Disclaimer: I don't own Tiger & Bunny in any way, shape, or form. I just like to play with the characters.

Summary: Nathan's stuck between Kotetsu and Barnaby... but not in the fun way. [Future Fic]

Author's Note: Thank you everyone for being so patient over the holidays, (I think) I've got a leg up on the submissions I want to send out. Cheers!

"I'm here to collect him."

Nathan hummed thoughtfully, eyeing the soaked, shivering, red-eyed blonde on the darkening doorstop. Thunderstorms had been forecast for the remainder of the month, and with the small rivers and brooks running off of, ahem, Brooks Jr., it was almost as if the skies had held their peace until now.

"Why do you think he's here?"

There was no question of whom the 'he' and 'him' referred to. They both had played this game before.

"Where else would he be?" snapped Barnaby, standing on tiptoes to see over and into the hallway. There. A pair of familiar looking saddle shoes had been shucked into the entryway, Not pink, not glittery, and not high-heeled. Definitely not Nathan's.

"What exactly is happening with the two of you?" Nathan heard the edge to his voice, and judging by how Barnaby dropped back to the flats of his feet, the other Hero had too.

"Nothing."

"Interesting." Nathan let the word linger in the air. "For being nothing, its driven Kotetsu into my arms three times this month." Pink eyes narrowed. "Not that I don't mind having a snuggle-buddy for these cold winter nights, but listening to him cry is not my idea of a seductive time."

Barnaby sighed, shoulders slumping as he studied the puddles on the ground. Nathan almost didn't hear the words murmured, thanks to the wind that chose the most inopportune moment to whip up.

"I made him cry."

Nathan sighed. On one hand they had Barnaby, with no practical experience dating, seducing, or even being seduced. Which is where Kotetsu came in. Or didn't, as the problem currently was. Too old, too alcoholic, too fatherly, too weak, too clumsy, too poor, too everything was what the older Hero thought. So Barnaby kept scolding and Kotetsu kept taking it personally, and it all lead to Nathan's club time being cut down drastically.

Which they gave up as friends needed, but a girl had to have some me time.

"I feel like an ass."

"And what was this fight about?" Nathan studied their nails, leaning in the doorway to block it. It didn't really matter; Kotetsu would have been the one pawing for a way to get past, to race into the living room and pepper Barnaby with kisses, hugs, and whispered apologies. If he had been the one in the doorway. Barnaby heard, saw, and felt the 'no,' leaving him on the doorstep until either Kotetsu got up to see who was at the door, or until Nathan let him in.

Considering the 'Wild Tiger' was currently the 'Snoring Tiger,' Barnaby was going to have to sweet talk his way in this time.

"I wanted him to stop drinking so much."

Ah... that would explain the 'I'm too much of an alcoholic' talk Tiger had sobbed out, drinking shouchu as fast as Nathan could pour it. Which hadn't really worked in Kotetsu's favor, but c'est la vie.

"And the fight before that?"

Barnaby looked away.

"I lectured him about being careful. I didn't know that Kaede, his mother, and his brother had done the same; that wasn't my fault."

"He felt as if he was being attacked."

Barnanby's head shot up.

"And he had actually been attacked earlier! Attacked and was trying to walk on a broken leg,to fight with a broken arm."

Nathan didn't bat an eye. They'd seen Wild Tiger with third degree burns all over their body, during a particularly bad block fire. Another time the man had been holding his fingers to his hand so that they didn't detach completely. Both were years before though. And that didn't count Tiger's earlier robotic self-sacrifice.

Barnaby shook his head, pushing we hair out of his scowling face.

"He needs to be more careful."

"You need to be more careful." Nathan mimicked the tone, posture, and even the head tilt. "I might agree that he needs to be more careful physically, but you need to be more careful emotionally. Take it from me, the emotional ones hurt a lot more, and fester a lot longer."

They both stood there, eyeing each other.

"Are you going to let me in?" Barnaby asked, wiping water away from his face.

"What are you going to do to change?" Nathan asked, deflecting the question with a question. "This can't continue."

"I know I keep screwing up-"

"It's not that you're screwing up!" snapped Nathan. "It's that you're not learning! Look at me, look at Kotetsu. Do you honestly think that we haven't fucked things up? Made situations worse, said the wrong thing, focused when we should have let go, let go when we should have focused?"

Barnaby's mouth was hanging open.

"You're so young Handsome," sighed Nathan, tapping a fingernail against their cheek. "... it's decided."

He blinked.

"What's decided?"

"You can come in." Nathan leaned forward, grinning. "That's what you wanted, right?"

A pause.

"Yes."

Nathan turned around, their grin becoming wider as the squishy sounds behind them proved that Barnaby was taking off his shoes.

"You can stay here until the sun comes back. Then, with or without Kotetsu, I'm kicking you back out again."

"Thank you for your kindness," Barnaby said. Nathan chose to ignore the tone, instead bringing the young man into an extremely hot pink living room, where Kotetsu was snoring on the couch.

"You gave him even more alcohol?" The tirade was stopped with an arched eyebrow.

"What do you prefer? Beer? Wine? Something stronger?"

"This is not a time to be drinking."

"Au contraire, this is precisely the time to be drinking." Nathan turned around, holding a vibrant martini in one hand and a sweet ice wine in the other. "We're gong to play a game."

"Great."

"Wake up the sleeping Tiger, would you? I need to go get some equipment."

Nathan didn't wait, striding past Barnaby while taking a sip of their drink.

"Mmmm, that new shaker is working quite well." By passing the bedroom, where other types of equipment lay scattered about, Nathan found himself in the rarely used office / storage / guest bedroom.

"I think I remember putting it in here." The drink was carefully set on the couch's side table, and the closet was opened to reveal a collection of intriguing outfits. "I need this..." With a slight chiming sound, Nathan pulled a gold sash out of its belt loops, then bent down to pick up a rectangular shaped box. "And this. Perfect."

Two minutes later they were setting up the game on the table, listening to Barnaby whispering apologies and Kotetsu muttering about needing another drink to drown out the hangover.

"We're all going to be needing something to drink boys, so gulp it down. I'll continue in my role as your beautiful, wise mixer and server."

"When has drinking led to anything good?" asked Barnaby, picking up his wine and taking a sip. Kotetsu held out his glass for more shochu, and Nathan took it. "This is... this is ice wine."

"From the northern part of Riious Sitiy."

"I'm not gulping this down as if it was a two-for-one bottle at the local supermarket." Barnaby had a scandalous look on his face at the very thought.

"Kind of you. I'll bring you a gulping wine then."

After grabbing more drinks and everything they needed to keep pouring, Nathan settled back down on the couch with their friends.

"Right, here's what we're playing tonight. Nathan's Jenga."

Kotetsu groaned as Barnaby laughed.

"The rules are simple. Pull out the block, find the number written on the end, and awser the corresponding question on this sheet." Nathan waved the sheet in question, then put it back in their lap.

"Why not just write the question on the block?"

"Because we used to skip the ones we didn't want to answer," moaned Kotetsu. "I'm too drunk for this."

"You're just drunk enough," countered Nathan, leaning forward and expertly tapping out a block. "Three." They cleared their throat. "Who in the room, excluding yourself, had the most beautiful spirit."

"...what kind of question was that?"

"Kotetsu," Nathan said without hesitation. "His ability to connect with everybody, and to help no matter the situation, is truly a beautiful thing."

"Nathan... I'm really not drunk enough for this."

"Funny." Pink eyes alighted on the shoulder-slumping Tiger. "Just earlier you said that you were too drunk for this."

"I changed my mind," said Kotetsu sullenly.

"Your turn~!" Nathan sang out, taking a sip. Kotetsu moaned again, but, with eyes narrowed in concentration, manage to poke a block out. "What's the number, I'll read it for you."

"Eleven."

"What do you want to say to the person you love most in the room?"

Kotetsu opened his mouth, but Nathan jumped up.

"I almost forgot," they said, holding out the golden sash. "The Sash of Truth."

Barnaby bust out laughing again.

"You're joking." He looked at their deadpan faces. "Come on, there's no such thing as the Sash of Truth, you've got to be making it up."

"Nathan used to know a guy," Kotetsu said slowly. "Guy's power was that he could connect items and traits."

"I've got the Boots of Ass-kicking upstairs, if you'd like to see them."

"I think Antonio got the Plate of Loneliness." He turned to Nathan. "What happened to that?"

"Antonio broke it one night when I was over," Nathan said. "Go on. Hold the Sash."

A trembling hand reached out and grabbed it.

"I want to tell Na-na-nathan-"

"No you don't," said Nathan gently, looking over to Kotetsu's left. "Try saying Barnaby's name."

"I want to tell Barnaby," mumbled Kotetsu, looking everywhere except at his partner. "I want to tell him that it hurts when he yells at me."

There was silence.

"Why?" prompted Nathan, drinking.

"...because I want him to love me no matter what," finished Kotetsu, his face darkening. He grabbed his glass of shochu and downed it in one glup, handing it over to Nathan. Barnaby's mouth was hanging open.

"I do love you," he said, taking his glasses off and pinching the bridge of his nose."What makes you think I don't?"

"... you yell... at everything I do."

Barnaby went to respond to that but Nathan cleared their throat

"It's not your turn to speak," they said. "Just when you're answering your question."

"You spoke," muttered Barnaby, glaring. He gulped down some of the adequete wine, then flicked an outside block. "And what happens when the tower falls?"

"The person who makes it fall has to do a request of the other two. There is no one winner in this game, only one loser." Nathan gave a gentle smile. "Well, depending on what the Sash of Truth unearths, it is possible to have more than one. What's your number?"

"Sixteen."

"What was on your mind the last time you spoke with your partner?"

Barnaby huffed.

"I don't need a sash for that. I was worried sick that he was drinking too much. I want him to stay around for a while, not die of cirrhosis."

Kotetsu's bent form hunched even more.

"Mine turn I believe." Nathan leaned forward and plucked a block. "Number 1. Oooh, this is a group question. What is your favorite thing to do on a romantic night?" They ran their hands over their upper body. "I love to have strong, muscular hands teasing me, running up and down until I can't take it anymore, and then I pounce on them!"

Nathan let out a happy sigh.

"And so much more of course, but I won't sully your delicate ears by revealing too much. Kotetsu?"

"I, um... I..." He looked down at the golden sash in his hands, then gripped it tighter. "I would want a night curled up in front of a fire place, and we can just look each other in the eyes and kiss and touch and, well..." Kotestu stumbled to stop. "Anyhow. Yeah."

Barnaby looked at the two of them. Nathan nodded at Kotetsu, and the man gave it to his partner without looking The blond held it in his hands, staring at it.

"I want a night where I can talk with my partner, and we can think about our future together... if we have one."

There was a hurt-sounding noise, but Nathan wasn't sure if it had come from him or Kotetsu. Barnaby raised his hand, letting the sash trail off and fall to his side. He spread his fingers out, reaching for the towering stack of blocks. Touching them. And shoving hard. Kotetsu pulled his legs onto the couch to avoid the fall, and Nathan snickered, sure that their laugh wouldn't be noticed in the crash.

"You lose," they said, keeping a straight face. "Kotetsu, do you know what you want to ask him for?"

"Um... not really."

"Okay then, here's my request." Nathan cleared their throat. "I request that you and Kotetsu have that night together, no drinking, so that you can talk about what you want to have together. Oh, and this needs to take place within the next seven days."

Kotetsu coughed while Barnaby smiled.

"I guess... I guess I want that fireplace night," he finally said, still not looking at his partner. "And I want it so that you don't yell at me for anything I've done for the day or for the rest of that night."

"Done," said Barnaby, standing up. "Nathan, it's sunny outside."

"So it is." They took a swallow from their glass. "You're out then Barnaby. Kotetsu, did you wish to remain here or leave with him."

"... I want to go talk with Bunny," Kotetsu said, giving his partner a glance. "Maybe I do... maybe I do drink too much. It was an easy habit to get into with Kaede at home and Tomoe gone. Something for me and Antonio to do together."

"And that's fine," said Barnaby, rubbing Kotetsu's arm. "Have drinks with your friends, that's okay. What's not ok-what I worry about," he corrected, looking over at Nathan, "is that you drink too much at home. How many beer bottles did I need to clean off of the couch and out of the living room? It was about fifty. Over a time period of less than a week."

Nathan raised an eyebrow, but didn't comment. A surprising tidbit of information, but it was also true that he'd only gone over to Kotetsu's before to drink, so he hadn't thought about it.

"Alright you two," they said, standing up. "Time to leave. You can talk about your thoughts and feelings over at your place." Nathan looked at their clock. "I want to get ready to party."

"Nathan, it's early in the morning. On a weekday."

"And you think Stern Bild doesn't have places to be?" They let out a rich laugh. "When you've done both of those requests Barnaby, I'll let you in the hidden secrets this city has to offer."

"If they're pink, you can keep them," Barnaby said, helping Kotetsu to his feet. "How bad's the hangover?"

"Pretty bad," he groaned.

"Can you keep it together enough to get back home? My car's out front."

"Your place or mine?"

Barnaby stopped, thinking about it.

"Let's got back to my place."

Nathan watched the two of them go out into the hallway, slipping on their shoes.

"Wasn't that a fun game to play?"

"I hate it every time you drag it out," complained Kotetsu. "And that stupid sash."

Barnaby opened his mouth, then shut it.

"Maybe... it's not such a bad thing." He grinned as Kotetsu gaped at him. "Look, it got you talking to me, right? And it got me listening to you, so... maybe the others should play it sometime. Like Karina."

Nathan, who had been drinking the last of their cocktail, almost spat it out.

"One at a time there," they said, shaking their head at Barnaby's nerve. The guy was having enough trouble handling Kotetsu and he wanted to throw Karina into the mix? "Bold," they murmured to themselves while waving their friends off. "Certainly bold."

Thanks for reading, and don't forget to send out a Wild Roar!

Letter from the Soup -W for Weakness