(( Welp, I wrote my headcanons on the whole matter, culminated in one big fat fic: http://bunny—chan.tumblr.com/post/16561510470/life-is-one-fool-thing-after-another-whereas-love-is

Everyone’s headcanons are their own, of course, and you’re entitled to your opinions! But, if I were to play exactly according to the anime - no, I don’t think they had much contact beyond a few phone calls. It’s been stated by the word of god that Barnaby was very depressed and generally isolated himself from everyone. I don’t think he and Kotetsu would have met up - the anime disproves that immediately, judging by his surprise at seeing Kotetsu again, and I believe it’s stated that they haven’t seen one another in a full year. It would make sense if that were the case, as they really have no clue about each other’s whereabouts and the like…

I think Barnaby’s feelings for Kotetsu were pretty set in stone, regardless - no real confusion there. I think he just needed time to sort out his life/priorities/everything that happened. Kotetsu might have needed a bit more time to think about them, but I think by the time he and Barnaby met up again in the epilogue, they knew what they wanted, and that was each other. 

I hope all of that makes sense! ))