work expands so as to fill the time available.

[guidedrecall]

The light filtering through the window is too bright for Barnaby's blue eyes, sticky and sensitive as they open reluctantly and he drags himself to sitting in bed. He's still dressed in what he stumbled to bed with, a plain white t-shirt a little too big because they'd only bought one package to suit both himself and Kotetsu; boxers that are the same. He groans, groping across the bed in search of his glasses, unintentionally rousing the other man beside him.

They'd shared the bed, he remembers, because neither of them had been willing to take the couch, in the state they were in. Which, Barnaby recalls, had been fairly drunk.

Pulling himself to standing, he crosses to the bedroom window and turns the handle to open the blinds further, yellow-gold light filtering in. It's red enough light that Barnaby knows it's ... almost evening, actually. It would irritate him to discover, normally, but they hadn't gotten in until very early, having stopped for clothing and groceries and whatever else that could be fitted into a bag, in their state, and dragged to Barnaby's apartment.

Barnaby doesn't remember much from the night. Only a few things stand out. Mostly, he distinctly remembers Kotetsu plopping an unfamiliar, brightly colored bill onto a counter and asking the clerk to 'bring booze.'

He presses a palm to his forehead. It feels too warm

"Rise and shine," he calls out to his partner.

Comments

[guidedrecall]

Barnaby makes a noise of pleasure when Kotetsu presses his face against the side of his neck, still tingling from the teeth that had scraped across it. His breath is hot, and tickles. He doesn't mind. He doesn't like to be so close to people normally, doesn't like their breath so close to his face, but this isn't that This is Kotetsu, pressed against him, in privacy. Offering to give Barnaby something that no other person seriously has.

He leans into Kotetsu's hips, surprised by how much he enjoys the feel of strong fingers digging into his muscles. It's easier to concentrate on that, than to force down the fighting embarrassment. He's getting hard against the other man. Surely Kotetsu notices. He shouldn't feel upset about his body doing what it's supposed to, what's right for the situation He really shouldn't; not when he trusts Kotetsu implicitly. He's never felt more comfortable with another person.

But this is very new, and that's what he's suddenly concerned about.

"I'm sure," he says, the words coming out too brightly on an exhale. "But ... in the middle of ... " He gives a half-hearted wave to the food still spread out across the counter.

[virtigris]

Being Barnaby's partner is always an exercise in extremes. From feeling the constant crush of lips against his mouth to the bashfulness Barnaby suddenly exhibits now, it's always on or off, stuttering rather than a smooth transition. Which is fine. These are things that Barnaby couldn't have learned on his own, and Kotetsu has plenty of the patience required to teach him.

He shuts Barnaby up with a long, searching kiss, reveling in the sharp gasp he captures with a nip against Barnaby's full lower lip.

"Yes, in the middle of. Because this is more important," Kotetsu rasps, drawing his hands underneath Barnaby's thighs until he's able to lift the other man a couple of inches from the ground, hooking long legs around his hips and pushing one hand up underneath Barnaby's shirt to hold him steady.

"Also a better hangover remedy," he murmurs, pivoting the both of them back in the direction of Barnaby's bedroom.

[guidedrecall]

Barnaby gives another noise of protest as Kotetsu walks them away from the kitchen -- isn't it dangerous to leave the meat out on the counter for too long? -- but he hasn't got it in him to change the direction that things are going. Not when they're going as fast as they are. He is too willing to give in to what he's feeling. He's going to grasp the chance while he has it, swept up easily, as ever, in Kotetsu's emotions as well.

Not an argument, this time, but something that makes Barnaby's body ache.

He bites sharply at his lip in surprise when Kotetsu drags him off of the ground, resting Barnaby's weight against the flat planes of his belly until Barnaby feels the throb between his legs. He chases after the friction with a shallow arch of his back, too intent on the feeling of another body that was not his own moving against him.

"Kotetsu. I could have walked." His hands moved to Kotetsu's shoulders, gripping roughly, though he's certain he won't be dropped.

[virtigris]

"I may be getting on in years, but I want to enjoy carrying you around while I still can," Kotetsu announces, strength and composure returning to his arms in full as he rounds the corner and gives the door to the bedroom a reckless little kick. The bed remains in disarray, sheets probably in need of a wash after they'd simply collapsed into bed the evening prior, but Kotetsu doesn't have the patience to start with a clean slate. He can't imagine anything more perfect than this, letting the tight grip of Barnaby's hands guide him.

Raising one arm to loop around Barnaby's waist, Kotetsu crawls a few steps forward on the mattress, dragging the covers with his knees as the fabric purses underneath their weight. His chest feels warm around his collarbone, flushed and buzzing with a boyish excitement as he lowers Barnaby down onto his back.

From his vantage point, Kotetsu leans his weight back on his heels, letting his gaze trail along the contours of Barnaby's body — narrow and long-limbed, with a pale complexion that contrasts with his darker tan as he draws a wide hand up along Barnaby's side.

He hasn't allowed himself to look at Barnaby like this before, and he's stunned by the sudden weight of it. Pausing with shallow breath, Kotetsu lets his fingers skate along the line of Barnaby's thigh, then over the cut of his hip, little more than gentle teases as he glances up to meet the dark green of Barnaby's eyes.

[guidedrecall]

Barnaby isn't even sure that he can argue with that logic Before the last year, Barnaby had always been so focused on what had happened before, on the past; now that he has the future to ideate over, his imagination stretches on unfettered. They may only have another ten years before Kotetsu legitimately has to start worrying about things like muscle pulls and hernias.

He hits the bed lightly, reluctant to give up the intensity of the touch from before, with so much of himself pressed against the other man's firm front. But from here, looking up the stretch of Kotetsu's front, from the way dark hair peeks out just above the loose boxers up to broad shoulders. Had the shape of him always been that nice? Barnaby's certain he'd noticed before. Kotetsu was a handsome man, in every sense, and mature and interesting to look at, Barnaby thought, in ways that Barnaby himself wasn't. Moreso, from this angle, with a shadow thrown over his eyes.

"So? What are you waiting for?" Barnaby asks, as honestly testy as it is a tease. He would rather have Kotetsu make the first move, to draw some lines in the sand. He would rather know what he can get away with so early.

[virtigris]

Kotetsu feels himself jolted away from his slow, leisurely gaze when Barnaby's voice cuts through the silence. What gives him pause is the answer. In spite of the impetuous rush forward, he needs a few moments to collect himself again, unaccustomed to being this vulnerable. Unaccustomed to intimacy of this sort being even a remote option in his life.

Instead of breaking out that honesty in full, Kotetsu lingers by smoothing his hand over Barnaby's skin, making sure never to pause for long. Moving swiftly enough that he draws warmth from both of them with the friction, until he starts to coax Barnaby's shirt up with his fingers, wanting access to the pale expanse underneath.

He's young. Kotetsu always knew that there was that gap between them, but from where he sits now, he feels almost as though he's watching his own youth from behind a glass pane. Right down to the tension evident in Barnaby's jaw.

Raising his chin, Kotetsu nods for Barnaby to lift himself slightly from the bed, pulling his shirt off the rest of the way with a slight snap of static. He likes the mussed look of Barnaby's fine, golden hair, and finally leans down to bury his nose in it, inhaling slowly as he lowers his hips. Rocks them, drawing in a sharp breath at the feel of Barnaby against his abdomen, strong yet unfamiliar.

"I could ask you the same question, Bunny," Kotetsu murmurs, quiet against the shell of Barnaby's ear. With his forearms bracing his weight, Kotetsu rocks his hips once, a slow and smooth movement, pressing his partner gently into the mattress.

[guidedrecall]

There is a little gasp that falls out of Barnaby's lips when Kotetsu slides the shirt clean off of him, the static tingling across his shoulders in the dry air of the bedroom. He isn't afraid of being naked in front of Kotetsu, or anyone else, but he'd been wearing so little to begin with when they'd crawled into bed early that very morning, losing just one article doesn't leave much left besides his underwear. Kotetsu isn't wearing much more.

Barnaby still doesn't like the idea that Kotetsu is wearing more.

"Are you sure it's okay to be 'Bunny' this and 'Bunny' that when we're like this?"

He slides up on the bed, threading a bare thigh between Kotetsu's longer legs and pressing it between his legs experimentally, feeling for an arousal. He finds it, not fully hard, but throbbing softly against him.

"Take your shirt off," he says, reaching for Kotetsu's underwear and plucking at the waistband. He gets a grip on it, manicured nails dragging lightly over the rich color of his skin, and drags them down, expression paused in curiosity, brows and mouth expectant.

[virtigris]

"You don't like it when I call you Bunny?" Kotetsu asks, the nickname cut off with a gasp when he feels Barnaby's leg pressing against him, rolling his hips down to encourage the friction. He doesn't comply with Barnaby's request immediately, instead drawing his hand up the smooth, bare planes of muscle, tight around Barnaby's ribcage, where he can feel the quiet flutter of his pulse through the skin. "I like to think of it as a way of expressing my affection."

His breath fans out against the side of Barnaby's neck. "It's easier to call out, too," he whispers, raising a thumb to his lips, wetting the skin before dropping his hand back down to Barnaby's chest. He draws a careful circle around the darker skin of Barnaby's nipple, coaxing, picking up speed when the pace of his own breath grows ragged.

Back curling as he kisses a trail down Barnaby's chest, Kotetsu replaces his thumb with the point of his tongue, tracing experimentally as his hands are newly freed. He pulls his tank top over his head quickly, breaking contact for only a second before his lips close around the nipple again, sucking and teasing with the edge of his teeth. When he feels Barnaby's hands exploring lower, Kotetsu shifts his weight, making it easier for the waistband to slip down over the cut of his hips.

[guidedrecall]

"It's not that, I just--" Barnaby starts, before giving a gasp of discontent surprise at the touch of a wet finger to his skin, leaving a trail of cold where the air wicks the moisture quickly away. When the finger is replaced with a tongue, licking and teasing, his already hard cock gives a jump. He fists one hand in the sheets, frustrated, while the other pulls Kotetsu's underwear fully down.

Barnaby is a little too new to the act to be very interested in lengthy playing around, not when there's nothing stopping him from moving past that. He doesn't yet have an appreciation for a slow burn; only an eagerness to see what all of the damn fuss is about. It shows, in the way he wraps his fingers around Kotetsu, squeezing him in his palm. It isn't anything like touching himself.

"Your shirt," he says, when he remembers what he asked a moment ago at all. He snakes a finger lower, exploring, to test the weight of his testicles, what it's like to touch.

[virtigris]

Elbows buckling as Barnaby takes his length in hand, Kotetsu lets out a small, helpless laugh as he pushes his shirt fully away, tossing it over the edge of the bed. The way that Barnaby engages him now is telling, searching every last detail with a keen curiosity rather than passionate deliberation. Carefully, Kotetsu lowers himself, low enough to press his forehead to Barnaby's, enjoying the rush of shared breath against the soft sursurration of fabric.

"I'm so glad to have met you," he murmurs, carefully rocking against Barnaby's palm, finding a regular rhythm before he dips his own hands down to Barnaby's waistband, stretching the elastic carefully and pushing it down the smooth length of Barnaby's thighs.

His fingers linger for a little longer than necessary.

"And I'm glad to have you back in my life," he adds, sealing the words off with a kiss. Wrapping a soft palm around Barnaby's cock, Kotetsu gives it a slow tug from base to tip, turning his wrist along the way. Barnaby fits neatly in his palm — a little thinner, a little longer than his own length, pulse easily felt through tight, firm skin. "You feel good."

[guidedrecall]

He can feel it filling out with each stroke, firmer, and he watches the slide of his palm over Kotetsu, darker and deeper in color than his own, red and straining in the chilly air, until blessed relief comes and Kotetsu's too-warm hand finds it. He feels his face flush again. The nudity might not have gotten much a reaction, but the intimacy of having Kotetsu's hand feeling him feels heavy in his chest.

"Never," Barnaby says. The words leave his mouth riding his breath, thick pants. He isn't exerted, but he's on-edge, the nerves in his body tensed more than he's ever experienced before. He's touched himself. He isn't a complete prude. That experience was wholly different from this. "Never leave Without you, I wouldn't have-- I would still be-- "

He takes his hand off of Kotetsu, bringing it up to his mouth to wet his fingers with his tongue. He smells him there, not the same smell of a mature man, aftershave and peat, but something muskier, and alone, it's enough to make him whine around his fingers before getting himself under control again, finding a focus, instead of letting too much touch and sensation overwhelm him.

His brows knit with almost intense irritation a moment later, as he tries to concentrate, even as he slides a hand between them to grasp at Kotetsu's dick again.

"Did we buy any lotion? Anything?" Was this all it's going to be? It could never be a disappointment, but somehow, to Barnaby, giving Kotetsu a frantic stroke-off in a shared bed feels a little too much like the sort of young experimentation he'd never got around to.

[virtigris]

Kotetsu finds himself slowing to a stop as he watches Barnaby unravel, slowly, as though he feels a need to fight against the tide and prolong the moment. To prove himself more than a youth easily swayed. The words on Barnaby's lips are sobering. Jarring, almost. Because Kotetsu knows first-hand what it's like to have someone slip between his fingers, and to feel a part of him missing with the loss.

"Never," he breathes, closing his eyes for a second.

Would he only be condemning Barnaby to feel the same? He's never been one to think too hard about the future, but there's no ducking around the age gap that the two of them share. The one that has Barnaby racing to catch up, even though all Kotetsu wants to do is hear that whine on the edge of his breath again as he brushes his own fingers by the corner of Barnaby's mouth, slipping one fingertip in.

He shudders at the tight heat, his cock giving a weak pulse against Barnaby's palm. Dropping to an elbow, Kotetsu brings his hand back down to Barnaby's dick, brushing damp fingertips gently over the head.

"Bunny," he says, tension broken by the question. A second later, Kotetsu starts to laugh, slightly broken and strained as he rolls down to his side. With one arm wrapped tightly around Barnaby's waist, he pulls their bodies closer together, until Barnaby's arm is pinned between the both of them. "You would have been the one to buy the lotion, you know. But what... tell me, what is it that you want to do?" He leans forward, pressing a quick kiss to Barnaby's lips. "What would make you happy?"

[guidedrecall]

He slides lower beneath Kotetsu, hair tangling behind his head on the sheets, hips straining into the hand around him eagerly. His arm, trapped between them, searches for Kotetsu's own hardness, fuller now, fingers tracing along tight, flat muscle until he finds crisp hair and the concentrated heat of what he's sought out. The angle, the tightness, makes it difficult to stroke, but he presses Kotetsu against his own belly firmly with the palm of his hand with firm pressure.

"Your dick," he says, voice rougher, breathy. "In me. Don't you dare say--" he gives a soft pant "--no. I want that. If we're this far, I want that. If you're okay with this, I want that."

He softens the words of demand with a kiss, sloppy and misaimed, against the side of Kotetsu's mouth, teeth pulling at his lower lip before gravity drags Barnaby back down to the sheets.

[virtigris]

Kotetsu blinks, able to react only with a muffled noise of surprise when Barnaby presses a kiss to his lips, as rushed as the request itself. The demand is... well. Between the deep green of Barnaby's eyes and the tight grip of his fingers, the pull is undeniable, Kotetsu moaning softly as he follows the tug of Barnaby's teeth.

"That's not cute at all," Kotetsu teases, breath harsh and uneven as he lays his weight down on top of Barnaby, bracketing his body and dragging himself flush until their eyes are level. He runs a hand across Barnaby's hairline, damp from the exertion, looking younger as his curls and fringe are pushed back by Kotetsu's palm.

He litters kisses on every detail. The point of Barnaby's nose. The crease of his brow. The bow of his lips, and the cut of his cheekbone.

"Have you ever... had someone in you before? Or practiced on your own?" Kotetsu asks, brushing the pad of his thumb over where his lips had been only a moment ago. Knowing what experience Barnaby has had is important. Critical. Giving themselves to each other completely in the span of a night is a nice concept, but Kotetsu doesn't want to risk hurting Barnaby.

The first time doesn't have to be perfect, but it needs to be considerate.

[guidedrecall]

"N-no," Barnaby murmurs, distracted by Kotetsu's body pressing his into the bed, the lingering sensation where the pattern of kisses on his face cools in the air. "I've never had sex before. With anyone."

The answer is straightforward, honest; Barnaby doesn't feel any shame about this fact, no more than he does over any of the others. No regret and no pressure. He wants Kotetsu now, as much of him as possible, because he knows it's what he wants. Something that he's wanted for some time. But Barnaby had been operating under false premises. Barnaby had thought that Kotetsu was unlikely to reciprocate.

This very clearly isn't the case. The cock Barnaby still has in his hand is hard and thick now, proof that Kotetsu can feel the same. Does feel the same.

"I ... with my fingers. A few times. Nothing else. Should I have been?" he asks, managing to make his voice fully filled with confounded surprise, even with swollen lips and rushed breath.

"I didn't know."

[virtigris]

Kotetsu brushes aside Barnaby's uncertainty with a palm smoothed over the line of Barnaby's jaw, warm and tender, and leading into another kiss. This time, it's a slow one, not letting Barnaby take the reins and rush. Kotetsu traces along the curve of Barnaby's lower lip with his teeth, groaning as he pushes himself further in the circle of Barnaby's palm, pulling a clumsy breath after.

"In this area, you should only be doing what you want to do. If you weren't going to have fun on your own, then you shouldn't have been forcing yourself to try. It's okay," Kotetsu reassures, slightly breathless as he lowers his forehead to rest against Barnaby's. "But we need to prepare you for... that. Your body needs to be relaxed and ready to receive me. I want you to enjoy this." Kotetsu purses his lips, tilting his head just enough to deliver another peck. "I don't want to hurt you in the process."

With a faint touch, Kotetsu trails his fingertips down along the side of Barnaby's neck, down over the smooth planes of his stomach, before teasing lightly against the coarse hair below Barnaby's navel. "Properly preparing could take hours."

[guidedrecall]

"This is what I want to do," Barnaby says, realizing a second too late that his understanding of what he says is, really, as simplistic as the sound of the voice in which he says it. Maybe this is something that ought to be a little less simple. Maybe Kotetsu has a point. He probably knows what he's talking about -- more than Barnaby.

He leans in for another kiss, softer and more searching than the last, like a question, before giving Kotetsu a long look from a pair of thoughtful eyes.

He leans away, stretching across the bed with a long torso and long arms to barely reach the drawer of the bedside table, pulling out a small white bottle of hand lotion. He's glad, for once, that he chose to get a perfunctory, unscented bottle.

"Receive you," Barnaby teases, without heat or nastiness. "Are you sure we have hours? Won't you be worn out before then? I guess I can wait. Patience is a virtue."

[virtigris]

The kiss is soft, surprisingly romantic coming from Barnaby, and Kotetsu allows himself a slight inhale between the slide of their lips. His heart feels tight in his chest, and he can feel a tremor passing through his lips as he trails off and to the side, listening to Barnaby's tease and letting his voice be felt against the shell of Kotetsu's ear. His fingers close around the offered bottle as his mouth trails further down Barnaby's body, long and lean, skin firm to the touch.

"You underestimate how motivated I can be when faced with a beautiful body," he murmurs, skimming over Barnaby's skin, long fingers spreading in contrast with the pale complexion. "Seeing you like this makes me jealous, you know. Jealous and greedy." His hand reaches out, gripping one of the extra pillows and dragging it down, batting the side of his hand against Barnaby's hip.

"Lift your hips. This will help us... get into position," he says, chuckling as he presses his nose against coarse hair, breathing in deeply. The scent of Barnaby is stronger here, sending heat pooling between Kotetsu's legs and a pleasure twisting in his abdomen as he skims curious lips up the side of Barnaby's shaft. "It's not a race, though. The more you relax, the easier it'll be. To receive me."

With a soft huff of laughter, Kotetsu brushes the pad of his thumb over the head of Barnaby's cock, smoothing slick over flushed skin before replacing the touch with his lips. Humming quietly at the taste, Kotetsu starts to sink down over Barnaby's length, tongue sweeping along the underside.