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Chapter Title: In Which a Baron Helps Out
Fandom: Tiger & Bunny
Pairing: Barnaby/Kotetsu
Rating: T
Word Count: 3188
Excerpt: Barnaby returned to the house just after sunset. The ride from the town to Apollon Manor was not a long one, but he'd taken his time and a few detours to clear his head.
It was a foolish thing to be upset about. Kaburagi and the others were helping people; that wasn't a bad thing. In fact, it was a very kind, selfless thing for them to be doing, to have continued doing over the past decade even when they must also have been struggling themselves at times.
However, no matter how kind it was, it was a reminder of how badly Barnaby had failed, of how many people had been suffering—had been suffering for years—because he'd been content to let Maverick handle things rather than standing up to take his proper place as baron. He'd assumed Maverick was doing a good job, assumed there was time for him to learn the ropes and take over eventually.
Just another example of how foolish he'd been.
Barnaby took the paper with Mrs. Penny's name and information on it out of his pocket. A widow, Miss Seymour had said, who didn't have the means to support herself now that her husband had passed, and she was in danger of losing her home.
How many others were like her? How many other families, or widows, or widowers, or orphans were in danger of losing their homes or their livelihoods because of him?
He crumpled the paper and shoved it back in his pocket. He'd fix it. Somehow, he'd fix it. Maybe it was too little, too late, but he'd be damned if he'd do nothing. Barnaby had spent the better part of his adulthood doing nothing, trusting the wrong people, and look where that had gotten him. The absolute least he could do was try to do something.
Maybe it wouldn't fix everything, but it would be a start. And a start was really all he could ask for.
Read it on AO3.
Fandom: Tiger & Bunny
Pairing: Barnaby/Kotetsu
Rating: T
Word Count: 3188
Excerpt: Barnaby returned to the house just after sunset. The ride from the town to Apollon Manor was not a long one, but he'd taken his time and a few detours to clear his head.
It was a foolish thing to be upset about. Kaburagi and the others were helping people; that wasn't a bad thing. In fact, it was a very kind, selfless thing for them to be doing, to have continued doing over the past decade even when they must also have been struggling themselves at times.
However, no matter how kind it was, it was a reminder of how badly Barnaby had failed, of how many people had been suffering—had been suffering for years—because he'd been content to let Maverick handle things rather than standing up to take his proper place as baron. He'd assumed Maverick was doing a good job, assumed there was time for him to learn the ropes and take over eventually.
Just another example of how foolish he'd been.
Barnaby took the paper with Mrs. Penny's name and information on it out of his pocket. A widow, Miss Seymour had said, who didn't have the means to support herself now that her husband had passed, and she was in danger of losing her home.
How many others were like her? How many other families, or widows, or widowers, or orphans were in danger of losing their homes or their livelihoods because of him?
He crumpled the paper and shoved it back in his pocket. He'd fix it. Somehow, he'd fix it. Maybe it was too little, too late, but he'd be damned if he'd do nothing. Barnaby had spent the better part of his adulthood doing nothing, trusting the wrong people, and look where that had gotten him. The absolute least he could do was try to do something.
Maybe it wouldn't fix everything, but it would be a start. And a start was really all he could ask for.
Read it on AO3.
