A/N: Written for wickedorin for the T&B Exchange

"That's a nice photo."

Kotetsu startled slightly, nearly dropping the item in question, before twisting around to acknowledge the person behind him. "Oh hey, Karina. Didn't see you there."

She bent down over his shoulder to study the photo more closely, the edge of her towel briefly sweeping across the back of his neck. "Did you take that at the charity event last week?"

"Yup. Kinda surprised it turned out so nice. The lighting really wasn't that great backstage." A fond smile creased his face as he recalled the exact moment he'd taken the picture. They'd just wrapped up an interview in which Kotetsu, for once, wasn't pushed off to the side in favor of his partner. It had a good week, capped with an arrest that brought Kotetsu up to third place, tied with Karina. Which partly explained why Barnaby had been in a good mood and had only protested mildly when Kotetsu slung an arm around his shoulders and pulled him close.

"Kotetsu-"

"C'mon, just one. I promise I won't nag you for another."

"That's what you said the last time," he replied dryly, but he relented anyway, facing the camera and giving it a small smile. "Just make it quick, old man."

"You should put it in a frame if you're giving it to him," Karina was saying as he shook his mind clear of the memory. "It'd be a nice little addition to whatever you're giving him for Christmas." When Kotetsu looked away uneasily, Karina simply huffed in exasperation. "You did get him a gift, right?"

"Yeah, about that...I just haven't had time to go shopping."

"Are you serious? It's Christmas Eve! When are you going to find time to go shopping?"

He dismissed her concern with a lazy wave of his hand. "It's been quiet all day. I got enough time." Karina pursed her lips in disapproval; clearly she didn't share his optimism. The smallest sliver of doubt entered his mind. Maybe, just maybe, he was asking for trouble by putting off his shopping for as long as he had. It wasn't as if he didn't want to get Barnaby a gift. Kotetsu just didn't know what to get for him. He'd been waiting for a burst of inspiration but now that seemed as likely as a Christmas bonus from Apollon. "Okay, okay," he said, shoulders sagging in defeat, "I'm going to get something for him right now."

"Sure," Karina said slowly. She glanced up at the clock on wall across from them. "I have to go. My concert starts in a hour." She pushed off the back of the couch, her fingers tugging at the hem of her shirt as she swayed back and forth on her feet. "I..." Karina swallowed heavily and then her next words were uttered in a breathless rush. "MerrychristmasKotetsugoodluckshopping."

Blinking in surprise, Kotetsu watched her spin around and run off toward the locker room. "Merry Christmas!" he called after her retreating back, more than a little confused about her strange behavior. However, he didn't have much time to dwell over it due to the current deadline he was facing. So on his way out Kotetsu stopped by the gift shop in the lobby of Justice Tower and managed to pick out a frame to go with his photo with a minimum of hand wringing and indecision.

The cashier was just handing over his purchase when his call band started going off. He ducked into an alcove tucked away in the corner of the building to answer Agnes' summons.

"Bonjour, Hero! Tiger, we need you and Barnaby at the open-air market on North Silver. Your partner's already on the transport, which should be arriving at your location in three minutes. I want both of you on the scene ASAP." She shut off communications immediately, not bothering to wait for Kotetsu's response.

Which was probably a good thing, as she would've been subjected to a string of unintelligible curses as the realization that he was running out of time hit him with the weight of last year's forgotten fruitcake.

S'okay, he told himself. I'll just go shopping after. I mean, how long can this call take?

"Could really use a flamethrower right now." Kotetsu slammed his fist into an eight foot Frasier fir and sent it sailing back into a wall. "Or maybe a chainsaw."

Barnaby spun around and delivered a series of roundhouse kicks to a group of Balsams intent on battering him with their branches. "Don't even think about it, old man. The vendor specifically requested that we not destroy his merchandise."

"Really? They're going to make me pay for damage fines for these trees? It's Christmas Eve! The guy's practically giving them away."

"Agnes's orders." Kotetsu knew from Barnaby's snippy reply that it would be useless to argue the point, so he channeled his frustration into lifting a particularly stubborn Scotch pine over his head and bodyslamming it to the ground.

When they'd first arrived at the market, Kotetsu hadn't expected the arrest to take longer than a few minutes, maybe a half-hour at the most. They'd easily caught up to the NEXT who was causing all the trouble and Kotetsu was about to shoot his wires out to trip the suspect when he'd run past a Christmas tree lot. Suddenly, Kotetsu and Barnaby had found themselves surrounded by a mass of angry, writhing evergreens. The fight had dragged on much longer than he'd thought possible. Every tree they'd knocked down just got back up and started whacking at them with its branches. As an added measure of misery, the needles shed by the wildly flailing trees worked their way into his hero suit, their sharp points somehow managing to find every inch of unprotected skin.

Kotetsu had had enough. This NEXT had to go down if he wanted some shopping time.

"Bunny," he called out to his partner. "He's hiding behind that pillar on the left. I'm gonna clear these trees for you and then you can-"

The speakers in his helmet crackled, followed by a slightly breathless "Understood." He heard the sound of metal pounding on wood behind him as Barnaby got into position. "I'm ready."

It worked perfectly. Kotetsu barreled through the trees, his arms swinging wide to flatten enough of them to create an opening for Barnaby to leap through the grasping branches and land close to the NEXT, who then surrendered immediately. Noting the time displayed in the suit's HUD, Kotetsu nearly sagged in relief. He had maybe an hour of shopping time left.

Of course, as his luck would have it, the police wouldn't let them leave right away. By the time they were cleared to go, all the stores in the immediate area were closed up for the night. With a heavy heart and even heavier steps, Kotetsu made his way to the transport and once inside, collapsed on the bench.

Some friend he was, being empty-handed on Christmas Eve.

"Kotetsu."

He glanced up and saw Barnaby approaching, a beautifully wrapped package in hand. "I know you're leaving for Oriental Town tomorrow so I wanted to give this to you before you took off. " He was wearing a warm smile, the one that seemed to only come out at certain times (not that he'd noticed or anything). It made the guilt twist even more in his gut.

He tugged at his hair nervously. "Ah...thanks Bunny! You didn't have to."

"I know that." Barnaby rolled his eyes at his response, but gesture lacked any heat. "I wanted to."

Swallowing past the heavy lump in his throat, Kotetsu carefully unwrapped the package and lifted the lid off the box.

"This..." He was at a loss for words. In his trembling hands was the first ever copy of Monthly Hero with Mr. Legend on the cover. The initial print run was so small that all surviving magazines had been snapped up by collectors. When he'd looked into buying one to add to his collection of Mr. Legend memorabilia, he'd nearly fainted at the asking price.

"I noticed that you were missing this one," Barnaby explained as Kotetsu slipped the magazine out of its protective plastic cover and ran his fingers over the pristine pages. "When it came up for auction, I thought that you might appreciate it more than anyone else."

"This is...this is great, Bunny! I don't know what to say." Actually he did. He wanted to say take it back, I don't deserve this. His heart sank at the thought of handing Barnaby a measly frame but it was better than nothing.

"I got something for you too. I didn't get a chance to wrap it so I hope you don't mind." He got up and took the frame out from his locker, handing it to Barnaby with a sheepish grin. "I was pocas- procrast- I ran out of time. I promise I'll have something better for you when I get back."

He thrust the frame into Barnaby's hands. His partner studied it intently, the inscrutable look in his eyes making him even more nervous. Finally, Barnaby looked over at him, and he felt the tight coil of anxiety that'd been wrapped around his heart ease a little at the warmth reflected in his gaze.

"Thank you, Kotetsu. It's a wonderful gift," Barnaby said softly.

"Not as great as yours," Kotetsu countered with an easy laugh. "Let me make it up to you right now. Wanna join me for a drink? I'm sure we can find a bar that's still open."

Barnaby's eyes flickered to the photo before returning to him. He nodded once.

"I think I'd like that."