002 ☆ Dream
Effects: The feeling of being insecure at the beginning, lifting into pride near the end
Warnings: Nada!
Disclaimer: Set before residents gain knowledge on "dreamwalking"
( A child, small, quiet, hands in his pockets... )
Warnings: Nada!
Disclaimer: Set before residents gain knowledge on "dreamwalking"
( A child, small, quiet, hands in his pockets... )
Briefly - very briefly - he debates whether or not he should watch. It seems like prying - it is prying - but when it comes to his partner, he can't bring himself to resist.
So he watches.
He finds some sort of empathy with the child - Kotetsu, it's Kotetsu, he reminds himself - standing on their own, away from the rest. Though he'd been isolated for different reasons - isolated himself, no less - he can still understand that feeling. Being on the outside, looking in.
Barnaby watches intently, studying what he sees. It's strange, compelling to see his partner like this, a child, insecure and lost.
Barnaby never knew the same insecurities that Kotetsu did, he realizes. Not only was Barnaby born about ten years after him, when public stigma towards NEXT had faded, but he'd always been encouraged to embrace and hone his abilities, not shun them. Maverick had always supported him, always pushed him to make the most of them, to be everything he could be.
It's not an unhappy dream, not really. It starts off sad, sure, but it evolves into something hopeful and optimistic, and when the little Kotetsu smiles and walks forward, Barnaby finds himself smiling, too. Like he was rooting for him.
He doesn't realize he's moved, but he's already going to the door of his own room with the intent to go and check on his partner. Maybe he shouldn't, he thinks. This was a good dream, Kotetsu smiled - maybe it's not his place.
So instead of leaving the room, he just responds to the call, bringing the dreamberry up to his ear.]
I doubt anyone wants to hear you snoring, old man.
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A dream.
Dreaming.
He's dreamed, and it's become customary for him to compulsively check the network every morning for any signs of them showing up. A phone call in the middle of the night doesn't sound at all promising, though, and he lifts the device to his ear to answer it.
The caller ID says the name of his partner. The voice he hears over the line is that of his partner's. He's not sure how he should feel about that...]
Oi, my snoring isn't that loud. [He pauses to yawn, his response halfhearted and a little suspicious.] Did it wake you, Bunny?
[He sighs a little, clears his sleep-fogged mind enough to question why he's talking with his partner over the phone, when he's just in the next room. He doesn't put the pieces together, maybe Barnaby hasn't viewed the dream, just wants to complain. Maybe he just doesn't want to pry as openly as he, himself, had done.
Either way, he doesn't hang up, but there is audible shifting in the background as he stands and pads across the floor barefoot, only to stop right outside the younger's door.
He knocks once, twice, not at all lightly before he once more speaks into the receiver.]
It's easier to talk face to face, you know.
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[Busy with the retort, he doesn't hear much of Kotetsu's shifting - assumes he's just moving in his bed. The knock, therefore, manages to surprise him - he blinks at the door as if wondering what on earth that could be. When Kotetsu speaks up again, however, he hears it through the door more than he hears it through the dreamberry at his ear.
With a sigh expressing some sort of reproachful amusement, he hangs up, turns a little to lightly toss the dreamberry back onto his bed. Crossing to the door, he opens it, canting his head. It looks like he's going to give another little quip about the older man, but when he speaks he sounds softer, a little dere hesitant, even.]
I wasn't sure if you'd want to be disturbed.
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[He waits to respond to that until the door is opened. A small flick of concern washes over his otherwise sleepy expression, and he hopes his partner can see it in the darkness of their apartment. He can assume why, and he's confident his assumption would most likely be correct. His partner didn't seem to have the most steady sleeping schedule, and understandably so.
He lifts a hand to rub at his eyes, and he continues to rub as he stands there, acknowledges Barnaby's words with a small, quiet hum. He takes a moment to consider what's been said, knows that his dream's been viewed.
He doesn't know how to react. He's always kept everything to himself, held it all in his heart and his mind and shoved it off to the side. He doesn't want people to worry about him. He's the one that should be doing the worrying, not them.]
You saw it then, huh? [He doesn't sound bitter, just tired and perhaps a little hesitant himself.
What's done is done, what's viewed is viewed. He's mentioned this before in front of his partner anyhow, about how when he was younger he cried every single day. That's not much different than what he's just dreamed, sadness with some of his aspirations tacked on just to sweeten the deal.
He steps into the room, still absently rubs at an eye as he does.]
I was a cute kid, wasn't I?
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Closing the door when Kotetsu steps inside, he stands awkwardly for a moment before moving to sit on the edge of his bed, unsure of how to proceed. He remembers that day, their first task together. The ice rink, the statue, and the boy amidst it all, the boy who'd been wrecking havoc on an entire city. How unsurprising, that Kotetsu could sympathise with such a destructive force.
He almost smiles, but it's Kotetsu's question that makes him snort. He looks up at him with a lopsided smile. Since finding out about Martinez's fate from Petrov, however, the amusement seems warmer than it used to.]
You were. I don't know what happened.
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He perks visibly, though, at the beginning of his partner's speech, and bursts into a small tangent, the rest going ignored --]
I know, right? Those kids probably just couldn't handle it and -- [-- till now, his reaction as delayed as ever.] Hey! What's that supposed to mean?!
[He pouts angrily despite the visibility in the room, and after a moment of that, stubbornly flops his back against the mattress, the bed giving a small series of creaks as he lands and again bounces.
Kotetsu stretches and yawns, hands lazily fisting in the sheets. He's surprised at the feel of it all. The mattress is springy yet supportive. The sheets are clean and soft. It's warm, oddly comforting...]
Wow, your bed's really comfy...
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Don't get used to it. [He nudges him.] It's too late to trade now.
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[After a quiet of moment, he finally sits himself up with a begrudged sigh. Time to sign off his argument with Kotetsu brand, irrefutable logic.]
The couch gets kind of lumpy, too. It isn't as comfy as mine was!
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What does the couch have to do with anything? Have you forgotten you have your own room?
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You idiot. [He waves a hand before him, the motion sloppy and careless.] I wanted you to have this room. That doesn't mean we can't share, though!
[At that, his expression quickly morphs into one of casual, carefree warmth.]
I normally fall asleep there. [He shrugs.] Don't always make it to my room, you know.
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I'm not sharing. [Eyeing him flatly at that explanation, he scoots a little closer for the purposes of fixing him with a chiding look.]
In that case, you should be more careful! Imagine if someone came to the door. No wonder the couch is lumpy.
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[He grumbles, and scoots a little closer himself, but only to challenge that look with a defiant pout of his own.]
You can't tell me what to do.
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You'll get a bad back that way, old man.
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What an un-cute thing to say, Lil' Bunny.
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Good thing I'm not trying to be cute, then.
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[He thinks he won that argument, and so he shies away from practically staring down his partner to curl up on his side on the bed.
He makes himself comfortable after a bit of tossing.]
Bunny? Can you go get my pillow? I think I'm gonna sleep in here tonight.
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