maskormenacelogs | Your Guess Is as Good as Mine [Closed]

It's the middle of the night when Barnaby is escorted out of the Porter facility by government officials. Again. Except, this time, he's been given an updated file. Before he does anything else, though, his first impulse is to check the date on his communicator, and he's relieved to find that only a day has passed since the Porter chose to whisk him away from Heropa. Again.

Now that he has his phone out, though, he may as well check in with his partner. (His inbox isn't flooded with worried messages, at least.) As soon as he types in the speed-dial code assigned to Kotetsu, though, a phone rings just further down the hall. The timing is uncanny, and Barnaby can't help but glance toward the source. What the...?

Kotetsu is getting real tired of your shit, Porter. It'd be nice if for once when he had to involuntarily leave Heropa, he could actually go home for any significant stretch instead of just?? losing time??? Ugh!

Anyway, on the same wavelength as usual, Kotetsu's just about to text Barnaby himself when his phone buzzes, and as he puts the phone to his ear, he notices a certain blond head of hair...

"-Bunny?!"

Enjoy that vaguely disconcerting sensation of hearing Kotetsu's voice both in person and through the phone at the same time while your partner gapes like an idiot for a minute here.

"Kotetsu?" Barnaby's head snaps toward the voice, only to find none other than the man himself.

Stunned, he lowers the communicator from his ear and approaches him.

"You're here too?" His eyes wander down to the file in the older man's hand. "Don't tell me..."

"....This is starting to get really weird."

Have either of them ever ported out alone? Ever since his partner arrived around three months after him, their port outs and re-entries have been perfectly synchronized. It can't be a coincidence, can it?

Was it so weird? Or was it just more natural for the Porter to take them as a pair instead of individually? They were, after all, partners with the same power set.

There are several questions he wants to ask right now. No need to get too far ahead of themselves, though.

"We should go somewhere more private."

Kotetsu hasn't quite thought of it like that, so much as the thought that he's never seen it happening with anyone else. But maybe it does and they just haven't noticed? Something to think about later, probably.

"Sounds good. Your place?"

“Sure.” Barnaby pauses, looking down at this file again, eyebrows faintly furrowed in thought. “It’s pretty late, though, isn’t it. Maybe I should call a cab.”

"Probably a good idea. Heropa's like a half hour just driving, right? It'd take us way too long to hoof it."

And sure, they can take care of themselves, but it's easier and safer this way.

"Alright." With that, he pulls out his communicator and makes a quick phone call. Within ten minutes, a car has pulled up and Barnaby slides into the back, mindful of his file.

Once he gives the driver his address, he settles down and buckles his seat belt. "Do you want to pick up anything on the way there?" he asks Kotetsu.

Kotetsu considers this for a minute, then decides--

"Nah. Let's just order pizza for dinner when we get there."

It'd be the easiest, and pizza's also the most likely to still be open by the time they got home.

"Hmm, alright," he says after a moment. If he'd had more leftovers in the fridge, he'd suggest just eating that instead of ordering out. But he's not in the mood to cook anything, and he supposes it's been awhile since he's splurged on something unhealthy.

Eventually, they arrive at Barnaby's home, and he's quick to pay the driver. With the government covering a lot of his basic expenses, grabbing the cab fare isn't a big deal.

Gosh, Bunny, they could've just split it...! But that's ok, he'll just pay for the pizza instead. :F

He hops out of the cab after his partner, arms held up behind his neck and cushioning his head as he waits for Barnaby to fish out his keys and open the door.

"Anything you want on it?"

Honestly, the fact he doesn't have to pay for rent or most of his food means Barnaby has a lot of extra money to spend. He may as well treat Kotetsu to things from time to time.

"Mushrooms and olives," he answers simply as he unlocks the apartment door. "What are you getting?"

"Hmmm...sausage sounds good. And maybe some ham or pepperoni...."

Might as well go full hog (ha) on the unhealthy splurging, right??? (not that its really splurging when he eats unhealthy like 95% of the time, but shhhh)

Barnaby glances over at Kotetsu with a flat expression. Typical.

"Did you want your own pizza, then, or would you rather split one?"

"I'm down with splitting if you are."

Honestly, Kotetsu has his favorites, but he would probably still eat a mushroom and olive pizza if you put it in front of him. He's not particularly picky when it comes to food.

"Alright." Now that the door is open, Barnaby has already pulled out his communicator to place an order online.

Since Kotetsu has been over to his apartment countless of times, he doesn't have to tell him to take a seat or that he's free to grab whatever he wants from the fridge. Instead, he casually switches on the lights so they can see better.

Yep, Kotetsu's already making himself riiiight at home on the couch, kicking up his legs on the edge of the coffee table (sorry Bunny) and hanging his hat on a nearby cushion.

"Heh, you can almost see the little dust specks trying to valiantly win a foothold. 'Yay, Bunny left for a day! We're free!'"

Why is this guy your life partner again? Great mysteries of the universe.

"And if you don't get your shoes off that table," he says without looking up from his screen, "I'm going to ask you to wipe it down for me."

Honestly, it's not a mystery of the universe to Barnaby. He's thought about the ins and outs of their relationship for years now and is fairly comfortable with where they're at, even if he understands that Kotetsu's feelings aren't the same as his.

"The pizza should be here in about 30 minutes," he adds as he places the communicator back into his pocket. "Have you looked at your file yet?"

Kotetsu makes an exaggerated groaning sound as he takes his legs off from the table, puffing a cheek out like a chipmunk before he lets the air back out.

"What if I took my shoes off, huh?"

As if he does not already know the answer to that. Nonetheless, he does in fact take them off (and uh....leaves them there....under the table......) and pulls up his legs onto the couch instead, propping his chin on his knees, like an Adult.

"Not yet. Didja get something extra this time?"

'Cause that's gotta be why Barnaby's asking. Kotetsu's got a huge grin on his face, a bit overeager because he's sure it's cool. Maybe he got something cool too......

"Taking your shoes off and keeping them off my table is even better," he says, predictably, as he places a hand on his hip.

When he hears the answer to his next question, Barnaby resists the urge to roll his eyes. Of course Kotetsu didn't bother to review his file...

"As a matter of fact, I did." As he speaks, he looks down to the file in his hand. While Kotetsu is as excited as a boy about to open a present, Barnaby himself was a bit anxious when he saw that something had changed. He doesn't like those sorts of surprises...

"It seems I have the ability to summon my hero gear now," Barnaby adds, "including my Lonely Chaser."

Well clearly, as it turns out, he had good reason to be excited, because that's completely awesome, what the hell.

"Whoa, that's super useful." Man, imagine if he'd gotten that one right off the bat. It would've made the secret identity thing so much easier to manage.

...Wait, does he even have it now? He should check on that, shouldn't he.

...

But where did he put his file.......

Excuse him. He's gonna look around for that like a dog chasing its tail for a minute here.

Barnaby knew what he was signing up for when he agreed to become Barnes' probation officer, and so he can't complain now that Barnes is released from prison and he's expected to tend to his duties. Fortunately, they don't have to be glued to the hip, but some degree of supervision is still required due to the circumstances surrounding the man's crimes.

For that reason, they find themselves at Barnaby's apartment for the evening. "Since you'll likely want a way to pass the time, I hope you've picked at least a few titles from the list I gave you awhile ago," he remarks as he unlocks the door.

"Hmm, I gotta say, title picking is the last thing that's been on my mind since I've been in prison. Figured I'd use the time to wallow in my circumstances," Bucky tells him with the same crisp attitude when he follows Barnaby into his house.

"But I am pretty quick to pick, so gimme a second and I'll check the list—Oooo can we order in?"

"...Fair enough," he answers after a beat. Barnaby knows a thing or two about wallowing, so it's not like he can judge him for it.

At least Barnes is decisive.

"I don't see why not. There's a decent Chinese place around here that delivers." Kotetsu had introduced it to him some time ago. "Or did you have something else in mind?"

"Yeah Chinese sounds good. I want all the fried rice! And dumplings! Maybe some sweet and sour chicken, too." Being able to eat real food again has been a real blessing and Bucky is going to take advantage of it, even if he has a stomach ache.

Bucky makes himself comfortable in Barnaby's living room with that wonderful big screen television. The sigh he makes is heavy and satisfying when he sits down on that fluffy couch.

"Hey, what about that sci-fi movie! The Man Something-Something..."

The corners of Barnaby's mouth quirk into a ghost of a smile. As much as Kotetsu makes fun of him for keeping so few things, let it be known that Barnaby never skimps on quality. And when it comes to a living room, the couch and television are really all that matter anyway.

"I've got the full menu here, actually," Barnaby says as he smoothly hands a neatly-folded piece of paper to Barnes. "Let me know what you want, and I'll phone it in."

Even with the mangled title, Barnaby knows the movie he's referring to. "The Man From Earth?" He picks up his remote. "Alright, I'll check to make sure it's available online."

Edited 2016-07-30 09:32 (UTC)

"Ohhh lookitchu!" He takes it from him and starts perusing, but Bucky is pretty sure he knows what he wants. "Yeah, that one! Let's get some grub and cuddle up for a movie, pal!

That's when he pats the couch cushion beside him for Barnaby to sit on.

He makes a small noise at that, if only because it's not often he runs into someone who makes himself so at home in another man's apartment. Eyeing the couch cushion, he pulls out his communicator. "...Let me make the call first. In the meantime, do you want something to drink?"

Your Guess Is as Good as Mine [Closed]

For Kotetsu

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For Bucky

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