Kotetsu laughed a bit, and leaned back against his pillow. Even after just a few minutes in Barnaby's presence, he wanted a nap. Or a cuddle. No, the cuddle would be a bad idea, Kotetsu had a few cracked ribs, any sort of embrace would crunch them. No matter how broad Barnaby's shoulders looked, or how strong his arms, or how soft his lips…
"Is this your lunch?"
Kotetsu opened his eyes. Barnaby indicated the tray of goopy, 'healthy' food mostly forgotten on a little desk by Kotetsu's bed.
"Huh? Oh, yeah…" Kotetsu said, head woozy. "Good eats, right there…"
"Hm. Maybe you should get out of here sooner rather than later," Barnaby admitted.
"You'll help me get outta here?"
"If you rest and heal well, yes. I'll decide after another few days."
"Thanks, Bunny…" Kotetsu mumbled, sinking a little deeper into the cot. Even without any appetizing options, Kotetsu felt hungry, but more than that, he felt sleepy, dreamy, like he was floating. He could take a nap first, right? It wasn't like the food would taste any worse cold than hot. Just the peace of Barnaby's presence, his Scent, Kotetsu could indulge a little and be fine, right?
"Kotetsu," Barnaby said softly. "You're falling asleep."
"Inno," Kotetsu slurred. He tried and failed to open his eyes. "M'supposed to, cuz I'm inna hospital…"
"Well, if you'd like to sleep, I should go," Barnaby said. Kotetsu opened his eyes enough to see Barnaby stand and straighten his jacket. He couldn't hide a frown—the whole reason he felt so wonderfully relaxed was because Barnaby was there. It defeated the purpose of falling asleep if Barnaby left.
"Right," Kotetsu admitted. "Have fun."
"Fun? I'll try," Barnaby smiled again, and Kotetsu did his best to smile back, stomach still sinking at the fact Barnaby was about to leave him. "Oh, but before I leave, there's something I'd like to ask you about."
"Sure, what?"
"Since you have an extended hospital stay, I could speak with the doctor about possibly using a Scent therapy."
"Using a what?" Kotetsu said, immediately wary of the idea. He clenched his teeth and swallowed, forcing life into his beaten body and trying to focus his mind.
"It's a natural alternative to sedatives and painkillers. Omegas are given a cloth treated with Alpha pheromones," Barnaby explained. "Would you be interested?"
"You think I need your Scent to get through this?" Kotetsu scoffed. "I'm happy to see you, but I can handle this hospital thing just fine!"
"Who said anything about my Scent?" Barnaby said. "The pheromones come from a laboratory sample. Of course, if you asked for my Scent, I'd oblige—"
"Don't get so cocky, Bunny," Kotetsu scolded him. Dammit, I slipped! "I don't want any Scent therapy! You can tell that to the doctor!"
Barnaby just nodded, and moved the cardboard box of paperwork onto his newly vacated chair. "I understand. I just thought you should be aware of your options. I'll see you later, Kotetsu."
"Ah—bye!" Kotetsu called after him.
Now alone, Kotetsu had nothing to do but reflect on the conversation. He'd essentially chased Barnaby away with his stupid Omega reactions. But Barnaby just sprung that Scent therapy stuff on him, what was he supposed to say? As the air conditioning started to filter the Scent out of the air, Kotetsu realized the appeal of the therapy. The calm, sleepy feeling dissipated, and Kotetsu had nothing left but hunger and lingering pain. He wanted it, sure—he wanted Barnaby's Scent to stay with him, and he wanted to hold it close and breathe it and get through this medical imprisonment. And now he had to absolutely refuse, out of pride. No going back.
Kotetsu glanced at the box of paperwork. Lloyds probably told him to bring this, he thought, reaching over and poking at a few of the paper stacks. There were invoices, incident reports, ah, Barnaby remembered Kotetsu's abacus! Kotetsu pulled the little tool out of the box and flicked the beads around, enjoying the familiar click. He set it aside and looked a little closer at the box, realizing that, in one corner, someone had curled a plastic bag between the cardboard and paper. Confused, Kotetsu pulled it out and uncurled it, finding two giant handfuls worth of mayonnaise packets, and a note: Hide these from the nurses.
"Aw, thank you, Bunny!" Kotetsu muttered, pulling the tray of hospital mush closer. He tore open one of the packets and spurted it onto a suspicious green puree. Taking a small gob of green and mayo onto his plastic spoon, Kotetsu tasted and found it perfectly consumable. So he squeezed the rest of the packet out onto his food and dug in.
Yes, regardless of praise, regardless of teasing, regardless of Scenting, Kotetsu could really get used to Barnaby thinking of him like this. Being friends with his partner had its benefits.