FV4: Love is Blind
Original Prompt: Because I love those fics and this verse and everything about it ffff
Two heroes roleplay/cyber in the Hero TV forum chatroom.
Note: It... didn't really turn into cybering, really. Sorry! ahaha;;
That morning, Agnes had waltzed into the office and leaned over Barnaby's desk, smiling that kind of grin of hers that meant that she was fostering the type of idea that usually made him sick. He took his time in looking up from the documents he was assessing and gave he a tilt of his head that silently implored her to spill it.
Apparently, a moderator at the HeroTV forum was at home sick and couldn't attend to her moderating duties on the site. The specific moderator in question was in charge of looking after the site's chatroom during the day. Naturally, Barnaby didn't understand why he was the new man for the job; why Agnes couldn't find someone a lot more appropriate to fill in for this moderator instead. However, she assured him that this was an opportunity for him like no other. She knew that he wasn't a visitor to the site yet and she thought it would be in his interest to see what the fans were saying about the heroes in real time.
The fans were their most important critics, after all.
After he begrudgingly agreed to the task, she moved him over and took control of his keyboard. She created him a new temporary account, then logged herself in to grant it moderator status.
“That ought to be all you need.” Under his username, she signed him into the chatroom. “Just keep an eye on it. If anyone says anything that doesn't follow the rules listed above, then you can warn them. If they refuse you or start to get too obnoxious, you can kick them out. No banning on here for you right now, though.” She winked. Like he really cared about banning people.
Before she left, she paused in the doorway and looked over her shoulder with an all too disconcerting smirk. Barnaby certainly did not want to know what that was for, but he had the feeling that he would soon find out.
He had never visited the site, nor had any interest in doing so. Despite whatever the old man seemed to think, Barnaby didn't have so much of an ego that he would do things like intentionally seek out what the fans thought of him. It was obvious enough to him what they thought when he was out on the street. Then again, that was one of the advantages to being a hero without a mask.
Although, if he was going to have to spend some time on the site for a day, he would at least... give it a look. He couldn't deny that he was slightly curious to know what they said on the internet about him. The internet was a place where no holds were barred, where people spoke openly and sometimes brutally about their feelings about any infinite number of topics.
This username she gave him, though... bunnylove... Wasn't that a little too girly? No one would ever guess it was him with a name like that, but really?
He cringed on the inside.
“What's up with the face?” Kotetsu asked as he walked into the office and sat himself down at his desk.
“Uh...” Oh, so he was making a face to accompany that awkward feeling of emasculation. “It's nothing. Good afternoon.”
The other man winced and hunched over in his chair. “Yeah, I got up a little late today. Sorry about that. Hope I haven't missed anything too interesting in my absence.”
Barnaby rolled his eyes and directed his attention as hard as he could to the webpage instead of the sad human failure next to himself. That adorable, sad human failure... He really hoped that this site would be a distraction because he could smell him today. Was that cologne? Or just... or did he just smell that nice always?
Reading. This website. People in this chatroom. This air was suddenly amazing.
But more importantly, this chatroom where people were talking about Blue Rose. It seemed like they had taken a liking to... 'male!Blue Rose'? What did that even mean, he wondered.
As his eyes kept scanning the chat, scrolling up and down to get some context, he came to the conclusion that they were talking about some kind of fan-made character. Apparently this 'male' version of Blue Rose was something that the fans came up with in order to pair her up in new ways. Well, that made sense.
Not really.
Barnaby had no idea what any of it was about. It all sounded like nonsense to him. Pairing the heroes up? He didn't even know that people wasted their free time thinking about things like that. If they were going to talk about a pairing, then they should seriously consider him and Kotetsu.
What am I even thinking? He's right next to me. I shouldn't think like that.
He stole a glance over to his partner. Fortunately, it seemed like Kotetsu was distracted enough by his own desk work that he didn't feel like bothering him. Barnaby dove back into the topic of the chat again and now it seemed that they had started talking about him. Oddly enough, they were using only his first name, which sounded rather familiar of them to do.
T-Tsundere? That meant... He'd heard Kotetsu use the word. It was something Japanese, wasn't it? It meant that he was a hot-and-cold person. He really wished that they wouldn't talk about things like that, but... Why were the fans talking about that anyway?
_origamically: But he's sooo tsundere in real life.
HeroLove: That isn't really a problem, though. I think that's what makes him so endearing.
yukionna: But it comes off as being so cold. He should loosen up more or he'll totally lose Tiger for real.
_origamically: But they aren't REALLY together. ...I think.
HeroLove: Who knows. (They would be if I had my way.) I just mean that it's what makes him such a good pair with Tiger for fics.
yukionna: I know what you mean, but still...
toratoratora: he'll come around eventualy.
_origamically: lmao Here comes the optimist.
toratoratora: i'm just saying.
HeroLove: ...
yukionna: And? What makes you say that?
toratoratora: well w tsunderes, they always end up giving into their dere side right?
_origamically: As an expert on tsunderes, I can agree with that. But do you think it would really work like that in real life?
bunnylove: I don't see why not.
Oh shit. Agnes hadn't told him whether or not it was alright for him to participate in the chatroom along with everyone else. Was he supposed to act as a mysterious figurehead and keep his opinions to himself? Would it... hurt if he decided to say some things? He didn't have any big plans to become a frequent member on the site or anything, so it couldn't hurt to chime in, especially now when everyone was getting worked up.
About him, no less. But they didn't know that. They didn't have to know that and he could say whatever he wanted to try to steer them towards believing what he thought about Barnaby. Er... as Barnaby. ...As someone who felt like they really knew what Barnaby was like. Yeah.
_origamically: They're both heroes, though. Think about it, guys. How likely is it that two of the heroes would really get together with each other?
HeroLove: Those two? LOL You're joking, right? They're the most likely of the whole bunch.
bunnylove: Wait, what? What makes you say that, though?
yukionna: *sigh* They're the most popular pair on here. I see you're a mod, but are you new?
_origamically: Oi, don't interrogate the mod! Mods = gods.
HeroLove: I heard that little_lamb is sick today. This must be a temp mod.
_origamically: Ooooh.
yukionna: oic.
toratoratora: anyway, i think he'll come around too, bunnylove. huh. cute name, btw.
bunnylove: Oh... thank you. I didn't make the name myself, though.
toratoratora: i call Barnaby 'Bunny', personally. i've been hoping that it would catch on.
_originally: He's got a rabbit on his suit now! Maybe they heard you. lol
bunnylove: Doesn't Tiger call him that?
toratoratora: He does! i've heard it myself.
bunnylove: It is kind of cute. I don't know if it's a name that a grown man should like, but... I bet he likes it.
toratoratora: because he's tsundere?
bunnylove: It just sounds like... an endearing nickname. So whether he likes it or not, he can probably tell that Tiger thinks fondly of him when he calls him that.
HeroLove: Awwww. So it's like a pet name? You sure he's not just making fun of him?
bunnylove: He just calls him that now. Haven't you guys heard that?
_origamically: Whoa whoa whoa. EVIDENCE? (ﾟ∀ﾟ)
toratoratora: if he's not calling him that to make fun of him, then why else would he use it?
bunnylove: You guys really think that Tiger likes Barnaby like that, though?
yukionna: It's sickeningly obvious. This just adds fuel to the fire.
_origamically: I had no idea it was an affectionate thing. I mean, we're just speculating, of course. I'm not going to turn into a stan or anything.
yukionna: You write fics about them, origami. You're already a stan. btw, I have a bone to pick with you...
_origamically: A what now? What'd I do? :3c
//toratoratora invited you to a private chat//
A private chat? He was supposed to be looking after the chatroom, so if he accepted a private chat, that would mean that he couldn't see what else was going on. But he really did want to know more about this and this one user seemed to be a big fan of the pairing.
“By the way, you've been doing a lot of typing over there. I hope that you're working, for your sake,” he informed Kotetsu, swiveling around in his chair to look at him. Barnaby had been getting increasingly engrossed in the dialogue of the chatroom, but noticed his surrounds again when Kotetsu's typing had stopped.
His partner tilted his screen away from Barnaby's line of sight and grinned sheepishly.
“Workin' hard, Bunny. Workin' hard.”
Bunny...
Maybe this was as good of a time as any to just ask about it. He didn't have to be too explicit when he asked. He'd just keep it about the name, that was all.
“By the way, are you ever going to stop calling me that?”
Kotetsu sighed. “You know I'm not saying it to be an ass anymore. It's just like a nickname.”
They were right? No. No, he wasn't going to let himself believe that. He didn't want to get his hopes up because even if the old man was using it like a cute nickname now, that didn't mean that he really liked him like that. So what if he said the name so fondly every time and gave him those adorable eyes, like he just wanted them to bond and stop fighting and...
He really had to stop thinking so much. And as if his mind was being read by a force of God, Kotetsu's phone suddenly started buzzing. He dove across his keyboard, came very close to knocking over his coffee, then nearly dropped the phone once he even got a hold of it.
“Kaede, sweetheart! Yes, baby... Yes... Oh...”
Ah. A personal call from his daughter. She was really cute, so Barnaby couldn't be jealous of her stealing Kotetsu's attention. While Kotetsu was occupied with his call, he could just resume his Temporary Mod-duties. Clicking back into the chat window, he took a look at what that user toratoratora had been trying to say to him in their private chat.
toratoratora: gtu;pketyfjt;k'''kppppppp'''''''
How would you feel if you had just been talking about some of your very personal feelings with someone supposedly anonymous online and you just realized that you actually knew them in person? Not only do you know them, but they are actually the person that you secretly like. Not only that, he's this idiotic old man who chats online to anyone who will listen about his precious coworker - you - while he should be doing work. Also, he lays on his keyboard and nearly spills his coffee, just because he's that thrilled to receive a call from his little girl.
“Old man.”
Kotetsu looked up from his desk, the phone still clutched to his ear.
“You...”
“Am I in trouble?”
“-are so cute that it hurts.”
“...huh?”
INDEX
Two heroes roleplay/cyber in the Hero TV forum chatroom.
Note: It... didn't really turn into cybering, really. Sorry! ahaha;;
That morning, Agnes had waltzed into the office and leaned over Barnaby's desk, smiling that kind of grin of hers that meant that she was fostering the type of idea that usually made him sick. He took his time in looking up from the documents he was assessing and gave he a tilt of his head that silently implored her to spill it.
Apparently, a moderator at the HeroTV forum was at home sick and couldn't attend to her moderating duties on the site. The specific moderator in question was in charge of looking after the site's chatroom during the day. Naturally, Barnaby didn't understand why he was the new man for the job; why Agnes couldn't find someone a lot more appropriate to fill in for this moderator instead. However, she assured him that this was an opportunity for him like no other. She knew that he wasn't a visitor to the site yet and she thought it would be in his interest to see what the fans were saying about the heroes in real time.
The fans were their most important critics, after all.
After he begrudgingly agreed to the task, she moved him over and took control of his keyboard. She created him a new temporary account, then logged herself in to grant it moderator status.
“That ought to be all you need.” Under his username, she signed him into the chatroom. “Just keep an eye on it. If anyone says anything that doesn't follow the rules listed above, then you can warn them. If they refuse you or start to get too obnoxious, you can kick them out. No banning on here for you right now, though.” She winked. Like he really cared about banning people.
Before she left, she paused in the doorway and looked over her shoulder with an all too disconcerting smirk. Barnaby certainly did not want to know what that was for, but he had the feeling that he would soon find out.
He had never visited the site, nor had any interest in doing so. Despite whatever the old man seemed to think, Barnaby didn't have so much of an ego that he would do things like intentionally seek out what the fans thought of him. It was obvious enough to him what they thought when he was out on the street. Then again, that was one of the advantages to being a hero without a mask.
Although, if he was going to have to spend some time on the site for a day, he would at least... give it a look. He couldn't deny that he was slightly curious to know what they said on the internet about him. The internet was a place where no holds were barred, where people spoke openly and sometimes brutally about their feelings about any infinite number of topics.
This username she gave him, though... bunnylove... Wasn't that a little too girly? No one would ever guess it was him with a name like that, but really?
He cringed on the inside.
“What's up with the face?” Kotetsu asked as he walked into the office and sat himself down at his desk.
“Uh...” Oh, so he was making a face to accompany that awkward feeling of emasculation. “It's nothing. Good afternoon.”
The other man winced and hunched over in his chair. “Yeah, I got up a little late today. Sorry about that. Hope I haven't missed anything too interesting in my absence.”
Barnaby rolled his eyes and directed his attention as hard as he could to the webpage instead of the sad human failure next to himself. That adorable, sad human failure... He really hoped that this site would be a distraction because he could smell him today. Was that cologne? Or just... or did he just smell that nice always?
Reading. This website. People in this chatroom. This air was suddenly amazing.
But more importantly, this chatroom where people were talking about Blue Rose. It seemed like they had taken a liking to... 'male!Blue Rose'? What did that even mean, he wondered.
As his eyes kept scanning the chat, scrolling up and down to get some context, he came to the conclusion that they were talking about some kind of fan-made character. Apparently this 'male' version of Blue Rose was something that the fans came up with in order to pair her up in new ways. Well, that made sense.
Not really.
Barnaby had no idea what any of it was about. It all sounded like nonsense to him. Pairing the heroes up? He didn't even know that people wasted their free time thinking about things like that. If they were going to talk about a pairing, then they should seriously consider him and Kotetsu.
What am I even thinking? He's right next to me. I shouldn't think like that.
He stole a glance over to his partner. Fortunately, it seemed like Kotetsu was distracted enough by his own desk work that he didn't feel like bothering him. Barnaby dove back into the topic of the chat again and now it seemed that they had started talking about him. Oddly enough, they were using only his first name, which sounded rather familiar of them to do.
T-Tsundere? That meant... He'd heard Kotetsu use the word. It was something Japanese, wasn't it? It meant that he was a hot-and-cold person. He really wished that they wouldn't talk about things like that, but... Why were the fans talking about that anyway?
_origamically: But he's sooo tsundere in real life.
HeroLove: That isn't really a problem, though. I think that's what makes him so endearing.
yukionna: But it comes off as being so cold. He should loosen up more or he'll totally lose Tiger for real.
_origamically: But they aren't REALLY together. ...I think.
HeroLove: Who knows. (They would be if I had my way.) I just mean that it's what makes him such a good pair with Tiger for fics.
yukionna: I know what you mean, but still...
toratoratora: he'll come around eventualy.
_origamically: lmao Here comes the optimist.
toratoratora: i'm just saying.
HeroLove: ...
yukionna: And? What makes you say that?
toratoratora: well w tsunderes, they always end up giving into their dere side right?
_origamically: As an expert on tsunderes, I can agree with that. But do you think it would really work like that in real life?
bunnylove: I don't see why not.
Oh shit. Agnes hadn't told him whether or not it was alright for him to participate in the chatroom along with everyone else. Was he supposed to act as a mysterious figurehead and keep his opinions to himself? Would it... hurt if he decided to say some things? He didn't have any big plans to become a frequent member on the site or anything, so it couldn't hurt to chime in, especially now when everyone was getting worked up.
About him, no less. But they didn't know that. They didn't have to know that and he could say whatever he wanted to try to steer them towards believing what he thought about Barnaby. Er... as Barnaby. ...As someone who felt like they really knew what Barnaby was like. Yeah.
_origamically: They're both heroes, though. Think about it, guys. How likely is it that two of the heroes would really get together with each other?
HeroLove: Those two? LOL You're joking, right? They're the most likely of the whole bunch.
bunnylove: Wait, what? What makes you say that, though?
yukionna: *sigh* They're the most popular pair on here. I see you're a mod, but are you new?
_origamically: Oi, don't interrogate the mod! Mods = gods.
HeroLove: I heard that little_lamb is sick today. This must be a temp mod.
_origamically: Ooooh.
yukionna: oic.
toratoratora: anyway, i think he'll come around too, bunnylove. huh. cute name, btw.
bunnylove: Oh... thank you. I didn't make the name myself, though.
toratoratora: i call Barnaby 'Bunny', personally. i've been hoping that it would catch on.
_originally: He's got a rabbit on his suit now! Maybe they heard you. lol
bunnylove: Doesn't Tiger call him that?
toratoratora: He does! i've heard it myself.
bunnylove: It is kind of cute. I don't know if it's a name that a grown man should like, but... I bet he likes it.
toratoratora: because he's tsundere?
bunnylove: It just sounds like... an endearing nickname. So whether he likes it or not, he can probably tell that Tiger thinks fondly of him when he calls him that.
HeroLove: Awwww. So it's like a pet name? You sure he's not just making fun of him?
bunnylove: He just calls him that now. Haven't you guys heard that?
_origamically: Whoa whoa whoa. EVIDENCE? (ﾟ∀ﾟ)
toratoratora: if he's not calling him that to make fun of him, then why else would he use it?
bunnylove: You guys really think that Tiger likes Barnaby like that, though?
yukionna: It's sickeningly obvious. This just adds fuel to the fire.
_origamically: I had no idea it was an affectionate thing. I mean, we're just speculating, of course. I'm not going to turn into a stan or anything.
yukionna: You write fics about them, origami. You're already a stan. btw, I have a bone to pick with you...
_origamically: A what now? What'd I do? :3c
//toratoratora invited you to a private chat//
A private chat? He was supposed to be looking after the chatroom, so if he accepted a private chat, that would mean that he couldn't see what else was going on. But he really did want to know more about this and this one user seemed to be a big fan of the pairing.
“By the way, you've been doing a lot of typing over there. I hope that you're working, for your sake,” he informed Kotetsu, swiveling around in his chair to look at him. Barnaby had been getting increasingly engrossed in the dialogue of the chatroom, but noticed his surrounds again when Kotetsu's typing had stopped.
His partner tilted his screen away from Barnaby's line of sight and grinned sheepishly.
“Workin' hard, Bunny. Workin' hard.”
Bunny...
Maybe this was as good of a time as any to just ask about it. He didn't have to be too explicit when he asked. He'd just keep it about the name, that was all.
“By the way, are you ever going to stop calling me that?”
Kotetsu sighed. “You know I'm not saying it to be an ass anymore. It's just like a nickname.”
They were right? No. No, he wasn't going to let himself believe that. He didn't want to get his hopes up because even if the old man was using it like a cute nickname now, that didn't mean that he really liked him like that. So what if he said the name so fondly every time and gave him those adorable eyes, like he just wanted them to bond and stop fighting and...
He really had to stop thinking so much. And as if his mind was being read by a force of God, Kotetsu's phone suddenly started buzzing. He dove across his keyboard, came very close to knocking over his coffee, then nearly dropped the phone once he even got a hold of it.
“Kaede, sweetheart! Yes, baby... Yes... Oh...”
Ah. A personal call from his daughter. She was really cute, so Barnaby couldn't be jealous of her stealing Kotetsu's attention. While Kotetsu was occupied with his call, he could just resume his Temporary Mod-duties. Clicking back into the chat window, he took a look at what that user toratoratora had been trying to say to him in their private chat.
toratoratora: gtu;pketyfjt;k'''kppppppp'''''''
How would you feel if you had just been talking about some of your very personal feelings with someone supposedly anonymous online and you just realized that you actually knew them in person? Not only do you know them, but they are actually the person that you secretly like. Not only that, he's this idiotic old man who chats online to anyone who will listen about his precious coworker - you - while he should be doing work. Also, he lays on his keyboard and nearly spills his coffee, just because he's that thrilled to receive a call from his little girl.
“Old man.”
Kotetsu looked up from his desk, the phone still clutched to his ear.
“You...”
“Am I in trouble?”
“-are so cute that it hurts.”
“...huh?”
INDEX