TIGER ☆ 002

[fiveminutefail]

Who: fiveminutefail and somarium!
Where: Somni, in a random park
Style: I’ll match!
Status: OPEN ♥

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[selfmotivations]

He just stood there, arms folded, scowling, in an attempt to look unyielding and make the old man go back to riding his bouncy tiger. But the effect was somewhat off - the sullen pose and pout made him look more like a disgruntled teenager, thus shattering illusions of maturity. Barnaby seemed to catch onto this, however, because he started looking around the place, sighing.

He knew full well his partner would not leave him alone about this now. He knew he could activate his Hundred Power and flee home in a blink, and Kotetsu would doubtlessly be there just to bug him about it. Which made not a lick of sense to Barnaby, but he decided to relent just this once (it's never just this once) in the hopes that he could get it over with quickly.

Glancing around again, he set his sights on the climbing frame. It wasn't that tall, to an adult topping six feet - in fact, Barnaby could probably jump over the mass of metal and rope without much trouble. But he stomped over to it, looked at the sand cushioning the ground below it with a dubious, I-know-that's-going-to-get-everywhere glare, and started scaling the thing.

"There," he said, looking around at Kotetsu. "Are you happy?"

[fiveminutefail]

He stood rooted in his spot as he watched his partner stubbornly glare, and then walk toward the last toy in the park he would've guessed. He couldn't help but snicker at the size difference, even if he had no right, considering what he was just perched upon only moments before. He grinned as he finally made his way over, his strut obviously displaying his amusement and his pride in winning the argument.

"The climbing frame? I would've pegged you as a swinger," he said with a laugh that lasted quite a bit after. His grin was unmistakeable though, he wasn't making fun of his partner, he was happy with the choice.

He wound both his hands into the rope and after a moment of carefully testing it to see if it would hold his weight, he looked up. "Now we have to do it together." He lifted a finger to visually express that he'd thought of another wonderful idea. Barnaby wasn't this open about this kind of thing, it seemed, and this would make him do more of it.

"Let's make it a competition. I bet you I could climb better, swing higher and slide faster than you can!"

[selfmotivations]

That strut only served to further incite Barnaby's ire, almost tangible as Kotetsu's smug amusement was. Of course, it was clear that his teasing wasn't designed to mock - his grin was warm, open, as usual. Barnaby wasn't appeased by the subtle nuance, however. Like a cat splashed with water, he bristled, fixing the old man with another glare as he ventured closer.

Though the idea of two grown men climbing up a playground toy was completely farcical, the challenge made it a little more bearable to Barnaby's common sense, so easily swayed to competition as he was. He eyed the park, gaze sliding from frame to swings to slide, before it fell to Kotetsu again.

"It's on, old man!"

[fiveminutefail]

He wasn't expecting it to be that easy. His partner was always so insufferably independent and stubborn, much like he himself was, and he knew that a mere challenge would only get to him under the right circumstances. The fact that his offer of competition was so eagerly accepted where park toys were concerned had to have meant something. Perhaps Barnaby would have done it regardless, perhaps he even wanted to from the very start, or maybe Kotetsu was simply looking too far between the lines.

Regardless, he couldn't help but briefly peer over his shoulder at the blond, expression once again warm and simple. "Ready when you are," he chuckled quietly before lifting his finger to point to the top. If he really stretched, he could tap the pad of it to the bar, but he refrained.

"First person to the top wins, and then we can do the swings."

[selfmotivations]

"Stop babbling, and start climbing," he challenged, not quite managing to sound like he didn't want to be there. Certainly not the way he did before. In fact, he looked like he was taking the whole thing deadly serious, fixing Kotetsu with the most level of stares. "On 'go'. Three, two, one - go."

Wasting no time, he started scaling the impossible, sheer cliff, trying not to consider how ridiculous the whole situation was.

[fiveminutefail]

It was definitely a ridiculous thing for two grown men to be doing, but the park was relatively empty anyway, and would probably stay that way. Kotetsu wouldn't have been there to begin with, otherwise.

"Yeah, yeah," he responded with a wave of his hand. "You need to work on your patience, 'lil Bunny." At the level stare, he fixed his partner with one of equal determination, and instead of cheating just a little like he did with their race (the one he lost, unfortunately), he began the race on the mark. He was confident that he would at least win this little competition, as climbing took upper body strength to master, and he had that in abundance.

Hand after hand, foot after foot, he climbed the short trial. It didn't take long at all, really, for him to reach his hand forward and place it at the top, perhaps even climb a little higher as to situate himself comfortable on the bar. He hadn't been paying attention, but he could've sworn that he touched finish first, and so he couldn't help the stupid grin on his lips from developing.

"How'd you like that, huh?"

[selfmotivations]

He bristled for a moment, clearly none too pleased at the idea of the old man coming out on top - especially when he'd had a tiny head start. "It's not my patience that needs work," he retorted, jumping from the bars to the ground and scowling up at him. Glancing over at the other two trials, he arched an eyebrow. Clearly, he needed to up his game.

"Come on, then," he said, striding over to the swings. "Time for round two."

[fiveminutefail]

"You're right," he grinned down at his partner, a little smugly. "It's your climbing."

He leapt from the bars and followed Barnaby to the swing set, seating himself on the one that he knew squeaked the least. Of course, he tried them both previously, his visit to the park having lasted much longer than the blond probably thought. He dug into the sand at his feet with the tip of his show idly, before nodding.

"I'm feeling pretty confident about round two, too." He laughed, actually enjoying the friendly competition.