Archive of Our Own ^beta

Chapter Text

The Drama Brothers were officially wrapping up their recording session, after just barely managing to record a song they didn’t mind listening back to. It was far more difficult than they thought it’d be, no thanks to the clashing personalities of some of the members of the group. Cody fought the urge to roll his eyes after watching Justin and Harold argue about stupid bullshit that they’d already been arguing about for the past 3 hours. Thankfully, this was the last of this nonsense that he’d have to deal with for the next week.

After gathering his things, Cody decided to let his bandmates know he was leaving.

Before he could say goodbye, however, Trent spoke. “Uh, hey, did anyone else just get a text from Owen? About a Halloween party?”

Cody perked up at this, suddenly feeling less dreary. He pulled his phone from his pocket just as the others did, satisfied when he saw an unread text from Geoff, an invite meant just for him.

“I didn’t get a text from Owen.” Justin scoffed. There was the beginnings of what could’ve been a frown, but it disappeared after re-checking his phone. He smirked, holding his phone up to show Trent. “Your text was from Owen, but mine was from Bridgette. I still got it, huh? Girls with boyfriends want me!”

Trent seemed to mostly ignore this, making a point not to look at the phone being shoved in his face. He looked at the two other men in the room. “What about you guys? Any texts about the party?”

Harold had a tight lipped frown as he stared down at his screen, the text notification reflecting in his glasses. “You guys, Bridgette invited me. I can’t be having girls up in my phone like this. What would my queen think? How’d she even get my number?”

Cody slapped Harold on the shoulder in what was meant to be a friendly gesture, but was done too harshly. Harold aimed his frown at Cody, but Cody ignored him. “She probably got your number from Owen. No need to worry, bro!”

“I’m assuming you got invited too?”

“You’d be assuming correctly, my man.” Cody proudly showed the text to his bandmates. “But mine was from Geoff. Guess they’re co-hosting? Or would it be tri-hosting…” That last part was really just him thinking out loud, but Justin had apparently decided to answer anyway.

“Does it matter? Anyway, it says it’s a costume party. I already have an idea of what I’ll do for mine.”

Cody frowned at that. No ideas came to mind. The idea of a costume party was really fun, but there was a big issue when it came to Cody and that sort of stuff, that being he couldn’t choose a costume that both he and his friends would think was cool. He considered googling for ideas at that point.

Later that day, after an embarrassing amount of research into different types of costumes, he’d settled on dressing up as Raggedy Andy. He had clothes already that would work for it, along with a red wig he’d borrowed from Harold.  He figured it would be good enough. He set his costume out on the floor of his bedroom so he’d be prepared for the next day. The party was set to start at around 7:30pm, so he planned that he’d start getting ready at 6 or so. Looking over the costume, he felt his phone buzz in his pocket. He assumed it was probably Gwen or Sierra responding to him, since he’d asked them both to match with him, thinking one—if not both—would say no. He pulled his phone out, surprised to see not only had neither responded, but that it was Noah who texted him.

Noah: Hey, Cody. Did you get a text invite for a Halloween party earlier?

Cody: yeah i did

Cody: why?

Noah: Are you going?

Cody: yeah pretty sure

Noah: Okay. I wanted to ask because I wasn’t sure if I was going or not. I’m sure it wouldn’t be as insufferable with a friend.

Cody: i get it lol

Cody: ok see u tomorrow then

Cody smiled at his phone. He’d been worried earlier that Noah might not attend, it didn’t really seem like something he’d typically enjoy, but now he was excited for the party. In the years they’d known each other, he’d never seen Noah really dress up for anything, so he was curious what costume Noah would wear. Maybe a character from a book?

“Who’s that?” A voice said out of nowhere.

Cody screamed, dropping his phone. It fell to the carpet with a thud. He got up from the couch and whipped his head around, seeing Harold standing behind where Cody’d been. “Harold! What the hell, dude? You snuck up on me!”

“Jumpy much? GOSH. I can’t help it, man, I have ninja training,” Harold picked up Cody’s phone from where it lay on the ground. “Oh, cool. Didn’t think he’d come. I haven’t heard from him in a while,” Harold continued rambling about Noah and the party, half to Cody, half to himself, while Cody snatched his phone back. “Did you see him on Jersey Shore? It was so hilarious. Never laughed harder. Except for maybe that one time when Justin hit hi-”

“Noah was on Jersey Shore?!” Cody butted in, this being the only part of Harold’s ramblings to catch his interest.

“Yeah, man. Ask him about it tomorrow!” Harold began making his way to the other side of the house. “It’s time I call it a night. You should too. Busy day tomorrow. Oyasumi, from both me and Leshawna.”

“Night.” With that, Cody headed to bed.

Or he tried, at least. It took three and a half hours for him to fall asleep. Maybe he should invest in melatonin.

Chapter Text

At the (far too) bright and early time of 7:30AM, Cody opened his eyes, hearing clattering in the kitchen, as per usual. Every morning Leshawna would make breakfast for the three of them. It made him feel a bit too much like a kid, but he appreciated it a lot. He headed to the kitchen, and as he entered, Leshawna handed him a bowl of cereal.

“Thanks, Leshawna.” He grumbled drowsily, taking it to the kitchen table and sitting down. Leshawna nodded in reply, offering a friendly smile.

The couple soon sat with him with their own food, sporting plates of pancakes with far too many toppings. “So, what costume are you wearing?  Assuming you’re going, Cody. I know Harold is.” Leshawna asked, pouring syrup over her pancakes.

“I don’t know.. I might be Raggedy Andy or something. I asked Gwen or Sierra to be Ann, but I don’t think they’ve gotten back to me yet. I haven’t checked.” He ate a few spoonfuls of his cereal, wanting to eat it before it got soggy and gross.

Leshawna and Harold shared a look. “Interesting.” Harold butted in. “Uh, about that.. I don’t think Gwen is going. I don’t know about Sierra though.”

“Oh. Well, I hope Sierra is! I don’t want to be a raggedy Andy without a raggedy Ann,” He joked, although he did mean it.

“You hope she’ll be there? Never thought I’d hear that from you,” Harold teased, pointing his fork at Cody.

“Rightttt. You know what I mean.” Cody rolled his eyes exaggeratedly.

The rest of breakfast was spent in comfortable silence. Cody successfully ate his cereal before it got soggy this time! He washed his dishes, thanking Leshawna once again, before heading back to his own room.

Chapter Text

Cody could hear the music loud and clear even from outside the massive house Harold had parked in front of. So that’s what Geoff used his RR winnings for. He couldn’t help but feel a small pang of jealousy as they approached the entrance. Before he could knock, the doors swung open to reveal a clearly not entirely sober Owen.

“Oh my god! Hey! It’s my little buddy’s little buddy! I was wondering when you’d turn up! And Harold, hey man!” It was a bit scary when Owen opened the door, Cody had forgotten how much the bigger guy towered over him.

“Yeah, sorry! We were running a bit late.” Cody laughed nervously.

“I can tell! Get in here.” Owen moved out of the doorway, gesturing for them to enter. Cody gave him a small smile, ducking under his arm. Harold disappeared into the crowd the moment he stepped inside. Right after entering, Cody’s face came into contact with someone’s back.

He backed up, his eyes wide. Cody bit back a smile when he discovered it was Sierra he’d run into. “Sierra!”

“Oh! Hey, Cody! Love the costume. You look soooo cute!” She slurred excitedly, before a guilty expression took over her face. “Sorry I didn’t answer your text... I promise I have a good reason this time!” she paused, “Well, you know how I’ve liked Izzy for a while?” At Sierra’s question, Cody nodded. “Look, look!”

Cody’s eyes followed Sierra’s finger as she pointed, to see an outfit almost exactly the same as hers, the only difference being that Sierra’s costume was labeled “Thing 2,” while Izzy’s had “Thing 1” written on it. The ginger was chatting away to someone, oblivious to their stares. He nodded excitedly at his best friend. “That’s awesome, Sierra! Looks like you have a chance after all!” he laughed, jabbing her in the side with his elbow, causing her to sway a little.

“Enough about me, silly! Have you seen Noah yet? He was looking for you earlierrrr...” Sierra asked a bit too loudly, clearly not sober enough to control her volume.

“He was?” Cody felt his heart flutter a bit at that, out of nervousness and excitement. “Wait. First, where are the drinks? What is the drink?” He pointed at the cup she was currently holding, filled with a red mystery drink. “Fruit punch?”

“Fruit punch is correct, Codykins! That and, hehe, something else!” Sierra giggled. She grabbed him by the wrist, startling him at first. She led him to the kitchen, where a large bowl of spiked Kool-Aid sat on the counter, a few of their ex-castmates (namely Kitty, Courtney, and Crimson) hovering around it. He raised a brow at Kitty being there, wasn’t she 18?

His attention very quickly shifted, as Sierra handed him a cup, “Thanks.”

She smiled cheesily, tapping their cups together, before running off. What was he going to do now? He hadn’t planned on immediately being abandoned by his best friend.

Maybe he’d find Noah, or the Drama Brothers, or something. His eyes fell on Kitty again, who was attempting to talk to Courtney, but was being ignored. “Kitty!” He shouted over the music, beckoning her over.

Kitty approached him, grinning. She was dressed up as a cat, but it looked pretty low-effort. A cheap cat-ear headband and nose & whiskers drawn on her face was the extent of the costume. “Omigod! Heyyy, Cody! I thought you’d neverrr show up!”

“Are you even allowed to be here?” Cody laughed, but he was genuinely curious who let her in. “You’re 18, aren’t you?”

“Emma said I could come!” Kitty pouted.

Cody gave her a skeptical look, but didn’t press further. “I’m gonna go look for Sierra–I’ll be back, though, and we can catch up. Kay?”

Kitty nodded in response and Cody took off in search of his friend. How could someone so tall and loud disappear so quickly? As he squeezed and dodged his way around the house, he squinted down at the drink in his hand. Maybe later. He had to focus on finding Sierra first. Among the crowd, he recognized Bridgette and Geoff first, making out on the couch. Typical. They were dressed as some surfer guy and a mermaid. Cody couldn’t tell if that was a reference or just a generic costume, but didn’t want to break up their makeout session to find out. 

He then saw Harold, who was dressed as Napoleon Dynamite. Honestly, he didn’t look much different than usual. Harold was chatting with a few other people, who Cody didn't recognize. Maybe it was their costumes, or maybe he just hadn’t met them before. Geoff did compete in the Ridonculous Race, so there were a ton of contestants that TD alumni wouldn’t be able to spot in a crowded room.

Cody heard a familiar voice, somehow more audible than the generic 2000s club music that was blasting. Of all people, it was Heather, who was in the arms of Alejandro. He couldn’t figure out their costumes and didn’t bother asking, since Heather appeared to be in a heated argument with Lindsay. Lindsay, dressed as Karen Smith from Mean Girls, looked confused. He wondered if Lindsay even knew what they were arguing about.

He spotted Emma, who was also in an argument. With Dakota of all people, from TDR. They were in the same costume, Elle Woods from Legally Blonde. Both equipped with their own stuffed–oh no, Dakota’s was real?–chihuahua. 

With all this fighting, Cody decided to leave before anything got physical. He scanned the room one last time, hoping to find Sierra amongst the chaos. No dice.

As he made his way back into the kitchen, he saw Kitty still trying to chat up Courtney.

 “She said that if I was going to party anyway, she’d rather me be partying with her! To keep an eye on me, ya know?” She giggled, “And I definitely was going to party anyway.” A mischievous look flashed on her face. Courtney looked unamused.

“I’m back, and I couldn’t find Sierra. By the way, how’s the party been so far?” Cody inquired, finally taking a sip from the drink in his hand. His nose scrunched up at what tasted like Kool-Aid scented hand sanitizer. The fruit punch flavor was wayyyyy overpowered by the vodka. Was Geoff insane or something, making this? Yes. Definitely.

“It gets better,” Kitty commented, taking notice of Cody’s reaction. “Or you just start ignoring it!”

“Good to know..” He took a few more sips, and what do you know, Kitty was right! The taste blended into something he could at least tolerate, a pleasant buzz invading his senses. He couldn’t tell if it was some twisted kind of Stockholm syndrome or if he really did just ‘start ignoring it’.

Kitty looked as if she was thinking about something, before her eyes lit up. “Oh, riiight! The party! It’s been good, I guess. Emma disappeared a while ago, so I’ve been, umm..” She blinked slowly, trying to form a coherent sentence. Cody drank from his cup, waiting for Kitty to continue. “Chilling, and tryna hang out with anyone who comes in here! You’re the oooonly one who’s stopped to talk this long, though.”

He found laughter came much easier in his current state. “Kitty.. I think you need to lay off the drinks! I’m surprised Emma left you alone. I actually saw her earlier, hm…” His head swayed to the side a little, thinking. He looked down to see his cup was empty. He refilled it, but kept his attention on Kitty, abandoning his previous train of thought. His eyes widened a bit, realizing how many people were actually in this house, just of which he could see! How many people were on this stupid show?! 

He suddenly felt a bit hot. He wasn’t sure if it was because he was nervous, or if it was the alcohol, or both. He’d only drank one cup, and though it was strong, surely it wasn’t enough to get him tipsy already.

A familiar model caught his eye, and Cody waved at him. “Kitty, I’m gonna go talk to Justin. Have fun, and lay off the drinks, will ya?”

“Wait!!! Let’s take a selfie first! Pleeeeease?”

“Yeah, yeah, just don’t post it or anything. I have an image to uphold for my fans! They don't know I drink.” He half-joked. Cody posed for the selfie with Kitty, showing off his gap-toothed smile. They waved goodbye to one another after Kitty texted him the picture.

Cody then made his way over to Justin, who was currently talking to Trent. “Having a Drama Brothers meeting without me and Harold, huh?”

“Yes.” Trent deadpanned.

“We would never! We’re not the Drama Brothers without the resident losers,” Justin mocked. He was responding to Cody, but his eyes were attempting to gauge Trent’s reaction. He seemed satisfied once Trent gave a small smile.

Cody held back the urge to grimace at the romantic tension this conversation was radiating. Laughing awkwardly, he refilled his cup again. He felt a bit like he was interrupting. Cody almost wished the two would get it over with and kiss already. So awkward, this was seriously hard to watch. Damn, his cup was empty again. Already? He just refilled it!

Unknowingly, Cody looked awfully stupid. While to him he was just confused, to others he was angrily staring at a cup. He looked up to see Trent squinting at him, clearly puzzled. “Dude. What did the cup do, for you to look at it like that ?”

“Uh,” Cody slurred out an explanation, “I dunno, dude. It got empty.” He frowned at the cup in his hand again.

“Have you tried…  refilling it?” Justin glared at Cody like he was stupid. He’d probably have his eyebrows raised if he wasn’t so deathly afraid of wrinkles. For a guy so hot, this expression was not the prettiest on him. Rolling his eyes, he went to refill his cup again.

Cody decided to leave those two to their antics. He refilled his drink, deciding to stay in the kitchen for easy access to the spiked punch. As he drank, he thought about what to do. Maybe he could find someone else to talk to? If anyone would talk to him! He felt like he’d nearly exhausted his options.

Gears turned slowly in his brain, until they clicked onto an idea. Noah! He hadn’t seen Noah all night, even though that’s who he had been the most excited to see! They hadn’t been able to see each other for at least a month. He nodded to himself, hoping he didn’t look insane once he realized what he was doing. He refilled his now–already–empty cup one last time for the hell of it and stumbled along to look for Noah.

Chapter Text

Noah groaned, the hard brick wall he was sitting against had been hurting his spine, but he hadn’t realized until he moved. He wasn’t sure why he was here anymore. The music was loud and the conversations were even louder. It made him queasy. He’d retreated to the basement thinking it’d help, and it did a little, but not as much as he hoped it would. Noah could still hear loud chattering and muffled music upstairs, blaring in his ears. Not only was he nauseous, but he had a slight headache.

Noah knew Cody was supposed to be at the party, him and Owen being the main reasons he’d decided to come, but Owen was busy and Cody was nowhere to be seen. He’d arrived with Emma and Kitty, still good friends with both of them after coming out, but they’d long since abandoned him. So now he was stuck to fend for himself, or hide away. Obviously he chose to hide away. He stood, feeling a flash of annoyance, kicking his empty cup into the wall opposite to him. Clearly, Cody had forgotten about him. Everyone else probably had, too. He might as well just leave since nobody bothered to talk to him, or even check on him. His skin felt like it was crawling from sitting in this dingy basement for so long, anyway.

Noah slung his “drunk people” backpack over one shoulder, wiping his hands on his pants. Jesus, it was dusty. He always brought this backpack that was full of snacks, water, etc. if he knew people were gonna be drinking. Figured if he can’t have much fun at least he can be helpful.

When he turned around, he nearly dropped his bag. Noah was practically jumpscared by some dude cosplaying as a.. What is that? A doll? He squinted at the guy, who was staring back at Noah. Noah didn’t recognize him. He thought Owen said it was only people from the Total Drama franchise? “Nooooaaaaah!” Cody sang, smiling goofily and showing off his tooth gap.

Oh! That checks out. Noah paused, “I was wondering when you’d show up.” He raised a brow, as he usually did, frowning at Cody. He wouldn’t admit it outloud, but he was very relieved to see him.

“Sorry, dude–I had to, like… ask like, four different people where you were! It was like finding Waldo, like, seriously! All you need is a red and white sweater. Hey.. maybe you should’ve dressed as him instead of… what are you supposed to be?” Cody slurred. Luckily, because Cody had a habit of talking much louder than needed, Noah was able to discern what he said.

“I’m a guy who doesn’t go to parties. Isn’t it obvious?” Noah tried to make the sarcasm evident in his tone, but apparently it wasn’t clear enough.

“But you’re just wearing your normal clothes…..”

“How drunk are you?” Noah shook his head disapprovingly. He assumed Cody was going to drink, but how much of a lightweight could he be?! The party had only been happening for a couple hours at that point. It made him a little worried.

“Only a little..maybe…” Cody snickered. “Have you been down here the whooole time?  It’s kinda dusty..” He peered into his cup, frowning at the amount left in it, and drank what was left.

“No, not the whole time. And thanks, I would’ve never noticed the dust without such an astute observation.” Noah rolled his eyes, “How much did you drink, seriously?”

“Does it matter? It’s fun! You should try it!”

“Uh huh. I have, actually.” he pointed at the cup on the ground, “It tasted terrible.”

Cody hummed, leaning against the wall, “Well, it’s not the taste that matters, dude…”

“Either way, I’d like to stay conscious, unlike you. You all are insane in my opinion,” Noah sighed, half for dramatics, half because this room was so stuffy. Cody laughed at that, and Noah couldn’t help but break into a smile. He wanted to hear him laugh again.

“It’d probably help you not be so.. like, tense? Y’know? Maybe you’d be able to let loose! You might even enjoy it!” Cody patted him on the shoulder. He smiled, jabbing the guy in the side.

“Am I getting peer pressured?” It wasn’t working. Or was it? He honestly considered getting another cup, even if the stuff did taste bad. It wasn’t like Noah was a lightweight, unlike the unapologetically wasted guy standing partially in front of him. “Whatever. Fine.”

He allowed himself to be led by Cody upstairs to the kitchen, where Cody filled two cups with a generous amount of the not-so-Kool-Aid. Noah accepted the cup when Cody offered it to him.

A loud gasp rang throughout the kitchen, causing Noah to grimace.

“Ohhhhhmy gawd!” Kitty squealed, “Cody, yer back! And you found Noaaaahhh!” Clearly, she hadn’t listened to Cody’s previous advice and continued drinking. “I’m soooo happy, he was looking for you aaaaaall night!” Kitty swayed as she talked, then started to lean on the counter for support. “Right, Noaahhss? You misses-ed Codyyy?” Her words were almost unintelligible.

He was a bit flattered, maybe even happy, to hear Cody had put effort into finding him, but more importantly he was pissed. Kitty seemed absolutely trashed. “...I’m going to text Emma to take you home.”

“Nooo! I haven’t even done anything fun yet!” Kitty whined. “I’ve just been standing in here all night!”

“I can see that.” Noah grumbled, taking his phone out of his pocket and shooting off a quick text to Emma about how drunk Kitty was. “Yeah, have fun getting yelled at on the way home.”

“You are sooo mean to me! Cody, how are you friends with such a meanie?!” She pouted, clearly upset, but not entirely serious either.

“What can I say? He’s a cool guy!” Cody slurred in response, already filling his drink again. Was he chugging them or something? He needed to slow down before he died, or worse, vomited. “Right Noah? You’re my guy!” Cody slapped him on the back, with more force than intended. Noah nearly spilled his drink on his vest.

“Cody, I’m about to call Leshawna to come take you home too, if you don’t stop. You’ve had more than enough.” Noah forced down the annoyance that came from being called Cody’s ‘guy.’ He felt like he was taking care of two children.. He took a few sips of his drink, realizing that it’d make spilling it a little less likely. He shivered at the unpleasant taste, the queasiness from before coming back.

Cody’s jaw fell, as he whipped his head around to look eye to eye with Noah,  “What?! You- You wouldn’t do that, would you?” His expression showed he was exaggerating, but his tone had actual fear laced into it.

“Normally, no. I’d only really do that if I thought you might get hurt. You’re an adult, I’m not gonna tattle on you!” Noah frowned, answering exasperatedly. He understood why Cody took him seriously, considering he had texted Emma about Kitty, but that’s different. She’s.. Well, she’s Kitty. It’s not at all the same thing. It kind of hurt that Cody thought he was serious.

Noah was going to elaborate further, but Emma walked into the kitchen, her face twisted into obvious annoyance. “Kitty, get in the car. You’re lucky I decided not to drink tonight. I told you that you could drink some , not the entire supply! …Hey, Noah. Hi, Cody. And bye.” Emma was out of breath by the time she was done talking. Cody murmured a greeting, Noah gave a small wave and an awkward smile while Emma and Kitty were on their way out.

“Poor girl. She’s definitely getting an earful on the way home,” Cody mumbled, shaking his head with fake pity.

During that whole ordeal, Noah had actually managed to finish his drink. He was buzzed before, so from that, he’d at most be mildly tipsy. He didn’t feel compelled to drink more, so he scanned the kitchen for a trash bin. As he was looking, he caught Cody reaching to fill his cup again.

 “Dude, seriously, stop!” He spat, irritated, as he stepped in front of his friend. He took the cup away from him, ignoring how their fingers brushed together for a second, “Are you trying to kill yourself?! You do know alcohol poisoning exists, right?” He didn’t care for an answer, so he didn’t wait for one. Noah threw both of their cups away, taking Cody by the arm. He took care not to accidentally grab too hard, and pulled him back towards the much quieter (and moldier) basement.

“You are soooo not fun at parties,” Cody groaned, annoyance present in his tone.

“I don’t care. You should be thanking me for not letting you accidentally kill yourself.” Noah snapped back. He let go of Cody’s arm once they were in the basement again. Noah cringed, forgetting how nasty the air felt down there. He jumped a little when he turned around to see Cody staring him down, closer than he was comfortable with.

“Dude.. is your eyebrow.. uhhhhh, stuck like that?” Cody spoke, his eyes squinted, like he was trying to see him better. He unfortunately was not aware that he had invaded Noah’s personal bubble, even though it should’ve been very obvious from the way Noah had backed up.

“What?! No! Oh my god, you’re too far gone. The alcohol has killed all your brain cells,” Noah then forcibly (with quite a bit of effort) deadpanned his face, including his eyebrows. “See? They aren’t naturally like that. That’s just how I express myself.”

“You look better when you’re noooot doing that, dude. Justin has to hate you for your overuse of your eyebrows,” Cody exclaimed, then whispered, “Did you know that it’ll give you wrinkles?”

Noah raised a brow again, returning his face to its usual skeptical expression. “I just said it’s how I express myself. I don’t care if it gives me wrinkles or makes me look worse.” He lied. He definitely was planning to check for wrinkles later. “Anyways, can you back up some? You’re too close to me, it’s making me uncomfortable.” Uncomfortable wasn’t the right word exactly. 

“Oh! Yeah, sorry! I didn’t realize,” Cody stepped back, swaying a little. He kept his gaze fixed on Noah, though, a goofy smile plastered on his face.

Noah tried to make eye contact, but Cody had been looking at him so long, he had to look away a few times. The eye contact paired with the stuffy air of the basement was not a good combination. His face felt hot. “Dude, stop staring at me. What’s your problem?”

“You’re pretty,” Cody slurred, laughing at nothing. “Sometimes I think I wanna kiss you..”

A second later, before Noah could respond, Cody’s expression fell to a heavy frown. “Shit. Wait. You’re with Emma. Awh, man…what am I saying?” He slapped his palm against his forehead.

Noah frowned, looking at the floor, “...You’re really drunk, Cody. Maybe you should go home.” He didn’t think Cody was the type to tell jokes like this?

“You- you have a girlfriend, I’m sorry, dude…”

“We broke up.”

“What?” Cody’s jaw fell similarly to how it did earlier. After a few beats of silence, he continued,, “Oh.. ohhh, fuck… I- either way, like, you.. I don’t think you like me, really, but you’re just so.. you’re funny, and so smart…and you’re so pretty, like… ugh..” Cody was getting frustrated with himself, it seemed.

“Are you joking, Cody? Be honest. If you are, then I’d like to say I don’t appreciate being told these kinds of jokes.” Noah’s gaze was still fixated on a certain spot on the floor, tapping his foot rapidly.

“I’m not!” Cody whined, “Please don’t like.. hate me... I’m serious, Noah!” It was hard to understand what he was saying. 

Noah didn’t know what to believe, or what he should say in response. He stayed silent, his lips pressed into a tight line.

“Look,  uh… Can I kiss you?’

“I don’t know, Cody. I don’t think you’re in the right state of mind for something like that.” Noah still refused to look at him, afraid of what he’d see.

Cody’s eyes welled up. “I.. I want to kiss you when I’m sober too, Noah, I’m not going to change my mind…” he sniffled, laughing sadly. “I’ve liked you since, like, Total Drama Island, man! And.. And then you went on that stupid spinoff show, and you started going out with Emma, and, like…” Noah frowned at the mention of his ex, but allowed Cody to continue. “You.. I don’t even know if you like guys or not, but I do, and I like you, Noah, and…I didn’t want it to go like this at all, but please, can I kiss you? I.. I know what I want..”

Noah’s own emotions felt anything but clear, his heart wrenching with every word that fell out of Cody's mouth. He glanced at Cody again, unable to look at his face for too long, as he tried to formulate an answer. Noah forced himself completely still, even though he wanted so badly to fidget right now. He had a bad feeling about this. Normally, he’d be much more excited to be able to kiss someone he’d liked for as long as Cody, but the setting of this, a party, with alcohol involved, just wasn’t what he’d imagined. “I-” he paused, “Okay, fine, yes, whatever, but if you regret this tomorrow.. “

Cody shuffled closer, seemingly trying his best to keep balance. “I’m not gonna. I promise.” He put his hands on Noah’s shoulders, making Noah face him. “Sorry if this is like… really bad. I’ve never kissed, like, a guy before.” Did Cody not realize kissing is the same thing with any gender? Noah normally would raise a brow at something so dumb, but he couldn’t find it in himself to care.

“Okay.” Noah felt his heart rate quicken, as Cody’s face got closer to his own. He and Emma had kissed plenty of times, but when it came to this he was frozen. Probably because it was completely different. He couldn’t say it out loud, to anyone, before they broke up, but he never really felt anything romantic with Emma. But with Cody? It was so new, so real. So intense. And he was about to kiss him. Noah felt Cody’s hand brush against his neck, and he finally allowed himself to look up. Cody was giving him a super goofy smile, and Noah felt his heart flutter. His tooth gap was adorable… Oh god. This was real. Noah closed his eyes, unable to bear eye contact any longer. He felt himself be dragged down a little, presumably so Cody could actually reach his face.

Cody had closed the distance between their faces, lightly touching his lips to Noah’s, who melted into the kiss instantly. Cody’s hands cupped his face, and he leaned in further.

Noah let himself loosen, his own slight drunkenness helping ease the tension, and hesitantly placed his hands on Cody’s waist. The muffled music from upstairs seemed to fade away, the two focusing only on each other. After a couple minutes of gentle kissing, Noah pulled away, opening his eyes.

“Did I do something? Like.. wrong?” Cody asked, his face red. His eyes were a little wet. Even so, his expression couldn’t be read as anything less than positive.

“No! No, of course not,” Noah hurried to clarify, “I just think we should stop. This isn’t exactly the place or time to talk about, um… relationship stuff?”

“Ohhh. Ohh, okay,” Cody nodded, his eyes bright and happy, “ Relationship stuff.” His tone was jokingly suggestive, reminiscent of how he used to act toward Gwen. 

And, before Noah could reply, the waterworks started up again, more intense than before. “I’m sorry, I didn’t want it to be like this, I had a whole scene thought out and everything…” He sobbed, hugging Noah tightly. 

Noah, amused, decided not to comment on how Cody had apparently been planning his confession. Instead, he said, “I didn’t expect you to be the weepy kind of drunk.” He paused for a moment, realizing that probably wasn’t what Cody wanted to hear. “It’s okay, though. Really. I’m not upset or annoyed, I’m just… kind of worried about you? You’ve drank a lot tonight, dude..” 

Noah lowered them both to the ground, sitting against the same wall as he had before. Cody kept hugging him, mostly limp aside from his arms, tightly wrapped around Noah.

“Are we in the crying part of the night now? Is that what’s happening?” Noah asked, raising an eyebrow as per usual. Cody mumbled something incoherent, snuggling up to him, sobbing still, tears likely staining Noah’s vest. 

Noah accepted the response as if it made sense. “Should I call Leshawna to take you home now? You look like you’re about to pass out. On top of me.” He thought it was sort of cute how many emotions Cody experienced so quickly. Cody mumbled again, so unintelligibly Noah wasn’t even sure he was trying to form words anymore. 

They’d talk about what happened when they were both fully sober, hopefully. At least that’s what Noah thought.

Chapter Text

Cody woke up feeling like shit. There’s no other way to describe it. For the past 30 minutes or so, he’d been blankly staring up at the popcorn ceiling of his bedroom. He was silently praying to any god that’d listen, that when he finally got up, he wouldn't vomit all over Leshawna’s carpet. The effects of last night were hitting him hard. Worst is that he had to piss, bad. He’d been putting it off for several minutes at that point.

Cody slowly sat himself up. His head pounded with every slight movement he made. “Fuuuuuckkk…” he was mentally cursing himself for every drink he had last night. 

Oh. Last night. 

Noah.

Thinking of Noah, hazy memories came to mind. Hazy, embarrassing, happy memories, that made Cody want to jump out of his skin. Did that even really happen? He wasn’t fully sure anymore. He didn’t know if he wanted them to be real or not. One one side, he got to kiss Noah. And Noah kissed him back. On the other side, Cody embarrassed himself. A lot. Did Noah even like him?

Cody stared at his hands, realizing he needed to stop overthinking if he wanted to get anything in his head sorted out. He slowly stood, mumbling curses under his breath. His brain felt like it was trying to escape his skull. He made his way to the bathroom.

Once done with that, he stepped into the living room. Empty. Neither Harold nor Leshawna were home. He checked the kitchen for evidence of the couple, and sure enough he found some. Just regular stuff, of where they’d eaten and prepared breakfast. Which he missed. It was nearly 2 in the afternoon, which he hadn’t realized until now.

Cody frowned, his stomach grumbling. He figured he should try to find something to eat. Preferably something he didn’t have to cook. Cody had a knack for burning down kitchens. That’s partly why his main job of household maintenance was dishes and cleaning.

After rummaging through cabinets for a good 5 minutes, he finally found something that didn’t make his stomach churn unpleasantly just thinking about it. Cereal! It was perfect.

He poured himself a bowl, opting to leave it dry because milk would likely make him throw up. Milk, especially full fat, sounded nauseating mixed with his current hangover.

As he was eating, his phone buzzed repeatedly on the table. He picked it up and squinted.

“Incoming call: Sierra 😬😬😬”

What was she calling about? Had she been trying to reach him before, or did she just somehow know he was finally awake? Whatever, it wasn’t important right now. He accepted the call and pressed the speaker button. Cody thought that anyone who didn’t call on speaker was insane.

“Codyyyyyy! So, how was the party?! Did you end up finding Noah? I didn’t see you at all after I left you in the kitchen!”

“Hi, Sierra–Uh, yeah, I.. I found him, yeah. He was in the basement. I sort of just hung out with him and Kitty all night.” He hesitated telling her at all. He knew she could get a bit…possessive when it came to these sorts of things. It wasn’t like she was still in love with him, but she did see him as still ‘hers’ in some way, though it was a lot more toned down than when they met.

“There’s something you’re not telling me, Cody… I can hear it in your tone…”

“You promise not to tell anyone? Especially not your Total Drama gossip blogs. This is serious.”

“I promise, Codykins!”

“Okay… Well, uh..” He paused, trying to find the right words. “I kind of…got really drunk and told Noah I like him… And we kissed…”

“ What?! And you didn’t start with that?! That’s insane!” She was surprisingly supportive for once, and Cody thought it might have something to do with Izzy.

“I know! What am I gonna do now? Am I supposed to just continue as normal?”

“Well, what do you want to do?”

“I… Kinda just want to pretend it never happened.” He paused his cereal eating as the conversation got more serious.

“And miss this perfect chance to be with Noah?! God, Cody, what’s your problem? I raised you better than this!” She was getting way too worked up, in Cody’s opinion.

“I know, Sierra, I know, but what am I supposed to do? He thought I was joking at first!”

“But does he like you BACK?”

“I–I think so? He let me kiss him…so I don’t think he doesn’t like me…”

“Cody! Are you stupid?! It’s Noah we’re talking about here! Do you think he’d let you kiss him if he wasn’t practically in love with you?” She shrieked from the other line.

“Sierra, can you stop screaming? My head is pounding.. seriously.”

“Ugh, sorry Codykins. I didn’t mean to get so…. intense.”
“I know,” He frowned, “Just try to tone it down some, kay? I’m having one hell of a hangover. Ugh- I embarrassed myself so hard at the party! He probably thinks I’m some annoying man-child who can’t take care of himself.”

“ Jeeeeeeez! Cody, you need to stop being mean to yourself! You’re being mean to Noah too, assuming he feels this and that. How about you ask him!”

“..Yyyeah, there’s no way I’m doing that. I don’t think I should ever talk to him again!” 

“ WHAT? ” She said it so loudly, it hurt Cody’s ears. He thought he might go deaf, being friends with this girl.

“You weren’t there, but, like, I messed up bad , Sierra!” He shook his head like she could see him, “I had my entire confession planned out, and nothing went how I wanted it to!” he paused. Cody’s vision became blurry as he felt tears welling up, causing his head to pound harder, “I just- Ugh. I don’t know. I’m mad at myself. And he has a girlfriend, Sierra! I don’t wanna be a fucking homewrecker!” He groaned. He felt so guilty, and he couldn’t do anything about it.

Emma was going to kill him. Who was he kidding? No she wouldn’t. She was mean, but she wasn’t the murdery type. She would hate him.

Shit, he didn’t want her to hate him.

“Cody, do you want me to come over? We can talk about it some more?”

“I don’t think Leshawna and Harold would be happy about that, you being in their house and all... So I don’t think you can, sorry, but thank you anyways,” As much as he wanted to be comforted, he didn’t think he deserved it. After what happened at the party? Of course not. He needed to apologize to Emma, or Noah, or someone!

“I think you should, y’know–”

Cody hung up before she could finish, nausea hitting him suddenly. He slapped a hand over his mouth, feeling a mix of bile and cereal rising in his throat. Before, it was a constant dull pain, however, this was aggressive, and hit him all at once . He rushed to the kitchen sink, just barely making it before starting to throw up. It wasn’t pretty, and it sure didn’t feel pretty either. And just as it finally ended, Cody spitting out bile, he heard the front door open out in the living room.

“ COOOODYYYYY!! ” Harold sang, kicking the door wide, before closing it behind himself. Cody could hear him walking around the living room. “Cody?”
“Here..” Cody groaned, still hovering over the sink. He turned around slowly, and slumped down to the cold floor, the counter against his back. The coolness of it helped him feel a little better.

Harold took a long look at his friend, “What happened here? It smells... Oh. You made it smell. Jeez, dude, why didn’t you drink some water or something ? Maybe then you wouldn’t have blown chunks all up in my girl’s sink.”  Harold grimaced, holding his nose closed. “Dude. Please don’t make me clean that.”

“I didn’t intend to.. God. ” Cody grumbled, “You’re always just sooo sweet to me Harold!” He remarked sarcastically.

“Cool it with the sarcasm, GOSH. That’s Noah’s job, not yours!” Harold waggled his finger at him, shaking his head like a disappointed parent.

“Whatever dude. Go be a nerd elsewhere.”

“That’s real rich, coming from you, man! Have you tried.. maybe not drinking so much, when you know you’re a lightweight?” Harold would have been raising a good point, if it weren’t for the fact that Cody did not know. Sure, he would drink a bit at parties in the past, but only enough to get slightly tipsy. That night was the first time he really drank. 

Cody sighed and attempted to pull himself up off the floor. Harold helped him up, pulling his arm. After Cody was able to stand, Harold poured him a glass of water.

“You should really lie down or something, dude. You’re really pale. Be sure to clean my queen’s sink though, or no more Mr. Nice Guy.” He cracked his knuckles. Cody couldn’t tell if he was joking or not. He sounded serious, but you could never really tell when it came to Harold. Dude was like a living bit.

Chapter Text

Cody woke up to loud chattering from downstairs, which he didn’t mind. He much preferred it to waking up to an empty house, like yesterday. He also felt fine now, which was awesome. The hangover from before had completely subsided while he slept.

Once he was done getting ready for the day, he exited his room.

“Hey man! You left your phone down here last night, on the kitchen table.” Harold swung Cody’s phone in his hand. “Someone called you like, four times. Probably should check who it was!”

Cody snatched his phone from him, “What is with you and taking my phone?”

“What is with you and leaving or dropping your phone at random places?” Harold laughed, sitting back down at the table. He and Leshawna appeared to have just finished eating breakfast.

Cody poured himself a bowl of cereal, not skipping the milk this time. Just because it would’ve made him sick yesterday, doesn’t mean it’d make him sick any other time!

After his food was prepared, he sat down with Leshawna and Harold. He listened to them chat about random stuff as he ate.

“I heard you and Noah were at the party together,” Leshawna suddenly said. Cody looked up, and she was looking back at him. She smiled.

“Uuuuh.. yeah. He wanted a friend with him. He’s not exactly the partying type, if you haven’t noticed.” Cody laughed.

“Well, how’d it go?”
“Fine? Normal? I don’t know. I’d honestly not really like to talk about it, sorry..” Cody smiled sheepishly, focusing his gaze back on his cereal.

“He threw up!” Harold chimed in, “Yesterday afternoon. It was really gross.”

“Harold, baby, he’s eating. Stop with the vom talk.” Leshawna sighed, placing a hand on Harold’s shoulder. After Harold shut his mouth, she turned her attention back to Cody. “I ain’t gonna force you to talk.. But I’m assuming it didn't go well since you said that . I’m good at giving advice, y’know.”

Cory mixed his cereal around in his bowl, thinking. “Well..” he sat his spoon down, “It didn’t go badly, per se. I think I messed up, though. Well.. we kinda kissed,” Leshawn’s eyebrows raised, “But he has a girlfriend, Emma, remember?”

Leshawna nodded slowly and sucked her teeth,  “I do remember him having a girlfriend, yeah. He kissed you back?” Cody nodded, waiting for her to continue. “Okay, well, have you considered that maybe they aren’t dating anymore? That, or Noah kissed you while having a girlfriend. I don’t think you’d be the main issue if that’s what happened.”

Cody didn’t reply, thinking the information over in his head. Leshawna was right. He opened his mouth to say something, when his phone rang. Cody grabbed his phone, glancing at the contact name. Of course, it was the current subject of conversation, “ Noah 😵💫” . He accepted the call, rushing to his room. Once he flopped on his bed, he put Noah on speaker.

“Hey, Noah! What’s up, man?” 

“Hey, Cody. I’m so glad you finally answered. You had me worried. I called you a few times last night.”
“Oh, sorry, dude. I accidentally left my phone downstairs before I went to sleep.”

“It’s fine, doesn’t matter. Would you want to hang out with me and Owen today?”

“Uh.. sure! It’s been a while since we all hung out. When?” Cody choked on his words a bit, struggling to say sure properly.

“Mhm. I’m thinking maybe in an hour and a half? I’ll come pick you up. Wouldn’t want you to drive!” Noah laughed.

“Yeah, of course. I’ll see you soon. Text me when you’re on your way.” Cody said, hanging up after hearing a confirmation. His chest felt tight. He was so nervous to see Noah, but Owen being there was sure to help. Surely they weren’t going to talk about anything serious with Owen there to hear it?

Cody looked down at  his outfit, suddenly feeling a bit self-conscious of it. “I should change,” he mumbled, looking at his ratty jeans that were probably about half his age. He gathered clothes that he thought would make him seem put together. He shaved his face, he hadn’t done it in a few days so he had needed to. He put his outfit together, and stood in front of his mirror, making sure he looked at least decent. Then with not much else to do, he went and did the household  dishes. After that disaster of a pastime, Cody checked his phone. 10 minutes before the time Noah said he’d pick him up.

Oh well, he’d just play Subway Surfers…

Chapter Text

After he’d died for the fifth time, he heard shouting from downstairs. “Cody! There’s a car honkin’ outside!” It was Leshawna.

“Oh,  shit.” Cody mumbled, “I’m coming!” he yelled in response to Leshawna. He got up so quick his vision turned a little black around the edges. Ignoring it, he rushed to grab his phone, phone  charger, and earbuds, before then practically running down the stairs.

Cody opened the front door, and sure enough, he recognized Noah’s shitty Ford parked in the driveway.

“Get in the back! Owen couldn't fit back there, so he’s got shotgun. Sorry!” Noah called to him, Cody’s heart beating ever so slightly faster from seeing him again.

Cody hopped in the back seat behind Noah, quickly putting on his seatbelt. “Hey guys!” He greeted them, showing off his tooth gap with a smile.

“Hey Codester! I thought you must’ve not survived the party, honestly.”  Owen chuckled, getting Cody to laugh with him. Noah didn’t acknowledge him, but he seemed to be focused on trying not to back into anything, so Cody took no offense.

“So likeee, did  you guys have any specific thing you wanted to do?” Cody inquired. He was nervous since Noah didn’t actually tell him if there were plans, or if it was just casual, or what!

“No, not really. We’ll probably play some games or something? We have a really cool gaming setup, and a ps5. We also have an Xbox 360...” Owen rambled about the different consoles they had, and they had a lot. Seems like Owen was excited for the chance to show them all off. Cody nodded along. He always got along with Owen pretty well, but then again, he didn’t know anyone who didn’t.

After a few minutes had passed, Noah slowly pulled into the driveway of he and Owen’s house. It was a bit wider than Leshawna and Harold’s place, but it was shorter too. They all got out of the car, and Noah opened the door for Cody. Cody mumbled a thanks, following the two into the house.

Once inside, Cody was hit with the smell of cinnamon. It was nice, but a bit nauseating at the same time. The colors of their home were mainly beiges and browns, radiating a cozy atmosphere that he could appreciate. Noah and Cody’s eyes met for a moment, and they held eye contact until Noah looked away. Weird! Cody’s face felt a bit warmer than before. He has a girlfriend.

“You guys want to play Minecraft?” Owen’s voice echoed in the mostly empty hallway. Cody and Noah both nodded, and Cody followed the two as they basically bolted across the house. Cody assumed they were heading towards maybe a gaming room? He wasn’t even sure if that was a thing.

Turns out they were walking towards Noah’s room.

“We play games in here since it’s bigger,” Owen explained at Cody’s confused expression.

“Ohhh, okay. Aren’t only two people able to play at once? I mean, without Xbox live…”

“Yep. That’s what that’s for.” Owen pointed to a very obviously shitty television that sat on the floor, a few feet away from the stand that had the other (much nicer,) TV atop it. “Don't worry, I’ll use the old thing. It’s my favorite, so nostalgic!” The big guy chuckled.

Cody laughed nervously. He wasn’t very comfortable, for obvious reasons, but he hoped the game would help ease his nerves some.

While Noah and Owen were setting up the game, Cody spent that time looking around Noah’s room. He was impressed at the size of a bookshelf Noah had opposite of his twin bed, it nearly covered the entire wall. Over his bed was a poster that Cody thought stood out a bit much compared to the earthly tones of the rest of his room.

It was a bright blue poster with two clouds, one atop the other. One was black with white text that read, “ OKAY ?” while the other was white with black text that read “ OKAY .” Kinda cringe. Moving on, gold caught his eye. On a shelf had a few spelling bee trophies and medals. This  was not surprising at all. Noah seemed the type, in Cody’s opinion. He smiled to himself, hiding  it with his hand.

“Cody, we’re set up.” Noah said, breaking Cody’s train of thought. He turned to face Noah, taking the controller he had been offering to him. “You can sit next to me, since we are going to be using the same screen, and so you won’t get squished between me and Owen.”

Cody nodded, giving a tight lipped smile. Owen was sitting on the floor, his back leaning against Noah’s bed frame, on the most right side of the room. Noah followed suit, sitting on Owen’s left, with a considerable amount of space between them. Then finally, Cody sat on Noah’s left. Noah seemed to almost scoot closer to him, the space between them much smaller in comparison, their knees almost touching now. He didn’t know if that was intentional or not, but he didn’t mind either way.

Noah was so close to him, Cody couldn’t help but stare a bit, studying his features. God, he was so pretty. His eyelashes were so long and like.. wispy, and his eyes were the most perfect shade of brown, and they fit his face perfectly. His cheekbones were defined in a way that made Cody want to trace his fingers on them, and the way his hair framed his face made him look so beautiful.

The only time they’d really been anywhere near this close before was when they kissed, otherwise Noah needed quite a lot of personal space. Right now, he had to admit, he wanted to kiss him again.

He has a girlfriend.

Coming to his senses, Cody frowned, snapping out of.. whatever that was. He turned his attention to the game finally.

Chapter Text

Noah was laughing way too hard, using Cody’s shoulder as support so he didn’t face plant onto the floor. Owen was basically on the verge of tears, his head buried in his hands as his controller was tossed behind him.

“You- you fucking died, in hardcore , because you put a bed in the nether. Oh my god, Owen. Who raised you? Stop. I’m gonna die ,” he could barely get the words out, Noah’s stomach hurting from the laughter.

“A month. A month of progress is gone.”

“Maybe you should’ve been in the world with me and Cody, like I told you to!” Noah sighed, his laughter subsiding finally. It hurt him to breathe.

“Yeah, Owen! I thought you said you were good at this game?” Cody remarked, making Noah start laughing again for a short bit. Somewhere in all the laughing, Owen had joined in. He laughed with them, apparently done mourning his month of wasted progress.

Noah leaned over, patting Owen on the shoulder. “Sorry, buddy. I’ll help you remake it this week.” he reassured, causing Owen to smile.
“I love ya, little buddy!” Owen cried, enveloping Noah in a far too tight hug, squeezing what oxygen he had left in him out. Noah patted his arm softly in reply, seeing as he couldn't move anything else.

Owen eventually released him, causing Noah to fall back where he had been sitting with an audible ‘oof.’ Cody laughed at this, causing his knee to touch Noah’s. Their hands were so close. All he’d need to do to hold his hand was move the smallest amount.

Jeez, how touch starved did a guy have to be for that to make him this flustered? Noah’s face was entirely red, and he could feel the warmth in his cheeks too. They didn’t even touch hands, just their knees!

In the corner of his eye, Noah could see his buddy seemingly standing up.

“I’m gonna leave you two alone.” Owen said, halfway out the door already. He winked at Noah, who ignored him.

“What does he mean?” Cody asked, turning to face Noah, who quickly reset his expression.

“Sorry, I told him about what happened at the party.” Noah explained, shrugging. Owen was far too good at embarrassing him, but he’d get back at him later.

“Right. The party.” Cody nodded. “...What happened at the party, if you don’t mind reminding me?” he smiled sheepishly.

Noah’s face fell completely flat. God, he knew this would happen. Idiot. “..You’re kidding, right?”

“Uhh, nope. Completely serious. It’s all blurry.” Noah could tell Cody was lying through his teeth. He wasn’t stupid. This was irritating.

“You’re lying. I know you’re lying. It’s okay if you don’t want to talk about it right now, but you don’t have to lie like that.” Noah crossed his arms, hugging his knees to his body.

“I just… I didn’t know how to bring it up. I thought if I didn’t say anything, neither would you. Guess not?” Cody’s gaze was fixed on Noah’s face, making Noah uncomfortable. Cody had said he wouldn’t regret kissing him. Liar.

“Cody, we have to talk about this. We can’t really continue as normal after what happened.” Noah snapped, carelessly letting the hurt slip into his voice.

“...I know. Um, I’m sorry for everything I said at the party. I did mean it, but I know you and Emma-”

“We broke up. I told you that already.” he interrupted, exasperated.

“Shit, really?” Cody paused, his eyes widening. “I genuinely didn’t remember you saying that, I’m so sorry.”

“You wanna know why I broke up with Emma?”

Cody nodded.

“I-” Noah paused, trying to formulate the words he wanted to say. “I did it because I like you. I… I love you, Cody. God damn it, you think I’d let you kiss me like that if I didn’t?” Noah turned towards Cody fully.

Cody’s mouth hung open. He sat in silence for a moment, before he hesitantly asked, “...Can I do it again?” 

Noah hesitated, just slightly, doubt creeping in, “Are you sure you like me?”

“Dude, I’m literally in love with you.”

“Then yes. You may.”

Cody reached out, cupping Noah’s cheek. Noah’s heart stuttered, his breath catching as he leaned in, connecting their lips. The feeling of Cody’s mouth on his was so much, this was so much. It was almost overwhelming. Every movement was slow, yet it felt like everything was moving so fast. Noah found that his hands gravitated to Cody’s shoulders, pulling him closer. Cody pulled away shortly after.

“This is hurting,” He explained, breathless, and Noah agreed. The hard floor didn’t feel very nice, and he was sure the bed frame behind Cody had probably been digging into his back.

“Let’s move, then.” Noah offered, grabbing Cody’s hand. He pulled him up, and the pair moved to sit on his bed.

This time, Noah followed Cody’s lead, pressing their lips together once more. It was different from the party, which had been quite the drunken mess. It was just the two of them this time. There was no dark, dingy basement with party noise drumming in their ears. This felt so much more in control, more comfortable, more personal, and definitely less moldy.

Cody’s arms snaked around Noah’s waist, turning so he could gently push Noah downwards so they were laying instead of sitting. He pulled away, hovering over Noah momentarily, watching his face. He smiled, his tooth gap showing. “You’re pretty.”

Noah opened his mouth to respond, but Cody cut him off, continuing the kiss again. Noah was a bit surprised at first, but closed his eyes, going with it. His hands moved, one to Cody’s hair, while the other moved to rest on his shoulder.

Cody’s hand moved to Noah’s face once again, his other moving to Noah’s waist. The kiss intensified, slowly getting more heated, until Cody attempted to slip his tongue into Noah’s mouth. Noah figured that’d be a bit far, considering they hadn’t even established a relationship yet. He pushed Cody away slightly, opening his eyes. Wow. Cody’s face was red .

“Umm. I think.. That’s enough for today?” It came off as more of a question than intended. It wasn’t as if he didn’t want it to go further, but just not right then. It was too soon, wasn’t it?

“Oh–yeah, yeah, right. Sorry, that was too much,”

“It’s okay, just… Not yet, you know what I mean?” Noah reassured, smiling sweetly up at him.

“Yeah, uhm-” Cody backed up, careful not to accidentally touch Noah, backing off the bed. He stood idly in the middle of the room, “So…”

“So?” Noah sat up, taking a second to smooth his hair back to normal.

“Are we, like, a thing now, or…”Cody scratched his head, messing up his own hair further. He looked like he got electrocuted. Cute.

Noah blinked at him. “Uh, yeah. Considering we just made out on my bed, I’d hope so. Although I’d like to be more than a thing . I’m not a fan of.. situationships.”

He’d watched too many of his friends get heartbroken over their ‘situationships’ refusing to commit to an actual relationship. He didn’t want to go through that, especially not with Cody.

“Does that mean you wanna be my boyfriend?” Cody cheesed, his smile audible in his tone. Nerd.

“I love you. Why would I not want to be your boyfriend?” Noah rolled his eyes, a big smile on his face. “Get real,” he teased. His heart was racing, overjoyed. If he were alone right now he’d think about running around, if he felt like it.

“Can I kiss you? As your boyfriend this time?”

“Don’t get too crazy now.”

Chapter Text

A few days had passed since Noah and Cody had officially started dating. Not much had changed so far, aside from them hanging out more. And the glances, and the kissing, and the “I love you”s…

Okay, so a lot had changed. It felt almost unreal to Cody, finally being able to be with Noah, after loving him for nearly four years.

Cody waved goodbye to Owen, as he got out of his car. The three of them had been hanging out for the past day and a half, but now Cody needed to go home, hence why Owen was dropping him off. Noah had been too tired, he needed a nap. Loser!

Cody unlocked the door to Leshawna’s house, entering quietly. He didn’t have a real reason to try and be quiet, considering it was around 10am(meaning no one would be asleep,) but he always did so.

He was surprised to find Leshawna and Harold both home, cuddling on the couch.They seemed to be watching a movie together.

“Cody! My man!” Harold called, pausing the tv. “I was just thinking of texting you to come home.” Harold seemed very smiley, much more than usual. So did Leshawna. It was contagious, honestly, causing Cody to smile back to the pair naturally.

“Hey!  Sorry, I was at Owen and Noah’s.”

“We have big news, bro. Check out Leshawna’s rock.” Harold gleamed, grabbing her hand. He lifted it, so Cody could see the ring on her finger. His jaw dropped.

“Oh- Oh my god! You got engaged?” Cody’s smile grew even bigger. “Congrats! Oh my god!” He grabbed Leshawna’s hand, jumping up and down excitedly.

“He popped the question yesterday! I didn’t expect it for a million years!  Obviously, I said yes,” Leshawna told Cody, laughing.

The next couple of hours were spent quickly, Harold and Leshawna recounting their plans and what had happened to their friend. Once they’d finished, Leshawna and Harold had returned to their previous positions on the couch, finishing their movie.

Cody laid on his bed, thinking. He felt like he shouldn’t live there anymore. He really appreciated the couple for putting up with him for the past six months, but now that they were engaged, he didn’t want to put a damper on them starting their lives together.

Should he get his own place? Definitely, eventually, but he didn’t have the money for that right now. He didn’t have a car either. Fuck.

It’s fine. One of his friends would probably let him stay with them for a few days, or at least he  hoped so. The question was who? There was Sierra, Noah/Owen, urgh definitely not Justin, maybe (although she’d never admit they were friends) Heather, maybe Trent, although that’d be uncomfortable…. He pondered over the options in his head.

Cody didn’t think he'd be able to handle staying with Sierra, as much as he hated to admit it. She was his best friend, and he loved her to death, but he couldn’t just forget all the things she did to him. She’s better now, but he just.. No way.

Noah and Owen were an okay option to stay with, and it sounded nice, but he had just come back from staying there last night. He didn’t want to take all of their time..

Trent wasn’t even an option, really. Cody got along with him and all, but the dude was kind of crazy. Great musician, though. Also, he was pretty sure Trent did hold a grudge against him for how he acted towards Gwen during Total Drama. Fair enough.

Heather was undeniably the best option, as strange as that sounded. She and Cody had gotten pretty close during World Tour, although they hadn’t talked much since. They did have the type of friendship that remained unchanged, no matter how much time went between them speaking, fortunately for him.

Anyways, this would be a temporary fix while he decided where he should move. With that in mind, he texted Heather, asking her about his plan.

Cody: heyyy i got a question …

Heather: What did u do now

Cody: omg nothing

Cody: i have to move out of leshawna & harolds place

Heather: R they kicking u out?

Cody: no… but basically yes

Heather: Wtf does that mean

Cody: can i move in with u until i get my own apartment or something

Heather: Jfc come over this is not a text convo

Cody: I DONT HAVE A CAR

Heather: I’M OMW 

Heather’s car pulled up about 20 minutes later, honking incessantly until Cody scrambled out the front door. He rushed along the driveway, stopping abruptly in front of Heather’s passenger side door and climbed in.

“Heyy!”

“First things first, why are they kicking you out?” She pulled out of the driveway, side-eyeing Cody as she switched gear. (idk how to drivebro)

“Well, they aren’t actually kicking me out…” He smiled awkwardly.

“What does that mean, Cody?!”

“Uh… Something big is happening, and-” He started, only to be cut off by the car coming to an abrupt stop.

“SHE’S PREGNANT?!” Heather turned to him, her eyes wide.

“NO!” Cody’s eyes were wide now too, holding onto his seat belt tightly. Thank god he remembered to put it on. “They’re getting engaged . God, Heather!”

“Did they say you had to leave?” Heather seemed to calm down a bit from Cody’s explanation, resuming driving.

“No, I don’t think they’d ask me to leave. I just.. I don’t want to stop them from progressing y’know? Like, they’re engaged! They’re gonna get married! Wouldn’t it be weird for them to still have a roommate? ”

Heather went quiet, possibly thinking. 

“...Wanna get Starbucks?” She finally said, after the car had been in silence for a good few minutes.

“What?” Cody had been deep in thought. It took him a moment to register what she’d said. When he had, he said, “Yeah, sure.”

Heather nodded, and after a while of driving in silence, they pulled into the Starbucks drive through. “What do you want?”

“Cotton candy frappuccino. Cotton candy frappuccino!” He pleaded, suddenly wild-eyed. Anything sweet had a tendency to make him a bit feral, which could be embarrassing at times. Usually he didn’t care, because he would have candy. That was more important. 

Well, at the moment, at least.
Heather side-eyed him as she pulled up to the speaker, but didn’t say anything. She ordered a grande cotton candy frappuccino for Cody, and a venti pumpkin spice latte (hot) for herself.

Once they’d received their drinks, Heather took a sip of hers. She seemed calmer almost immediately. Guess she hadn’t had coffee today?

Cody took a sip of his, finding it was well made today. It even tasted a little sweeter than normal, which in his eyes made it even better. He wasn’t the type to drink coffee regularly, if this could even be called coffee, but it was nice as an occasional treat.

Heather set her drink down, turning out of the Starbucks and onto the main road. Her house was 15 minutes, give or take, away from Leshawna and Harold’s, but it felt like hours. Maybe it was the silence of the car ride. There was generic pop music softly playing from the speakers, but it didn’t do much besides provide ambience.

Chapter Text

They soon pulled into a driveway, which Cody assumed was Heather’s. His drink had been gone for.. most of the ride.

Neither said much as Cody followed Heather inside. He’d never been in here before, really. In the times they’d talked, it was mostly at group events, not their homes.

Cody immediately plopped down on their fancy looking leather couch as Heather sat her stuff down. He looked around, noting something was missing. “Where’s Al? You guys live together, right?”

“He’s in the shower. You probably won’t see him for a while. Takes an hour at least, then has a three-hour beauty routine. So vain, right?” Heather turned around to face Cody now, crossing her arms.

“Yeahhh..” Cody didn’t mention the fact he thought Heather was definitely more vain than  Alejandro, but he thought about it. They were perfect for each other.

“So, why do you want to move in with me of all people?” Heather squinted at him.

“Ah, well. I didn’t have very many options, ya know? I’m not really close with many people from the show these days.” Cody tilted his head to the side a bit. He was enjoying how comfortable this couch was.

“What about Sierra?”

“Err.. no.” He chose not to elaborate.

“Your boy band?”

“I don’t wanna be a third wheel…” No way would he ever live with Justin or Trent..

“Owen and Noah?”

“Yeah, we’ll get back to that–”

“Don’t you have friends outside Total Drama?”

“...No.” He used to!

“Oh!” Heather didn’t seem to know what to say after that. She thought for a moment, eventually talking again, “I guess it makes sense why you’re asking me, then. But, why not Owen and Noah? Mind explaining? I thought you were pretty close to them both.”

“Uhh, well…” He paused, “So…”

“Spit it out!” Heather seemed to be getting pretty impatient with this conversation.

“I’m actually kind of… Dating Noah now?” Cody wasn’t sure if he should have told her that,  knowing her.

“What?!” Her jaw dropped.

“Yeah–”

“And you didn’t think to tell me before?!”

“Well, it’s not like we talk about this stuff!” 

“You gotta tell the whole story now. You can’t just drop this information and move on! I thought Noah was into WOMEN!”

Noah into women. Haha, funny. Aside from that, she hadn’t answered his original question. “Okay, but first, can I stay here or not? You never actually–”

“Yes! Fine! But only for a few months. Can’t live here forever!” 

Cody was starting to get really annoyed with her continuing to butt in while he was talking. “Stop cutting me off–”

“You didn’t bring your stuff, did you? Get back in the car.” Heather interrupted, AGAIN.

“Okay…”

Cody got along with Heather, and she was really helping him out right now, but man he could see why everyone hated her. He got up off the wonderful couch, even though he didn’t want to, following her outside again.

A couple hours later, they pulled back into heather’s driveway. Cody was most excited to be able to sit on their fancy couch again.

Before he could even do so, however, Heather reminded him he needed to get everything. Can’t a guy relax for a second? It didn’t help that Alejandro was too close to the guest room for Cody’s liking, standing in the hallway. He appeared to be posing at.. nothing?? Deciding to ignore him, Cody began his many trips of bringing his shit inside.

Cody eventually gathered his bags in the designated guest room. He half sighed, half groaned, not looking forward to unpacking. Maybe he should consider getting rid of some of his clothes.. He did own like 4 copies of the same shirt, after all.

Once he settled everything, he made his way out into the living room, where Heather and Alejandro appeared to be.. um, making out. Ew! He didn’t want to be rude, considering Heather was being nice enough to let him stay with them, but he’d rather die than let that continue.

Cody gagged dramatically, hoping that’d be enough to tip them off that they weren’t alone. “Guys. Sorry to interrupt, but it’d be nice if you would get a room. I think we’d all be much more comfortable that way.”

Heather quickly moved away from Alejandro, embarrassed. “Cody, weren’t you gonna tell me about how you and Noah got together?” Changing the subject. Thank god.

Alejandro’s face turned into one of absolute shock. It almost looked sarcastic, but Cody knew that was just how the guy’s face worked. “Got together? Mi pequeño amigo, you and Noah? ”

“Uh, yeah.. So.. Remember the Halloween party? I kinda got drunk and kissed him… Uh.. And then a couple days later we kissed again , and long story short, he’s my boyfriend now.” Cody rushed through the story, a bit too tired to go into further detail.

“I knew Noah was a bit flamboyant-” Alejandro started, and Heather slapped him on the shoulder. He frowned, looking like he was gonna say more, but Heather started talking instead.

“That’s it?! That’s all?! Wait, what–You kissed him at the party? When?!” Heather demanded, her eyes gleaming with curiosity. Who knew she could be such a gossip? Oh, right. Everybody does.

“Ah, uh…Well, we were in the basement… I think it was a few hours after it had started?” Cody’s memories were pretty fuzzy at the details, considering at the time he was not exactly sober, to say the least.

“The basement ? How scandalous!” Heather joked, “Why there of all places?”
“Noah was already down there. Probably ‘cause all the noise.” Cody shrugged. He didn’t remember, really. “It took me searching for him for ages before someone told me where he was.” Talking about Noah so much made Cody want to talk to him again, but he decided against it, considering he’d just come from his house earlier. Maybe he’d text him later. Right now, however, he was extremely tired. And he needed to start getting his belongings sorted…

“I’m gonna go start unpacking.”

A few minutes later, Cody threw himself face first onto the bed. It wasn’t the most comfortable thing he’d ever laid on, but it definitely wasn’t uncomfortable, per se.

Cody awoke to his phone vibrating incessantly next to his head. He picked it up, blinking to clear his vision. Sierra? What was she doing, calling him at.. 10pm?! Holy shit. He hadn’t meant to fall asleep, especially not for like 6 hours! He then answered it, putting the call on speaker. He  placed it back next to his head, so he could stare at the ceiling as he talked.

“Codyyyy! I was checking the security cameras I have in your house, and you’re nowhere to be found! Are you sleeping over at Noah’s again?”

“Ha…yeah… about that…” Security cameras? He honestly was not surprised.

“I don’t like your tone.”

“I moved in with Heather.”

“WITH HEATHER? AND ALEJANDRO?” Sierra exclaimed far too loudly for Cody’s poor ears.

“Well.. Heather’s nice to me sometimes?” 

“So is Gwen, were you gonna move in with HER?” Sierra’s arguments had quite the way of  reminding Cody of when he was, like, 10.

“...No…” That’s sooo different.

“Then why did you move in with Heather?! ”

“...I didn't have very many options, Sierra!”
“What about me, Codykins?”
“Respectfully, I would never live with you.”

“I understand… but why Heather? Too soon to move in with the wife?” Sierra inquired, teasing partially.

“Yeah, and also he lives with Owen.”

“Oh yeah… Guess that would interfere with marital activities–”

“SIERRA, GROSS!” Cody groaned, turning away from his phone. “I’m gonna hang up on you, seriously.”
“ Codyyy, ” she whined, “don’t hang up on me, please. I’m just worried. Heather is mean , and manipulative, and I don’t want her to bully you or something!”
“I think she’s mostly grown out of that. She’s not like.. a highschool bully or something anymore. I think. Plus, Alejandro is wayyy more manipulative than her. Not sure why she’s the one you’re worried about.”

“But they got you voted offfff!”

“Yeah, because–was I supposed to win? Against Al and Heather?” Like he ever would have! Alejandro and Heather were the type of people who win. Cody wasn’t. That’s just how it goes.

“Ugh! I should have never gone bald!”

“That’s your takeaway?” he sighed, turning back to face his phone again. “Yeah, uh, I’m going to bed. Catch up tomorrow?”

“Fine…Goodnight, Codykins!”
“Goodnight.”

With that, he hung up, and was quick to sleep.

Chapter Text

Noah, Owen, and Cody had all been in the living room for the past few hours. For the majority of the day since Cody arrived, they’d all played games or talked, but now everyone was getting pretty tired as it approached 8:45pm.

Owen was sprawled out on the wider side of their L shaped couch, clearly fighting sleep. Meanwhile, the other two were sitting on the longer side. Noah was squashed between the couch and Cody, while Cody fought not to fall, halfway pushed off of it. Although this wasn’t the most comfortable position for either of them, they didn’t move, watching videos on Cody’s phone. They could’ve just used the TV, but Noah enjoyed the closeness, so he didn’t mention it.

“I gotta pee. Here,” Cody handed his phone to Noah so he could keep watching. He didn’t respond verbally, but he did accept the device, his attention quickly zeroing back in on it.

After a few seconds or so, Noah felt a buzzing in his pocket. He paused Cody’s video, fishing his own phone out.

Multiple texts…from Heather ?! This came off as extremely strange to him. They’d never texted before, and Noah was not exactly a fan of her, to say the least, so this seemingly came out of nowhere. He didn’t have text previews on either, so he had to tap the notifications to see what she’d said.

Heather: Hey loser

Heather: Cody told me u two r dating now

Heather: Is this true

Heather: VERY important

Cody did what ?

Noah felt his stomach drop, suddenly nauseous.

Oh.

His phone buzzed again, and then again, as Cody walked back in the room.

Heather: U have read receipts on loser
Heather: Answr

Noah clicked his phone off, choosing to ignore her. Maybe he’d reply later, but not now.

He stared at Cody with a blank expression. The nausea seemed to increase ten fold now that Cody had begun talking, but Noah couldn’t make out what he was saying. His skin felt tingly, almost numb? He opened his mouth to speak, but found he couldn’t get anything out.

What was he even going to say? It didn’t seem like a big deal to Cody, seeing how he so easily told Heather of all people, but it was huge to Noah. He didn’t want to be dramatic. Was it even an issue, or was he blowing this out of proportion?

“Are you okay? You’re shaking, buddy,” Owen had gotten up and moved near him without him realizing. He patted Noah on the back, which helped pull him back to the present.

Noah blinked, looking between the two other people in the room. They both seemed confused. His eyes fell back on Cody, ignoring Owen unintentionally, “You told Heather.”

Cody’s brows furrowed, which made his confusion even more prevalent. “Uh… About what, exactly?”

“You told her about us.” Noah looked away from his face, his eyes glued to the floor.

Owen looked between the two of them, retracting his arm from Noah’s back, “...Umm, I’m going to sleep.” He yawned, walking in the direction of his bedroom.

Cody watched Owen leave, and continued after he had closed his bedroom door. “Oh, yeah, I did. Is.. there a problem?”

“Why didn’t you ask me first?” It came out harsher than intended.

“I didn’t think you would care. What’s wrong?” Cody’s face fell, frowning. He crossed his arms.

Noah wasn’t sure what tone he should convey, but it’s not like he could control it very well anyway. “I’m still in the closet, Cody. You can’t just tell Heather, of all people, that we’re dating! Sierra was bad enough, but I know you tell her everything, so I didn't want to ruin it. But fucking Heather? ” He laughed humorlessly. He wanted to scream into the pillow next to him, but he decided that could wait until later.

“Well, I didn’t know you were closeted! You seem so sure of yourself, and–”

Noah interrupted him, “That’s why you should have asked! This is serious!” His hands were fidgeting, “I haven’t even told Kitty or like- even Emma, about us- and you just go around telling everyone you talk to?” 

“Owen knows! I thought it wasn’t a secret, I’m sorry!” Cody’s arms tightened around himself. Noah couldn’t see his face, or more like he was choosing not to look at it, but he imagined it probably wasn’t one he’d enjoy.

“That’s why you ask! ” Noah’s voice grew louder, unstable and wavering.
Cody’s voice raised alongside his, “Well, why didn’t you say anything either?! I would think if it was so important-”

“Heather can’t keep a secret. Have you met her? I sure fucking have.” Noah continued, talking over the other. His head was spinning, and he could feel his heart pounding in his chest.

“I can tell her not to say anything now, if that would help?” Cody offered. His voice lowered in volume again, guilt tethering itself to his words.

Noah’s hands flew up in the air, exclaiming, “Jesus Christ, Cody! You think backtracking is gonna do anything? She’s probably told the whole cast of Total Drama by now.” The room felt really hot, and he fanned himself momentarily.

“I’m sorry–”

“How much did you tell her?” Cody’s halfhearted apology wasn’t helping Noah at the moment.

“What?”

Noah finally looked up from the floor, his eyes meeting Cody’s, “How much did you tell her? About us?” His voice wavered again, going up an octave.

Cody thought for a second before answering, “I mean, not much.. I told her we kissed in the basement… but that was it, really.”

“ Why?! ” Noah’s voice strained, exasperated. He groaned, covering his eyes. He could feel a lump in his throat, making it hard to talk, or breathe, or do anything.

“She.. she asked..?” He was the one who broke eye contact this time.

“I’m..” Noah paused, fighting back a heavy frown, and making an effort to ensure his voice was stable before he spoke. “I’m going to bed.”

He stood, walking away. He continued to cover his face partially until he reached his bedroom door. He opened it, then turned to look back at Cody. He was just standing there, looking kind of confused. Noah would’ve laughed at how dumb he looked.. if he wasn’t still upset at him.

About an hour had passed before Noah heard footsteps approaching his door. He’d spent that time staring at the ceiling, unmoving. Having his thinking time interrupted, he looked towards the  source of the sound.

“Noah?” Cody said quietly, opening it without knocking . His eyes searched the darkness, falling on Noah’s face. “You awake?”
“No. I sleep with my eyes open.” He frowned, raising his eyebrow like Cody was an idiot, which was subjectively true, or so he thought in the moment.

“Um…I wanted to apologize. I feel like I, um…” Cody paused, stepping inside the room and closing the door behind himself. Assumably for privacy?  “I kept trying to defend myself instead of listening to you, and I should have-”

“Yeah. That sure would’ve helped.” Noah interrupted. He sat up, so they would be on the same level, even though they were on different sides of the room. ”Too bad you didn’t.”

Cody’s face fell, but he continued where he’d left off. “I’m really sorry, Noah… For outing you to Heather and for arguing with you about it.”

Noah didn’t say anything for a while, considering Cody’s apology. After he’d taken some time to think, he spoke. “Heather’s probably asleep by now, so she can’t pick you up.. You’re staying here, right?”
“Only if you’re okay with that. I can figure something else out.”
Noah’s tone softened, noticeably quieter than before. “Do you wanna lay down with me?” He stared at his hands, fidgeting with his blanket.

Cody’s eyes widened, surprised, and he nodded slowly. He crawled onto the bed, slipping under the covers with as little movement as possible.

Noah laid back down, as he turned to face the wall away from Cody. Though he wasn’t mad anymore, he hadn’t forgiven him. However, he did feel a bit guilty. He wasn’t sure why. He knew that logically, there wasn’t anything to be guilty for, but that didn’t help.

Neither had said a word since Cody joined him, even though it’d been 20 minutes or so. The silence was making him nervous. He had been anxious for the couple of hours since Heather texted him anyway. He pressed his forehead against the wall, the coolness soothing him.

Finally breaking the silence, Cody spoke. “How are you comfortable like that?”
“What?”
“The wall. You’re like.. glued to it.”
Noah hummed in response, rolling over to face him. Cody was laying on his back, and it reminded him of a corpse in a way. They stared, observing each other’s faces silently.
After a few minutes of this, Noah spoke, “I like your teeth.”
“Thanks, but my mouth wasn’t open, so I’m not sure why you thought of that just now.” He teased, smiling. “I like your.. Whole face!”
“Wow, thanks, very creative.” Noah’s voice was dripping with sarcasm, but he couldn’t hide the smile that formed. This was really gay.
“This is so cringe.” Cody complained, turning to bury his face in the pillow. “I’m tired. Let’s go to sleep. Spooning. You and me.”

Noah sighed, wrapping his arm around Cody’s waist. He buried his nose into Cody’s hair, which made it a little difficult to breathe, but he was comfortable anyway. “Not really sure who else in this room would spoon with you,” he grumbled, closing his eyes.

Chapter Text

Hello! This is a notice coming from me (Grayish) and from the other creator who previously orphaned this.

We’ve decided to edit some parts of the story and continue it. I previously had said this would never be touched again, which I believed was true at the time. It is no longer true. Yay!

Thanks to all that supported this story previously. I hope you can continue to enjoy it even though it’s been a long (8 months…) time.

You can find the new version very soon on either of our profiles.