In The Cold Night (Kodi)

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Sadly, Kodi probably wouldn’t remember much that happened this night. If he spent the night (which was likely unless Aggie drove him back to Hammel or something, which would be bad and result in a lot of trouble), he didn’t really have any way of safely getting back and would likely end up passing out in some bush on the way there. But at the moment, he was having loads of fun! “Peaches, got it!” he replied eagerly. Peach schnapps it was (if he remembered, which he might or might not). It seemed like it would appeal to Gene more anyway, so common knowledge might work to his advantage.

But it became not so fun when he was getting doused with Gene’s cruel attempt to try to sober him up. It might’ve worked eventually, but Kodi was so miserable and loud that it was unlikely the younger boy would want to keep it up. On any normal day he would have pounced out and tackled the guy for playing such a trick on him, but his drunk mirth had quickly turned to drunk sorrow and he was too unstable to do anything about it. He didn’t hear Gene’s mumblings, but he did eventually notice that the water wasn’t so freezing cold (not) anymore, and nodded pathetically. “Better…” he mumbled, slowly uncurling and letting the warm water wash over him. Kodi huddled under that small halo of warmth as he blinked stupidly up at the boy standing above him, still shivering slightly from the earlier onslaught. “Okaaay…” he slurred, leaning back against the side of the tub. Kodi let his eyes close briefly, and gradually felt much more comfortable as the warm spray soaked him through.

Whenever Gene eventually returned, his eyes would snap open and Kodi would beam drunkenly up at him again. “I’m warm!” he announced, as though this should be something to be proud of. Kodi attempted to clamber out of the tub once more so he could grab a towel and dry off… But he ended up hanging over the edge halfway and suddenly couldn’t seem to get much further. “…. I’ll just sleep here…” he uttered, defeated.

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At least Kodi was calming down, now that the water was warm. Now that he finally got Kodi to a place where he could warm up. No, he hadn’t planned it this way, but tasting that rancid swill had made it easier getting Kodi over here, so he almost didn’t regret it. The tradeoff was seeing Kodi become so….pathetic. That was the only word he could think of, watching him. It made Gene sad…

Gene left the boy sitting the the warm shower while he went upstairs and rifled through his father’s drawers for the set of red silk pajamas he knew he had. No, it wasn’t the warmest, and wasn’t the most ‘manly’, if that’s what Kodi was going for, but it was something, which was better than nothing. When he returned, he frowned down at the drunken boy, who seemed to have completely forgotten the ‘agony’ he’d been in moments prior. “Good,” he said calmly, grabbing yet another towel from the rack. Gene sighed when Kodi apparently thought it was cute or funny or whatever to simply lay there like a useless lump. Gene reached in and turned off the water, then blanketed the lazy boy with the towel. “No you won’t,” he said firmly. “You’re going to dry off and get dressed. Or I can shoot you with the sprayer again.” He would do it too, but hopefully Kodi was sane enough to know better than to push Gene to that point again. Hopefully.

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It was probably a good thing that Kodi likely wouldn’t remember any of this, because he would be horrified at just how pathetic he was getting in front of Gene. If he’d known he would be reduced to this state while he was here, he never would have come over while intoxicated. But it was too late now…

Hopefully Gene wouldn’t look too poorly upon Kodi after this. Or at least, not a lot more poorly than he did already. But that seemed pretty unlikely considering how the dentokinetic was laying there over the side of the bathtub like a useless lump. “Mmm!” he hummed as the soft, warm blanket was laid over him. He pouted up at Gene, though, prepared to argue until he made the threat. “Nooo not that!” he wailed, quickly scrambling over onto the bathroom rug with an oof. Kodi continued to pout as he struggled to dry himself off, only now realizing he was wearing (now soaking wet) boxers. “Oh… forgot t’take those off…” he mumbled, quickly discarding them off to the side shamelessly.

Once he was dry, he struggled to get to his feet and would likely need Gene’s help to get the clothes on. “Mm… Red… I like red… s’my favorite color…” he slurred, eyes drooping heavily. “Mmmm where’s’a bed?” It was unlikely that Kodi would be able to make it up the stairs to Gene’s room, so he would shuffle along unsteadily to wherever the younger boy led him. When they got to said destination, Kodi would flop on the nearest soft surface and groan quietly. “Geeene…” he mumbled. “Don’t leave me here alooone… Pleeease….?”

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Gene already looked down on Kodi for a lot of things…but he also looked up to him for a lot of others. Despite being from the low class environment he was, Kodi was probably one of the smartest, most clever, and most creative people he knew. Or at least, of who he associated with. If he’d been born to a family more like Gene’s, Kodi probably would have excelled significantly over his peers. Gene had the fortune, but none of the drive or intelligence to go where he was expected. The money got him tutors, and if not for those, Gene wondered how far behind he would be by now?

Right now, Kodi was certainly deserving of Gene’s pity, though. He was already pathetic in many ways, but this stunt of his…it was just plain painful, seeing Kodi like this while knowing he was capable of better. Gene would probably yell at him over it later…when Kodi was capable of feeling the full weight of his scolding.

At least he responsive to the idle threats that Gene made. He watched with a blank face as Kodi tossed aside his wet boxers, dried himself, and slipped into the red pajamas Gene had brought him(not without a great deal of effort, mind you). At least he was calmer. “Over here,” he said, taking Kodi by the hand and leading him to the guest bedroom just to the left of the bathroom they’d used. Gene didn’t entertain any ideas that Kodi might be able to find his way up the stairs. Gene wouldn’t be able to catch him if that assumption was wrong. He pulled back the heavy comforter and sheets, and let Kodi flop into it. Gene hesitated at Kodi’s plea, still holding onto the boy’s hand, and gazed down on him with sad eyes. “….I’m not going anywhere, so don’t worry.” He sat off the edge of the bed, and squeezed Kodi’s hand. “I’ll be right here the whole time….so just…go to sleep, okay?” Aggie used to tell him that, when he was a boy and scared to sleep alone. It felt strange saying it now, to this pathetic boy in front of him. Gene leaned forward and settled his lips on Kodi’s temple. “Just sleep…” he said gently.

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Kodi did honestly have a lot of potential… but childhood trauma and constantly being told he wasn’t good enough had led to him being the underachiever that he was today. Maybe someday, he would find the motivation to do more and actually find something to work for… But for now he would continue to not do much and work the job he actually somewhat enjoyed and mooch money off of Gene when he could (maybe he really was a gold digger….)

Later would definitely be a better time for scolding. If done now, it would probably just freak him out and make him cry more, since he became a bit of a mess when he was very drunk and often seemed to relate conflict with his father, like he was a child being punished all over again. Just the spraying punishment had been more than enough to get him to do what Gene wanted next time. “Mmkaay…”he drawled with a yawn, letting Gene take his hand and lead him to the guest bedroom. “So comfy…. Mmmm…!” What was this bed made out of, swan feathers? It was sooo soft and cozy, he could sleep there forever. Kodi clung to the younger boy’s hand as he huddled under the blankets, sending pleading, hopeful eyes up at his request. When Gene promised he wouldn’t go, he gleed happily and shifted so that he was slightly curled up against where the other boy was sitting on the bed. “Sleep… mmm’okay…” Kodi yawned again. “Just don’ leave me… My dumplin’ princess-boyfriend…” Kodi giggled again quietly as he closed his eyes. It didn’t take long for him to fall asleep, and soon he was breathing deep and long and still holding onto Gene’s hand for dear life. A tiny smile curled up his lips as he slept.

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There was that stupid word again. ‘Boy’—no. Gene wasn’t even going to give Kodi the pleasure of him thinking it. Or responding to it. Ever. Because….it wasn’t….or was it….? How was he supposed to know?

Anyway, it didn’t matter. The storm had come and finally been put to rest. And now that Kodi was asleep….how dare he look like a stupid kid!? How dare he look so content!? Gene ought to punch him just to make sure he didn’t get any sleep after all the shit he’d put Gene through tonight!! Gene even raised his free hand with the upmost intent on using it on Kodi’s ugly sleeping face……though after a moment, he lowered it again and just sighed. Whatever, he was too tired to deal with any more and it’d probably just get worse if he woke Kodi up again. At least now he had peace and quiet. Gene brushed a stray lock of black hair away from his face. Idiot…

Gene waited a while longer before finally prying his hand out of Kodi’s and wandering away to his own bedroom…though as he reached the door to the guest room, Gene turned around to look at that idiot one last time. What if he woke up and Gene wasn’t there…? Would that cause another problem? Gene growled and scowled, turning around again and slipping into the bed on the other side. Fine, fine…this didn’t mean he cared or anything, by the way, it was just to save himself a headache later. Gene rested his head against the pillow and watched that stupid idiot sleep soundly. At least Gene didn’t have to look at his face while he tried to doze….

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Sometime during the night, the rain had turned to snow, though the storm kept up it’s ferocity. When the sun came up, it glistened off the white blanket that had fallen over the town of Pilot Ridge. A pile of white powder fell from the awnings. Gene blinked his eyes open, glowering at the boy next to him who had turned around and moved closer sometime during the night. As Gene had woken ever two or three hours(he wasn’t a heavy sleeper, his aura light kept him up, and he wasn’t even in his own bed), the 17-year-old boy had seen this happen gradually, until Kodi’s face had crept just inches away from Gene’s face. Gene stared at that ugly mug for several minutes, then closed his eyes again in yet another attempt to get some goddamn sleep.

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Kodi slept deeply through the entirety of the night. He was already a heavy sleeper, and being as intoxicated as he was only made him sleep deeper. He didn’t even really have any dreams, which was a relief, as most of the time when he did, they were nightmares. That apparently didn’t keep him from gravitating to the warm body on the other side of his bed, although he wasn’t aware of moving during the night.

When he did finally wake up, cold sunlight was peeking through the slits in the blinds, and he soon became aware of the colored lights of Gene’s aura beside him and groaned as it triggered a hungover headache. The Kodi noticed the younger boy staring at him… And all the fumbling bumbling mess from the night before vanished in a dark, snarling scowl. “What’re you starin’ at?” he snapped, grumpy from the pounding head and the queasy stomach. “… Wait, why’re you even in the same bed as me??” Kodi was not the type of person to cuddle and sleep comfortably through the night with someone just fo the fun of it. He tried to remember what had happened the night before, but nearly all of it was a fuzzy blur. “How’d I even get here?! What happened?” he demanded, pushing himself away from the pretty boy and weakly leaning back against the headboard. He groaned again and clutched his head. “Fuck, I need some water…” he complained. “Where’s that damn maid of yours? Fuckin’ useless!”

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Of course. Mr. Morning Sunshine. Gene should’ve guessed. His tired eyes shot a glare of daggers back at Kodi. “Shut up,” he growled. “I hardly got any sleep, because your ugly face kept me awake.” Gene closed his eyes agin and shifted under the covers. “Either get out or get back in,” he grumbled. “You’re letting the cold air in…” And it was freezing considering they were living in a box buried underneath several feet of ice and snow. Gene pulled the covers up to his neck and tried his best to ignore the raving lunatic beside him.

“You’re awake and not wasted off your ass, get it yourself.” Kodi knew where the kitchen was. Hell, Kodi knew his way around the damn kitchen. “And yeah, like you just said. Aggie is my maid. Not yours.” Meaning she had no obligation to cater to Kodi and his hangover.

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So much for all the sad/pathetic/cute fluff from last night. Hungover Kodi was much different than drunk Kodi, and not in any positive ways. If the dentokinetic was grumpy usually, hungover Kodi was ten times grumpier. “Nothin’ said you had t’sleep in the same fuckin’ bed as me,” he snarled, glaring with bloodshot eyes. “This ain’t even your room! What the hell?” Kodi didn’t recognize it. Were they still even in Gene’s house? Where else would they be? “Fuck you,” he snapped, shoving the blankets over at the younger boy and sitting unsteadily on the edge of the bed. “I dunno how I got here or why, so give me a goddamn break.”

UGH. Why did he ever think he liked this guy? Kodi hoped he didn’t do anything too embarrassing while he was wasted last night. Shit, he hated that he couldn’t remember… “Fine!” he snapped, standing up much too quickly in his anger. He immediately regretted it, nearly collapsing over with how much the room was suddenly spinning around him. As it was, he toppled slightly into the dresser beside the bed. “FUCK!” he snarled. Still, with all his stubbornness, Kodi gritted his teeth and forced himself out of the room and towards the kitchen, where he eventually managed to get himself a glass of water and took several long sips. He felt terrible. How many drinks had he had? Without asking, he started rifling through the cupboards until he found Gene’s cereal stash. He plopped down at the table and began pouring it into his mouth from the box. Maybe this would help settle his stomach…

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Gene should’ve known it would be like this. He should’ve stopped giving a shit and gone to sleep in his own bed. He should’ve just let Kodi freeze out in the rain. Gene was too tired to deal with this shit so early in the morning(it wasn’t that early, it was already almost 10am). “Nothing?” he growled. “I guess you must be talking about yourself, then? Because ‘nothing’ was clinging to me so hard last night, I had to pry ‘nothing’s’ fingers off my wrists!”

Was this guy for real? Gene finally snapped up, his brow furrowed so hard there was a very well defined crease between his eyebrows. “You act like that’s a goddamn excuse for the bullshit you pulled last night.” Because Gene was still pissed as fuck over it. No, he had not been feeling pity or sympathy or empathy for the drunk when he was crouched and crying in the corner of the goddamn bathroom! Gene knew it was going to be like this. That Kodi wasn’t going to remember a thing. Not one goddamn thing….and that was supposed to get him a by-pass, wasn’t it? “And you call me spoiled,” he grumbled, pulling the blankets back over his shoulders and turning away from the ass-faced jerk.

Gene shook slightly at the shout, then cringed at the sound of Kodi stumbling and snarling…he held onto his blankets tighter and kept his eyes shut. His aura was faded in the morning sunlight, but still reflected a distinct muddy red of anger towards the other boy…and underneath that, a dark grey was slowly starting to spread. It spread even faster once Kodi had left the room, finally leaving the younger boy alone. He heard the rummaging in the kitchen, the sound of cereal falling to the ground….Gene just pulled the blanket in tighter and buried his now damp cheeks into the pillow.

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Kodi froze slightly as the younger boy told him that it had been him that had made Gene sleep in the same bed last night. Oh for fuck’s sake… of course it was, he should have known better. It was nearly enough to make the dentokinetic swear off drinking (like that would last long) just for the sake of not doing something embarrassing like that again. “Don’t think anything of it,” he snapped back. “I probably mistook you for my fuckin’ ex or somethin’, because he was more than just a pathetic, scrawny ass to fuck!” Which was all that Gene was to him. Definitely. That stupid blanket fort the other day didn’t mean anything.

“Yeah! It is an excuse!” he snarled. “You ain’t been drunk before, have you? I know I didn’t plan on comin’ over when I started last night, so I dunno what kind of insanity hit me for me t’think that comin’ over here was a good idea!” He wanted so badly to know what he’d done… What if he’d said something embarrassing? “You are spoiled!” he yelled. “A pathetic, useless, boney, good-for-nothin’ excuse of a human being!” Kodi went quiet after that; even in his state, he realized that he might have gone too far. He didn’t really think that terribly of Gene… Did he?

Whatever. He needed to get out of here. Kodi aggressively ate the cereal until he finally felt his stomach settle and, with it, his anger. He sat the box on the table and stared down at his hands, which were trembling slightly. He shouldn’t have said what he had… But did he have the nerve to apologize for it? He noticed that he was wearing unfamiliar clothes then, and, after another few minutes of uncertainty, shuffled his way back to the guest room and stood in the doorway, head bent. “… Can I get you anything?” he finally asked, his voice barely audible.

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Gene knew Kodi was just making excuses because he didn’t remember shit. Kodi definitely knew who he was clinging to last night. But the fact that he didn’t remember…that was exactly why Gene didn’t want to listen to any of it. He tried to do exactly what Kodi was trying to tell him to do now. It didn’t mean shit because Kodi didn’t know what he was doing. Of course.

Kodi’s words cut and bore into him like a knife, not necessarily because of what he said….but because he was the one who was saying them. “No it isn’t, because if you know you act like a dipshit when drunk, then it just makes you even more of an ass for making people suffer through it just because you got problems.” Gene snarled. “And all you managed to do was make yourself seem even more pathetic than you do sober.” Gene had no plans to tell Kodi exactly what he’d done or said, but…he wasn’t going to hide the fact that he was a nuisance the whole time.

Whatever. Gene didn’t want to talk anymore. He didn’t want to argue anymore. He didn’t want to look at that asshole anymore. Gene just wanted to go back to sleep and hope that the day got better by the time he woke up. He sniffed and wiped more tears away on the pillowcase. He stayed like that until Kodi came back, and even then, he made no effort to move. Gene swallowed. “Fuck off….” he mumbled, his voice cracking slightly. Even if he did want or need something, he sure as hell wasn’t going to ask Kodi to get it for him.

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More than anything, it bothered Kodi that he’d apparently so willingly – no, so desperately begged the younger boy to stay with him through the night. As though he were a child. As though he couldn’t stand to be alone any longer, even though his breakup with Gryph had only been a couple of months ago. It felt like so much longer than that. Every night just dragged on and on when he was alone… it was only when he was with Gene that he managed to keep his head straight. Not be completely happy, necessarily, but at least not completely miserable.

“How should I have known that I’d somehow walk all the way over here while piss-drunk?” he snapped, feeling like this argument was going nowhere. Maybe it was all his fault, but he was too stubborn to admit it. He pointed an accusing finger at the younger boy. “You don’t know all the fucked up shit I have t’deal with. I drink because it’s the only way I keep myself from… from fuckin’ jumping off a bridge an’ doin’ the world a favor!” He probably shouldn’t have said that either. He was saying a lot of things he would regret later….

And he did regret them by the time he got back to the room, with his mind calmed slightly. He felt… Bad. Kodi didn’t know why, but he felt even worse when he heard Gene sniffling quietly with his back towards him. Fuck… Had he…. Had he really made the brat cry…? “Nah… I’m not leavin’, you kiddin’? It’s fuckin’ freezing outside and there’s snow everywhere.” Slowly, Kodi dared to step into the room, until he eased onto the side of the bed and stared down at the sad, cloudy-aura’d boy. He looked so young, curled up like he was… The dentokinetic sighed and tentatively toyed with a strand of Gene’s hair. “… You should see what I say t’people I don’t like when I’m hungover,” he finally mumbled. “Makes this mornin’ seem mild in comparison…”

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“How is that an argument?” he yelled back. “You realize how retarded you sound, right?” Gene didn’t think he’d something so….obviously….stupid coming from his mouth. Though if Kodi was trying to ‘win’ that debate, the congratulations! Gene didn’t know what to say to that last piece of emo-shit Kodi vomited up. He glared at the king-of-idiots in front of him, his mouth gaping open in utter disbelief at what he’d just said. Gene shook his head slowly. “What….what do you expect me to say to that?” Kodi was right. Gene didn’t understand the slightest bit of what he’d been through. But that didn’t give him a free pass either.

Of course Kodi’s yelling, his criticism, his unhinged rage had Gene cowering away like a child. After….all the shit he did for Kodi….after even giving a damn….why did he even bother…? What did he think was going to happen? That Kodi would wake up and smile at him? Actually appreciate that Gene spent the whole fucking night taking care of him because….because what? He was worried? See if Gene gave a shit about that ugly-ass punk ever again!

Gene stayed huddled under the blankets and hid his tearful face from Kodi when he came to sit by him. He sniffed again. Why did noses get runny when people cried? It made it harder to pretend you weren’t… “Is that…” he started hoarsely, clearing his throat before continuing. “Is that supposed…to make it okay….?” Gene shook his head. “Because it doesn’t.” He sniffled again. “I….should’ve just… let you freeze.” He swallowed. His voice wasn’t cooperating and it hurt to talk. “T-then….you wouldn’t have….to jump off that fucking bridge….”

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This argument really was getting nowhere; Kodi didn’t know how to respond anymore, so he just fumed to himself. He hated being called what Gene had just told him, but it would be pointless to say so. Apparently what he said next had the same effect on the younger boy, though, and Kodi scowled and looked to the side. “I don’t know!” he growled. “Just… Just… Stop thinkin’ about yourself for one goddamn minute, that’s all…!” Both of them were being only self-interested at this point, though, so he shouldn’t be talking.

If Kodi did remember all that Gene had done for him last night, despite how unsteady and unpredictable and crazy he’d been, he likely would have reacted to all this much differently. Been awed and a little uncomfortable with how much the younger boy had actually done for him. But since he couldn’t remember anything, he assumed Gene had just been irritated and mean and annoyed… Although he had slept in the same bed as him… because Kodi had apparently begged him to…

That’s what Kodi mulled over when he was by himself, and why he came back despite their argument. His head was still hurting, and he didn’t feel all that great, but he wasn’t so angry anymore. No… He was sad, sad to see that Gene had quickly crumbled like this as soon as Kodi had left the room. He really was just a lonely kid… “… No… It ain’t,” he replied in a mumble. “Just… just don’t take it personally, I guess… It ain’t about you, it’s about me bein’ a jackass when I wake up like that…” His hand moved to stroke Gene’s hair more. “Yeah, you should’ve,” he agreed with a tiny, dry smile. “Then you never would’ve had t’put up with that shit and everyone would be happier, huh?” Kodi chuckled humorlessly and shook his head. His chest hurt. “I can leave, if y’want,” he offered after another minute. “I’m sure you don’t wanna see my ugly mug again, after all that…” Even though it was freezing and snowy out… He would go if Gene wanted him to.