Title: When Waking a Tiger

Rating: M

Characters: Kotetsu/Barnaby

Chapter: 3 of 4

Disclaimer: I do not own Tiger & Bunny

Warning: Explicit content.

A very special thanks to calloutyoru for her help, guidance and inspiration in completing this.

Chapter 3

Uncomfortable. Awkward. Tense.

These words flooded Barnaby's mind as he and Kotetsu were forced to be together, again and again, for the next several days.

Barnaby surprised himself at how well he was able to keep his composure at work. In front of others, he avoided speaking directly to his partner unless absolutely necessary, but he was confident that by keeping an even demeanor, he had not aroused anyone's suspicion. When they were alone together, they simply avoided speaking at all.

Kotetsu's demeanor was a different story, however. The older man's attempts at appearing upbeat poorly masked his dejection. The other heroes had picked up on it, but other than a few comments directed at Barnaby to make sure to take care of his partner, no one had confronted Kotetsu on the matter yet.

If only they knew how painful those comments were for me to take right now, Barnaby thought bitterly.

Thoughts of his partner and the night they had spent together constantly replayed in his mind. The feelings of love that he had been desperately trying to contain before the incident now felt like they were bursting out of control. He had barely been able to sleep or eat.

The effort of masking all of these emotions was unbearable, but somehow, Barnaby was keeping up appearances even better than he had before.

Yet you're the one acting like you're upset, not even understanding was kind of pain I'm in, Barnaby fumed inwardly. He glared at Kotetsu, who was seated next to him, wearing his usual black domino mask over his eyes. They had just completed an appearance on a variety show, and their backstage guide had asked it they could wait a short while to meet one of the executives who was a big fan.

Kotetsu stared downward, frowning slightly. He must have felt Barnaby's glare, however, because he suddenly looked up and met his eyes.

His deep brown eyes widened for a moment, and then a sad expression consumed his face. He sighed heavily, and averted his gaze again. "Listen, Bun... Barnaby. I need to say something about—"

Just then, the doors to the waiting room burst open, and the man they had been waiting to meet entered the room. The two men quickly forced a pleased expression on their face and rose to their feet. Barnaby tried his best to focus on the polite greetings.

He could not help but wonder what Kotetsu was going to say with such a melancholy expression on his face.

Kotetsu did not speak during the entire ride back from the studio. By the time Kotetsu pulled into the garage and parked his SUV, Barnaby could not help but feel furious. The entire time, he had been expecting Kotetsu to finish what he had started to tell him, but he was too prideful to ask himself.

Angrily, Barnaby unfastened his seatbelt and started to exit the car. Before he could stand, however, Kotetsu reached over and grabbed him by the arm. Barnaby inhaled sharply at the touch.

"Can you wait just one minute?" Kotetsu said quietly. Barnaby turned around, his green eyes wide in surprise.

"What?" he asked with irritation.

Kotetsu sighed heavily. He looked around to see if there was anyone else in the parking garage, and seeing no one, removed the domino mask from over his eyes.

"I'm no good at things like this," Kotetsu muttered, scratching his head. "So even if I don't make sense, just hear me out."

"I'm listening," Barnaby said impatiently. He realized his heart was pounding so loudly, he could hear the blood roaring in his ears.

"We've been through a lot. I know in the beginning, you didn't think much of me. Well, we didn't think much of each other, I guess," he fidgeted. "But after awhile, you started to trust me. I might've acted like it was to be expected, but it's not like I didn't realize what a big deal it was at the time."

He looked at Barnaby. His brown eyes were filled with such a deep sadness that Barnaby felt the breath catch in his throat when he spoke again. "I didn't mean to take advantage of that trust. I feel like I've done something really terrible to you. I'm so sorry, Bunny."

A shiver ran down Barnaby's spine. Swallowing hard, he leaned against the dashboard, burying his face in his hands, taking in the words.

Kotetsu sighed heavily, and humbly repeated, "I'm sorry." A moment later, Barnaby heard the click of a seatbelt, followed by the door being unlocked.

You don't even know what you're saying, he thought angrily. Yet even if there was a misunderstanding between the two of them, Barnaby knew the best thing he could do was keep quiet and let the other man leave so he could be alone with his thoughts. Everything would have been better if he had just kept it in to begin with. He was determined not to make his original mistake even more egregious.

Barnaby knew what would cause the last semblance of his self-control to slip away completely; if he said anything, all of the words he did not want to say would come tumbling out. But once again, his efforts to stop it were futile.

"What the hell do you think you're apologizing for?" he finally hissed, just as Kotetsu was about to open the door.

Kotetsu inhaled sharply and looked over at him. Trembling, Barnaby sat up straight, and glared at him, his green eyes filled with rage.

Confused, Kotetsu opened his mouth to speak, but no words came out.

"Do you even know?" Barnaby scowled.

"Y-yes, it's just hard to say!" the older man stuttered.

Barnaby clutched at his chest, trying to will his racing heart to slow down. "You truly have no idea," he disagreed. "If you had any idea, you wouldn't be apologizing right now."

"Hah? But I'm the one who took it too far..." Kotetsu protested.

"Idiot, I wanted that far more than you did!" the younger man barked, still grasping his chest. "But I'm the one who shouldn't have let it get that far because I can't keep my feelings straight in my head!"

Barnaby felt a hot blush creep over his face. This it too much. You have to stop before you tell him everything, he thought to himself desperately. You mustn't say it.

"Bunny, what's that supposed to mean?" Kotetsu asked carefully.

"I realized it, that time you told me, 'I'll never love another.' The way I felt when you said that wasn't normal. If I had never heard you say that, maybe I could have ignored it a little bit longer," Barnaby stammered, unable to stop the words from escaping from his throat.

"Eh? When did I say that?"

"A few weeks ago, when we stopped in that bar near my place after work," Barnaby replied. "The reaction I felt... It was like somebody knocked the wind out of me."

"But, Bunny—" Kotetsu started.

"That's when I realized I'm in love with you," Barnaby interrupted, fixing his pained green eyes on his partner. He felt his throat tighten, and he desperately tried to hold back his tears. "And that's why it's wrong for you to apologize to me for what we did—I wanted it. But it's my mistake, because I knew that I wasn't going to be able to take just that."

Barnaby averted his gaze as he continued. "It's almost too embarrassing to say... but I can't be the only one in love, especially with a person who won't fall in love again."

Then the blonde man clapped a hand to his mouth, holding his breath, trying to suppress the sob that was about to escape from his throat.

"Ah, this may not be the time to say this, but... that isn't actually what I said," Kotetsu gulped, fidgeting sheepishly. "Or if it was, it wasn't really what I meant to say. At that time, I remember—I was talking about my wife. And, well, what I was trying to say wasn't that I'd never love another person."

Barnaby's eyes snapped open, but he could not make a sound, in fear of a cry escaping his throat. Uncertainly, he waited for the older man to continue.

"What I meant to say was that I don't think I could ever love another woman," Kotetsu clarified. Then he leaned forward and brushed a gentle hand against Barnaby's cheek. "So you see, I do owe you an apology. If I had said that correctly at that time, you wouldn't have been feeling so terrible these last few weeks."

The young man trembled as he felt Kotetsu's hand touching his hot cheek. He could not hold back any longer. He began to cry, large tears rolling down his face.

"I'm sorry, Bunny," Kotetsu murmured softly as he reached out and pulled Barnaby into an embrace. "It's just me here, so let it out."

His resolve crumbled, and he clutched onto him tightly, sobbing uncontrollably. Kotetsu stroked his head reassuringly, whispering soothing words, until he started to calm down.

As he clung to him, Barnaby realized what a humiliating position he was in. He had just confessed everything that had been plaguing him, and now he had let go of the last shred of control and dignity he had. This helpless feeling made him want to both flee and cling to the older man even tighter.

Kotetsu kissed his forehead gently, followed by his temple, and next, his cheeks. Barnaby was so startled, he stopped crying as he stared wide-eyed at the man who appeared to be tenderly kissing away his tears.

His partner smiled slightly and brushed his fingers through his hair. "Feeling better now, Bunny?"

Wordlessly, Barnaby nodded in agreement. He started to apologize for his behavior, but Kotetsu silenced him by pressing his mouth against his own.

Maybe it was because of the roller coaster of emotions he had just gone through, but Barnaby felt that the kiss seemed even more passionate and tender than all of the kisses they had shared a few days before.

When they pulled apart, Kotetsu had a goofy grin plastered across his face.

"What is it?" Barnaby asked.

The older man scratched his chin, his fingernails noisily raking against the coarse hair of his goatee. "Oh, nothing."

"Nothing?"

"Well, I was just thinking about how a person like you is able to feel that strongly about somebody like me, and I guess that makes me feel pretty happy," he admitted, grinning wider.

Barnaby blushed, unsure of how to respond.

Kotetsu reached forward and tucked a strand of loose blonde hair behind his ear. "You know, it's not like I don't have feelings for you, too."

He jerked his head up in surprise. "What?"

"Well, yeah, of course I'm going to care a little bit more about you since we're partners and all, but at some point, it sort of turned into something beyond that," he admitted, smiling timidly.

"I don't understand," Barnaby replied.

He stopped touching his head and slid his hand behind Barnaby's head, pulling him into another kiss. When they pulled apart, Kotetsu looked into his eyes and nervously murmured, "I'm trying to say that I feel the same way as you."

This time, Barnaby was the one to kiss him. He leaned forward, desperately crushing his lips against Kotetsu's, pushing him back with his force.

"Why did you leave so suddenly after we slept together, then?" Barnaby asked, suddenly pulling back.

A surprised expression crossed Kotetsu's face. "You told me we should pretend it hadn't happened!"

"If you had just told me how you felt..." Barnaby started.

"No way," the older man shook his head negatively. "There's no way I could've said anything like that to you. You looked completely freaked out."

He averted his gaze. "That's because I had just had a dream about you saying you would never love another. When I saw you sleeping next to me, I realized there was no way I could deal with my one-sided feelings after we had been together."

Kotetsu cocked his head sideways and glanced upward. "Ah, well that explains why you were like that. I didn't know that though… I thought I came onto you a little too strongly."

"That makes no sense, Kotetsu-san. I was the one who kissed you first."

He nodded thoughtfully. "Yes, but I took it further."

"I was also the one who invited you to my place with the intention of doing that."

"Ah, but after you kissed me, I was the one who kept moving everything along," Kotetsu interjected. "I was even the one who pulled you on top of me."

Barnaby furrowed his brow. "I see," he murmured.

"But you know, now that I know what was really going on, I guess it's okay to say it. It does feel a little strange saying it to a man, though," Kotetsu mumbled to himself.

"What are you talking about?"

Kotetsu looked at him. The apprehensiveness had disappeared, and now, his expressive brown eyes were filled with confidence. Barnaby could not help but stare directly back, locked in the intense expression.

"I love you, Bunny," Kotetsu declared.

Barnaby felt the breath catch in his throat.

"Kotetsu-san," he breathed, leaning in closer to him, until his lips were nearly brushing the older man's. "I... love you, too."

They kissed deeply, and Barnaby felt a warm, pleasant feeling rushing over his entire body. I wonder if this is what being happy is supposed to feel like, he thought.

As their tongues dueled aggressively, desperately fighting to gain territory in each other's mouths, Kotetsu reached forward and unzipped Barnaby's leather jacket. Yearningly, he started rubbing his hands over the thin fabric of his shirt. A moment later, he felt the older man start to unbutton his shirt as he placed his lips on his neck.

"What are you doing, Kotetsu-san," Barnaby whispered, his pitch higher than normal as he tried to keep an even tone while Kotetsu sucked at the sensitive skin on his neck.

"I want you right now," he rumbled in Barnaby's ear. He could not help but let out a gasp. Kotetsu bent down and started to repeat the same actions with his mouth on the younger man's toned chest, taking his time to explore all of his sensitive spots as he moved lower and lower.

Barnaby pressed a hand against his mouth and bit down on his finger, suppressing a yelp. "We can't do it here," he breathed, glancing around the garage. Though it was mostly empty due to the late hour, there were still a few parked cars.

Kotetsu, who had just finished undoing the white belt buckle around Barnaby's waist, sat back and sighed. "You're right," he agreed.

Feeling a mixture of relief and disappointment, Barnaby gingerly reached down to re-fasten his buckle.

"What do you think you're doing, Bunny?"

"We're going to leave, aren't we?" Barnaby asked, confused.

"Huh?" Kotetsu gave him a look that made him feel like he was insane for suggesting it.

"But you agreed with—"

"I agreed we can't do it here, as in the front seat," he interrupted, rapping his knuckles against the steering wheel. "This'll get in the way. So come on, let's get in the back."

Barnaby opened his mouth to protest, but when he saw Kotetsu's serious expression fixed upon him, a burning intensity in his eyes, the words died on his lips. Kotetsu nodded, smiling, and climbed into the back seat.

Except even in the comfortably-sized SUV, it was still impossible for a full grown man to easily get to the back seat of a vehicle that way. He wound up half-climbing and half-tumbling into the back.

Barnaby stifled a laugh. "What do you think you're doing, moving to the back of the car like a kid?" he chuckled.

Kotetsu looked at him sheepishly, then reached out and grabbed him firmly. "You're doing it, too, Bunny," he declared, yanking him into the back seat.

He cried out in surprise as he ungracefully tumbled on top of Kotetsu. He must have looked quite silly, his shirt and jacket hanging open, his belt loose, falling on top of a man in the back seat of a car... He blushed deeply.

His older partner seemed unfazed, however; Kotetsu had a much higher tolerance for embarrassment than he did.

Taking the lead, he shifted their positions until Barnaby was underneath him, and continued where he left off. He sensually ran his tongue across his toned abdomen as he unzipped the younger man's pants, freeing his throbbing member from its constrictive prison. Once he had his pants and briefs down, he skillfully stroked his erection. Barnaby moaned, a hint of a smile crossing his face that Kotetsu found very erotic.

His next move took Barnaby by complete surprise, causing him to let out a cry louder than before. Clamping his hands over his mouth unconsciously, he looked down at his partner. "What are you doing?" he gasped, barely able to form the syllables.

Kotetsu, who had just placed the other man's aching member in his mouth, erotically ran his tongue from base to the tip. Barnaby let out a cry, greater in both intensity and volume.

The older man's skillful mouth continued while he removed Barnaby's pants completely. As he started to remove his own clothes, he refused to detach his mouth from his partner's erection. He tossed his hat and tie in the front seat, and unbuttoned his vest and shirt, followed by his pants, which he slid down as far as his knees. All the while, his tongue never left Barnaby's skin.

Somehow, Barnaby had also managed to remove his jacket, but the loose shirt still hung open, exposing his chest. Unable to take anymore, the blonde man arched his back, moaning noisily. "S-stop," he stammered.

"Is it no good?" the older man asked, the tip still in his mouth. The feeling of his voice rumbling at his groin was more intense than he would have expected; a tremor ran down his spine and he moaned sharply.

"It's good. Uhn, it's good!" he repeated. He was now clutching the car seat, digging his finger nails into it sharply. "You're… going to make me..."

Abruptly, Kotetsu stopped and pulled himself upward, until his face was near Barnaby's. "Not yet," he grinned, "I'm not done with you."

Barnaby, barely able to consider his actions, lunged forward and placed his mouth on Kotetsu's neck. He bit down, perhaps a bit harder than he meant to, but the satisfying moan that escaped his partner's throat told him that it was alright. He fervidly kissed and sucked at his neck, wanted to take in all of the details he could, from his taste to his smell, from the happy gasps escaping his throat to the hot breath he could feel on his neck.

After a measure of time that Barnaby could not even venture to guess, Kotetsu gently leaned him back into the seat. It was hard to keep track of anything as the older man rubbed his hands all over his body, making him want to moan again and again.

The younger man allowed himself to be guided as Kotetsu continued. Barnaby hardly knew what to focus on. The hand sensually stroking his yearning body. The mouth pressed firmly against his, holding him in a breathless kiss. The other, more lascivious hand, slowly creeping toward his rear. His throbbing erection, pressing against Kotetsu's writhing body.

A few moments later, the question was answered for him. He moaned, his loudest cry yet, as he felt himself being entered by the other man. Once he felt himself being filled with his partner's aching need, he could focus on nothing else.

Although they were in the confined space of the backseat of an SUV, for some reason, his presence inside of his body felt even more pleasurable to Barnaby than it had before, in the comfort of a spacious bed. All of his hesitations and insecurities from then were gone, and he felt himself fully submit to his partner.

They pounded against each other again and again, their tempo gradually speeding up. Barnaby tried his hardest to hold back, but he started to climax first. "Ko… Ko-Kotetsu!" he shouted in ecstasy.

As though the younger man screaming his name in the throes of passion was the extra push he needed, Kotetsu came as well, with a shout rivaling Barnaby's in intensity. Then he collapsed on top of him, oblivious to the hot, sticky substance now covering his stomach and chest.

They laid there for several minutes, panting. Now Barnaby thought about how ridiculous both of them must have looked, with their shirts hanging open, Kotetsu with his pants around his knees, and he naked from the waist down. At least no one saw us, he thought with relief.

Suddenly, the silence in the garage was broken by the ding of an elevator, followed by the loud clack of high-heeled shoes on pavement, echoing noisily across the concrete. They both froze, exchanging a look of fear. Barnaby prayed that she was not walking toward one of the cars parked near them.

"This might be our most dangerous situation yet," Kotetsu whispered, his eyes wide with exaggerated fear.

Although Barnaby was still coming down from the euphoria of his orgasm, the older man's ridiculous comment got to him. He tried his best to stifle a laugh, the effort of which caused him to dig his fingernails roughly into Kotetsu's back.

The older man hissed in pain, but kept his voice quiet.

A moment later, the clacking shoes passed by their vehicle and continued to a far end of the garage. They breathed a sigh of relief. Then Barnaby hit his arm with a loud whack.

"Ow! What was that for?" Kotetsu yelped in surprise.

"Who cracks a joke in a situation like that?" Barnaby chided.

"I was dead serious!" he said, staring at him wide-eyed, his eyes filled with mock sincerity.

Barnaby sighed with exasperation, but he could not quite restrain the smile on his face. They kissed again, pressing their lips together more delicately now that they had relieved some of their tension.

"Should we get out of here?" Kotetsu asked, grinning broadly.

"Ah," Barnaby nodded in agreement.