A/N: Sorry this took so long. I try my best not to "over-share" my personal life with my readers, but I think I should have at least said something. Life was crazy busy and now it's less, so I can resume regular updates! Happy Tuesday!

Kotetsu left the party and caught the monorail in the direction of Barnaby's apartment. He had taken public transit on the way up so he wouldn't have to worry about leaving his car in some garage all night, and he appreciated his foresight for a different reason now. On the walk (well, run) to the train station, Kotetsu wasn't thinking too hard about what had just happened or how he planned to fix it, but once he was alone, with an arm looped around a cold metal pole, Kotetsu had a lot of time to ponder the earlier fiasco.

Barnaby had treated Kotetsu like an Omega. He'd have to thoroughly explain and sincerely apologize for his behavior before Kotetsu would consider forgiving him. But with a clear head and the danger of losing Barnaby on the horizon, Kotetsu knew he shouldn't have let things get that bad. If he had spoken up earlier, he could have defused the fight. And looking back, Elijah wasn't even seriously trying to 'win' Kotetsu; his target was Barnaby the whole time. He wanted to see the star hero lose his cool, and he did. And even if he did have to choose between the two of them, Kotetsu at least knew Barnaby was capable of respect, while Elijah came with no such confirmation. Barnaby made a mistake when he fell for Elijah's bait, but he walked away when Kotetsu told him to. Kotetsu didn't want to punish Barnaby for that.

He needed a plan. He needed to get to Barnaby's house, tell him that Elijah was being a creep, call him out for acting like an Alpha, release tension with a stupid joke, and go back to being awesome partners. Actually, all those goals together formed a pretty good plan. Kind of like a checklist. Yeah, Kotetsu could do this!

He made it to the front doors of Barnaby's apartment with no problems, and after a few minutes of trying to recall his apartment number (six-seven six two or six-seven seven two?) Kotetsu connected with the right residence. "Hello?" Barnaby said through the speaker.

"Hey, Bunny. It's me. Can I come up?" Kotetsu asked, tapping one shoe against the other.

"…Kotetsu?" Barnaby hesitated a bit. "What are you doing here? I thought you..."

"I want to talk. Please."

After another second, the door pinged and popped open for Kotetsu. He gratefully pushed his way inside, checking off Part One of his mental plan as he called the elevator, got in, and watched the floor numbers flash by. Barnaby had probably expected Kotetsu to stay at the party with Elijah, maybe even go home with him. But Kotetsu hadn't chosen any of them! Even coming to talk to Barnaby wasn't a decision, it was just…

Kotetsu clenched his fists. He had to stop worrying about this. No, they needed to talk it out, and Kotetsu had to let Barnaby know what he was upset about. Then they could just get on with their lives.

Once securely on Barnaby's floor, Kotetsu rang the bell at Barnaby's apartment door. This time Barnaby opened the door more quickly. He had already ditched his jacket and tie, leaving nothing but a dress shirt with two buttons undone, and he stepped aside to let Kotetsu in. His apartment would be drowning in Alpha Scent, but Kotetsu couldn't have his big, important discussion out in the hallway. He took his last clean breath and stepped inside. There was a brown bottle already sitting on his small table near his recliner, among the usual occupants of the TV remote and his toy robot.

"I'm sorry," Barnaby said, likely noticing that Kotetsu had seen his table. "I wasn't expecting company. Would you like me to get you a glass?"

"No, I'm fine," Kotetsu used some of his precious air to speak.

"Alright. Excuse me, then." Barnaby left the room for a minute and returned with a tumbler, which he filled and then allowed to sit on the table. Barnaby wouldn't meet Kotetsu's eyes, but Kotetsu wasn't sure whether he wanted to look his partner in the eye just yet.

"You didn't have to leave the party because of me," Barnaby said at last.

Kotetsu wriggled his toes in his shoes. "Well, you left, too. What was that about?"

"You wanted to be alone."

"You didn't have to leave the whole party!"

"I wanted some time to think."

Kotetsu tried to think, but it was already getting so hard. The warm, electric-dream atmosphere of the room threatened his balance, and he'd fall over if he shifted his weight too far to one side. What should he say next? He arrived at the apartment… and then he was going to… he was going to…

"Listen, I—um… I didn't mean to push you away," Kotetsu started. "I mean, things were getting out of hand, and I just… Elijah's a creep!"

Barnaby blinked at Kotetsu, half-dubious.

"Yeah, he's really a jerk," Kotetsu continued along his train of thought before he lost it. "Everything he said was crap. We met ten years ago for an interview when I was a rookie, but he exaggerated all the details just to be an ass. He said whatever he could to get under your skin."

Kotetsu didn't mention the fact that Elijah succeeded. Barnaby stared down at the newly poured glass, also refusing to acknowledge Elijah's effective manipulation.

"You do know me better than Elijah does. It's a fact. But… you know better than to talk about me like I'm just an Omega, too."

Barnaby was still silent. C'mon, say something! I can't just talk to myself all night!

"Is that how Alphas fight, usually? When there's a mate on the line?"

Barnaby's head twitched in a nod. "More or less," he admitted.

"But you know I'm more than an Omega. I sent you away because I didn't want Alphas to fight over me like I'm not even there. I won't let them push me around. Not Elijah, and especially not you."

Barnaby still refused to meet Kotetsu's eyes. His blonde bangs fell in front of his eyes and obscured his expression. Kotetsu frowned. This wasn't getting him anywhere. Sitting here and berating, guilting, his partner wouldn't help them go back to the way they were. He wanted Barnaby to own up to his mistake, but then move on.

"Besides… I know you better than that, too. That's not how you usually act. All that macho-Alpha stuff, that's not the real you. I think I sent you away because… it scared me." Finally Barnaby looked up, but Kotetsu found himself unable to meet his partner's eyes. He scratched at his beard as he continued, "I saw you revert to the way you were when we met. Back to that person I used to fight with all the time. And I got scared."

"I see," Barnaby said. "I understand that my behavior was out of line. It won't happen again."

"But why did it happen in the first place?"

"I wasn't thinking," he answered. "Even without knowing that reporter, I didn't like him, and when he said he was an Alpha, someone that you might find attractive, and you seemed closer to him than any other Alpha I had ever seen you with… I snapped, and I shouldn't have." He picked up his drink, swirled it, and sipped. "It's none of my business who you talk to, or why. If you decide to mate with Elijah, I can't stop you."

Kotetsu spluttered, "Weren't you listening? He's a creep! I'm not interested in him!"

"It's not exactly about Elijah. If you decide to mate with anyone, I'll support your decision." Barnaby drank again, and Kotetsu could see a wry smirk on his partner's lips. "I suppose I've taken your decision not to mate for granted."

"Huh?"

"I'm forbidden from making serious attempts at claiming you," Barnaby explained. "But I could comfort myself knowing that no one else had a chance at claiming you, either. That would be against your beliefs. But then I saw you with Elijah, and you somehow looked so friendly… In the moment, the possibility of losing you felt too great to bear. I lost my reason."

"You're never going to lose me! We're partners!" Kotetsu said. "And I'm not going to let anyone claim me, so you're still fine. There's nothing to worry about." Kotetsu added that last bit to reassure himself as much as Barnaby. Nothing to worry about. We'll be fine.

"I suppose," Barnaby set his glass aside and turned more fully toward Kotetsu. "Do you remember, back at the Fortress Tower, when you asked me if I had any pride in myself?"

"Yeah…" Kotetsu replied, but why would Barnaby bring that up now?

"At the time, I thought it was merely a well-worded trap. To claim you then would mean admitting that I had no pride. But ever since then, I've been thinking about what it means to be an Alpha, and I realized that you were right."

"Right about what?"

Barnaby shifted his weight to his other foot. "Let me put it this way: the worst problem that an Alpha faces isn't actually resisting temptation. It's a problem, but it's not the worst. The worst is… an Alpha feels like he might as well not exist if he hasn't claimed an Omega."

Kotetsu frowned, puzzled. "But you do exist. You're right in front of me!"

"Yes, but Scented people can only sense potential mates. I couldn't smell Elijah; he had to tell me he was an Alpha. Claiming an Omega is a way for Alphas to send signals to each other as much as anything else. The stronger the claimed Omega's Scent, the more other Alphas can infer about that Omega's mate. The greatest problem with being an Alpha is the pressure to dominate the most strongly-Scented Omega… almost to prove they can. To prove they're worth something."

Kotetsu's jaw dropped a little. Does that mean I'm just a trophy to them?

"That's the base of it, anyway," Barnaby continued. "It goes further than Scenting. An Omega's accomplishments play into it as well. In a sense, an Alpha's worth is dictated by the quality of his Omega. Lacking an Omega, an Alpha is worthless."

"Bunny, you're not worthless because you're single!" Kotetsu protested. "You're a top-ranked hero, everyone loves you, and you do so much good—"

"That's not the same," Barnaby shook his head. "It's something I should be proud of, but at the end of the day, it just feels like vanity. Alpha culture dictates that, if I had a fantastic mate, this self-consciousness would go away. I could be proud of that person instead of myself."

"That can't be true… Bunny, you've got tons of reasons to be proud of yourself!" The words spilled forth, Kotetsu's self-censor weakening as the pheromones in the room set his head spinning. "You're super-smart, determined, you've got a hell of a kick, you stay cool under pressure… there's nothing you can't do if you put your mind to it! You don't need someone else to make your life complete!"

"I mean, I understand that… These are my personal epiphanies. This outlook might not be universal, or most Alphas might not be conscious of it. And there is reward in hero work, knowing you've protected someone. I never thought I would enjoy this job as much as I do…" He trailed off a bit, but refocused. "Still, this is what I see when I look at the Scenting situation."

"Bunny, I got mad at you, but I didn't want to make you feel worthless," Kotetsu insisted. "You're really important to me!"

"Please don't worry," Barnaby said. "I'm happy you came by and explained everything, but it shouldn't matter. I did disrespect you. That's my fault."

"But I made you feel like you had to leave," Kotetsu pointed out. "I didn't want that—I just want you to treat me like your partner! Just—Just the way you have, for months now."

"I want that, too. Our partnership is the best thing to happen to me in twenty years, and I never want to threaten it." Barnaby stepped away from the table and chair and approached Kotetsu. The smells in the air shimmered and wove as their source crossed the room. "But if you decide you want an Alpha, I can't stop you—and I'll never try to. I see how important this is to you, and you know better than anyone what you want in a relationship."

He stood barely a foot away from Kotetsu now, then reached out and took Kotetsu's hands. His fingers were warm and strong, and little tickles of electricity shot up Kotetsu's arm as Barnaby closed his fingers on top of Kotetsu's.

"I love you, Kotetsu," Barnaby said softly. "But I meant it when I promised to support whatever decision you make."

The world swam, and Kotetsu felt like the only stationary object in the entire room was Barnaby himself. His wobbly thoughts chased each other around his head, only half of them forming real sentences. "But…" If I choose someone else… "I don't want to hurt…" your feelings…

"I'll learn to be your friend. I swear I will. It would hurt the both of us much more if I tried to force you to love me," Barnaby explained. His thumb smoothed over Kotetsu's knuckles, and the breath left his lungs. "You can make your own choice."

His own choice? Kotetsu breathed the Scent around him—soothing, inviting, pleasing, with hints of honey and winter flannel and nutmeg and warm vanilla and the perfect beam of sunlight and lavender soap and fresh cotton and a light dash of perfume from a faded memory of a time when Kotetsu held happiness in his arms—and as he stared at the source of the Scent, at Barnaby, into his deep green eyes, his choice instantly became crystal-clear. He reached out, cupped Barnaby's face with his free hand, leaned close, and kissed him.

Barnaby's lips felt soft and hot. They tasted of his skin, Apollon's champagne, and his own liquor. The electric sensation of a single touch of Barnaby's hand multiplied a hundredfold, a startling rush of pure pleasure starting at Kotetsu's mouth and spreading through his entire body. Barnaby froze, but didn't pull back, so they stood there a minute longer as the half-formed notion that kept drifting in and out of Kotetsu's head since he met Barnaby finally became clear.

Yes… You're the one… The one I want…

Kotetsu pulled back for just a second, but he didn't want to stop, no, even an awkward kiss felt breathtaking, and he wanted more. He caught Barnaby's lips again, and like flint and steel, Barnaby finally sparked, kissing Kotetsu back like a man who's realized he's not dreaming. He let go of Kotetsu's hand and slipped his arms around his waist, pulling him closer. Kotetsu's breath caught as the tingling spiked. The sensation of Barnaby's arms around him felt so wonderful, solid and real in a way he'd never imagined. He shifted to return Barnaby's embrace, digging his fingers into the back of Barnaby's shirt as his knees trembled. Barnaby caught his partner's weight easily, holding tighter and kissing fiercer until Kotetsu barely noticed himself breathing.

Oh, what had he been afraid of for so long? Everything felt fantastic in Barnaby's arms, and the heat and pleasure of an Alpha's Scent stirred a fire deep within Kotetsu, encouraging him to let go even more, to let Barnaby kiss him, to let Barnaby in…

Within a few more kisses, Barnaby's hands started to roam, one reaching across Kotetsu's lower back while another pressed between his shoulder blades. Then the higher hand ducked under Kotetsu's arm and onto his chest, while the lower-back arm moved higher. Okay, weird, but Kotetsu had no objections, so long as Barnaby kept kissing—

Barnaby shoved Kotetsu, hard. The veteran tripped over his own feet and landed hard on the floor, pain clashing with the aftershocks of pleasure. His body cried at the loss of warmth and contact, and Kotetsu looked up at Barnaby, searching for some sort of answer. The young man breathed shakily through his nose as one hand covered his mouth. Behind his glasses, his eyes blazed, both with want and an unknown fear.

After a few seconds, Barnaby peeled his hand away from his mouth and growled, "Go home."

"Eh?"

"Leave. Now!"

Why would Kotetsu leave? He didn't want to leave, he wanted Barnaby to kiss him more, touch him more! "But Bunn—"

"Kotetsu, now!" Barnaby shouted, swiping his arm in the general direction of the door. "Get out of here!"

Kotetsu tried. He flipped onto his hands and knees, pushed against the ground, and crashed back down when he couldn't support his weight on a single leg. He tried again, stumbled his way through a few steps, and reached the door. Clinging to one last hope, Kotetsu looked over his shoulder. Maybe Barnaby would say he's kidding and embrace him one more time… but all he saw was an angry glare.

"GO!" Barnaby roared, and Kotetsu left, pushing through the door and slamming it shut behind him. Once on the other side, he crumpled again, kneeling on the other side of Barnaby's apartment door, still trying to reconcile the shock of desire and rejection. They had been so close to something Kotetsu wanted, and that Barnaby wanted too—so why did Barnaby push him away?

Kotetsu turned back to the door and called, "Bunny?" No answer. Part of Kotetsu wanted to call again, louder, or knock on the door, or beat it down if he had to, but he just sat there, his confusion and panic and want and shame all mixing together in a storm. He could still taste Barnaby on his lips. Barnaby, who said he loved Kotetsu. Barnaby, who pushed him away minutes later. What was going on?

The weakness in his body gradually faded, and Kotetsu found the strength to stand, but it took him a little longer to find the will to leave, turn his back on Barnaby, and walk away. Nothing left to do but go home. Go home… and think about how Kotetsu came to make amends and left with an even worse heartbreak.