In The Cold Night (Kodi)

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“I’m the one thinking about myself, when you’re the one trying to excuse the most asshole thing you’ve ever done on your fucking drinking problem.” Everyone already knew that Gene was a spoiled brat. Kodi reminded him of that on a daily basis. So of course Kodi would continue to play that card the night after Gene was thinking of anyone but himself. And for what? Just to be accused of the same bullshit!

Gene should really be used to it by now. He was, actually, used to being looked down on by people who didn’t know anything about him. People who thought he was just a dumb rich kid(well, he was). He was used to being called names. This should’ve been nothing, because it wasn’t any different than the ignorant crap that everyone always said. Gene knew who he was. Gene knew what he’d done, and he knew what was true and what wasn’t.

Having it come from Kodi, though….no, even from Kodi, it should’ve been nothing. When did he ever give a damn about what Kodi thought of him? This was all just too intense for him. If he just slept, then maybe it would go away. Kodi would leave, and Gene would wake up hours later to the peace and quiet calm of his perpetually empty house, and he could forget about it all even more in yet another stupid video game…. Sleeping wasn’t happening, though. Not when he felt like this, and now not with Kodi lingering about again. “Y…you are a jackass,” he agreed. Not even just when he ‘woke up like that’. Gene pulled his pillow in closer, feeling the strain on his cheeks and under his eyes from contorting his face so much as he wept. “That doesn’t make me feel better either!” he sobbed. If Gene really thought that Kodi should die, then he wouldn’t have lifted a finger last night. Even if he didn’t like Kodi the slightest bit, Gene wasn’t going to just leave him out there…

He sniffled again, showing only the slightest sign of calming down. He swallowed again. “D-do what you want…” he mumbled. “I don’t care anymore…!” An obvious lie. “If you wanna leave and freeze to death or get hit by a bus or fall off a cliff, that’s your own goddamn choice!” Gene didn't want any of that, or for Kodi to leave...but if Kodi wanted it so badly, then it wasn't like Gene could stop him.

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Kodi bit back another retort. This just… Wasn’t going anywhere. It was pointless, all they were doing was making each other upset and sooner or later one of them was going to break. That’s why he stormed out before he could say anything more, because he knew what he was like when he was hungover, and he knew good things never came from it. It was just hard to remember that in the moment when he was pissed off and defensive….

This would all be easier if he could just remember what had happened the night before. Why had he had to get that drunk? Kodi just had no fucking self-control anymore, did he? He used to just stop at what he knew to be his limit to get a nice buzz going, but lately he’d just been uncaring of what he took, just so he could have a couple hours of not caring about anything…

Maybe… maybe he could ask Gene what had happened…. He wouldn’t lie about it, would he? If he even cared enough to tell him, at least. “You’re right. I am. I really, really am,” he replied hollowly, all desire to argue completely gone at the sight of Gene’s tears. He pulled back slightly as Gene buried himself deeper into his pillow, and the ache in his chest grew. “I’m sorry… I’m s-sorry…” he uttered, feeling the prick at the corners of his eyes that he hated so much.

He sat there, battling internally with his thoughts, wondering if it would be better to leave or stay. If he left… Could he ever come over again? Or would that be it? The thought of that sent a thrill of panic through his chest, and before Kodi even really registered what he was doing, he was huddling down next to the younger boy and wrapping his arms around his thin, bony torso, nuzzling his face into Gene’s hair and trying not to cry himself. “I… I wanna stay,” he mumbled, his voice rough and raw. “If… if it’s up t’me…. that’s what I want….” He swallowed hard. “I wanna stay and… and you can tell me all the awful things I did last night that I need t’make up to you.” Not to mention making up for this morning too… "Unless you want me to go," he added in a whisper.

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One of them was going to break, and as it turned out, Gene was the one closest to it by the time their argument had ended. It wasn't so much an argument as it was a contest to see who could say the meanest thing to the other. So if Kodi was looking to make Gene crumble into a pile of sobs and sniffles, then he'd succeeded rather spectacularly. This sort of emotional agony...Gene wasn't sure he'd ever experienced anything quite similar to it for a long time. Probably not since he was a child...

Gene wouldn’t know what to tell Kodi about what happened the night before either. It wasn’t like Kodi had been violent or hostile or anything…just stupid and uncooperative. And clingy. Spouting off things he probably didn’t mean… And then just plain sad… He thought that might’ve been the worst of it…and definitely thought that Kodi wouldn’t want to hear about it.

Gene honestly didn’t cry very often…or at all, really. He couldn’t remember the last time he’d cried, especially not this badly. When Kodi proposed him leaving…that somehow made his little fit rile up all over again…and then again, when Gene found himself wrapped in Kodi’s strong arms. Gene shifted into the embrace, despite keeping his back to the other boy and still burying his face into the pillow. He shook his head slightly. “I don’t…” he said with a low, hoarse voice. “D-don’t go…I don’t want…..” Fuck, he couldn’t even talk, so Gene just gave up trying and let Kodi hold him. He wouldn’t turn around…though that was just because he didn’t want Kodi to see his ugly, sobbing face. He wouldn’t be able to say that was pretty, would he…?

It would take several minutes, but eventually Gene would calm down and relax while in Kodi’s arms.

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Kodi had become very good at saying mean, hurtful things over his years of using aggressiveness and hostility to protect himself, so it wasn’t a surprise that he ‘won’ their little spat. He hadn’t anticipated sending the younger boy into a sobbing fit, though… And realizing that he had made Gene have that sort of response just made him feel horrible and awful, even while hungover. The rich boy hadn’t done anything to deserve it. Hell, he had gone out of his way to make Kodi feel comfortable while he slept his drunkenness away…

He was glad, at least, that Gene didn’t pull away from his embrace. Kodi was afraid it wouldn’t be welcome at all and that he would be shrugged off and snapped at. He winced when Gene’s sobbing only seemed to increase when he wrapped his arms around him, and tried to rub his sides soothingly to calm him down. This was all his fault…. “I won’t go, babe,” he replied hoarsely. “I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean any of those things…” Kodi tenderly placed a couple of soft kisses along the side of Gene’s neck and up his cheek to his temple. “I’m just a big… dumb… meanie.” He scowled at himself, then let his expression soften again as he tilted his head to gaze down at the younger boy. “And you’re still my pretty princess… Right?”

Maybe humor wasn’t the best thing right now, but that was Kodi’s other type of defense. He was relieved, at least, when he felt Gene start to relax in his arms. “Do you want t’sleep some more?” he murmured. “I’ll stay here…”

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Gene really was just a big baby. Ignorant. Sheltered. He’d never been yelled at like that either. The worse would have been from Aggie, and it was just her annoying nagging voice he had to deal with. Having someone legitimately angry at him, especially for no reason, was….scary…and disheartening. Having to hear Kodi not only say those terrible things about Gene(Gene was more-or-less used to those kind of words), but about himself as well didn’t help matters either. Even now, when Kodi kept calling himself a jackass(even if Gene agreed) and a meanie, Gene didn’t like hearing that kind of self-depreciation, especially when emotions were so high. It didn’t help at all…

Still…Gene didn’t want Kodi to leave. He felt comfortable in Kodi embrace. Gene hadn’t calmed completely yet, but he felt better from just the physical contact. That was ten times more effective than any of the stupid things Kodi was trying to say. “Mmm….mmhmmm!” he sobbed wordlessly to that stupid nickname that he hated. “Y-your….stupid….d-dumpling p-princess….” he choked out, leaving off the ‘boyfriend’ part that had Gene so flustered the night before.

Gene was glad to be able to breathe again, after finally calming down. He still wasn’t sure he wanted Kodi to see his swollen, red-eyed, post-weeping face…but he shifted and turned around anyway, nuzzling in closer to Kodi and keeping his head curled down into Kodi’s chest. Gene nodded. “Mmhmm…” he replied, clinging slightly to the silk shirt Kodi was wearing. Yes, he wanted to sleep. Yes, he wanted Kodi to stay there. Gene was already halfway there, so it didn’t take much longer for him to finally nod off, wrapped comfortably in Kodi’s arms.

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Kodi always thought that he deserved whatever bad things came his way. Surely it was all just God punishing him for being what he was, and doing what he did. He’d given up on trying to make up for his sins, there were far too many in his short life to make up for, he thought. So what harm was it to do a little of that punishment to himself…?

He should have just wallowed in his own emotions instead of spilling them out on Gene, but it was too late to take it all back. All he could do now was try to make up for it, even if consoling and apologizing were some of his weak points. Gryph, at least, had helped him a little in those areas… Kodi smiled weakly as Gene agreed with him, running his hand again through the boy’s soft hair. “Dumplin’ princess?” he snorted, then laughed aloud. “Oh, God, is that what I called you last night?” Kodi thought about it. “… You know what, I like it. It fits. My pretty dumpling princess.” He chuckled quietly again and nuzzled Gene’s shoulder, trying to ignore the sobs that were still in the boy’s voice. At least they were getting somewhere…

He looked down as Gene shifted, uncaring that the boy’s face was red and splotchy and snotty from crying. Kodi was sure he looked ten times worse when he cried. “That’s it…” he murmured, holding the boy’s head against his chest gently. “You just get some rest after takin’ care of my dumb ass.” He didn’t feel sleepy himself, though, so as Gene nodded off, he just continued to gaze down at him, wondering what the hell the rich brat was becoming to him. He gave up trying to figure it out and eventually just let himself doze a little as he kept Gene’s body held against his own, feeling his heartbeat underneath that scrawny chest and relaxing under the soft, sleepy breaths against his neck.

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Gene nodded, sniffling loudly once again. “I…..hate it….” he said with the slightest huff of laughter in his voice. “It’s….dumb….” How the hell did Kodi come up with these stupid pet-names anyway, even when he was drunk out of his mind? Gene may have had a slight smile by now amid his sobs. Talking was good. Just normal talking. Like how they always did.

He couldn’t say why, but it was easier trying to fall asleep there in Kodi’s arms than it had been the whole night, though a part of that might’ve been because Gene was too worried to fall asleep properly. “Okay…” he mumbled before finally dozing off, calmed by the soft sound of Kodi’s beating heart and warmed by his large body.

Gene slept soundly for almost two hours before finally rousing with a small, groggy moan. He blinked, confused for a moment as to why he was staring into a silk shirt that was a very red sort of red. His eyes felt swollen and warm, and were lined with the ugly crusts of dried tears. He had a headache, no doubt from dehydration. It took a few minutes for Gene to remember why he was in the position he was in. Gene lifted his gaze to see Kodi’s sleeping face above his, resting on the same pillow. Or was he awake? “Kodi….?” he said softly, his voice barely above a whisper.

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Kodi barked out another quiet laugh, his expression changing once again into something a little sly and mischievous. “Good. That’s what tells me it’s a keeper.” He playfully squeezed the younger boy. That was it, just keep being light-hearted and silly, and they could forget about this entire stupid ordeal. At least, that was what Kodi was telling himself.

And he seemed to be right, considering how quickly Gene seemed to fall to sleep after that. Kodi just rested with his eyes closed, but he didn’t really nod off himself; he’d already slept plenty in his drunk stupor last night, and he wanted to be awake when Gene stirred eventually. And he knew he was a heavy sleeper, so if he let himself pass out, he might miss those cute moments of the younger boy waking up. He didn’t know how long he’d been laying there when Gene did finally start to stir, and he smiled to himself, but kept his eyes closed until the boy uttered his name.

Kodi let his eyes slowly open and peeked down at the rich kid, a tiny smile on his face. “Hmm?” he murmured back, just as quiet. “Is my sleepy dumplin’ princess done with her beauty nap?” The dentokinetic’s smile widened and he shifted slightly to give Gene a kiss on the forehead. “Looks like it worked, you’re just as pretty as ever.” Even with the eye goobers and redness, Kodi didn’t find him any less attractive. “Do you wanna get up yet?”

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Gene really hated those stupid names of Kodi’s…but they also were comforting in a strange way. Like, if Kodi didn’t say them, then it meant there was something terribly wrong. Gene hated that even more. He chuckled briefly, and sniffed again. “Y-yeah….” Stupid, dummy Kodi.

Just getting a little more sleep was revitalizing for the young rich boy. He probably dreamed, though he remember much of it, only that it wasn’t unpleasant. When he finally woke, Gene felt like he’d slept enough…but his eyes were still heavy, so he probably could’ve managed to sleep more too, until the swelling in his eyes went down.

When he looked up at Kodi…gaped at that stupid little smile of his. And those stupid comments. Gene huffed and shook his head. “You must be blind or crazy…” he grumbled. There was no way, after all that, that he was any degree of ‘pretty’. Gene wiped the goop from his eyes and rested his head again. “…..dunno….maybe,” he mumbled uncertainly. “I’m thirsty.” And hungry.

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Kodi was sorta glad that Eugene hadn’t slept any longer than he had. His arm had fallen asleep a long time ago, and he knew that moving it was going to be unpleasant, but better to get it done sooner rather than later. He just hadn’t wanted to shift and disturb the princess~

Kodi rolled his eyes up slightly as he pondered what Gene said. “Well… Considerin’ I don’t have my contacts in, I guess I am a little blind…” he admitted with a quiet chuckle. “And I think we both know I’m a bit crazy.” Maybe more than a bit. But that didn’t mean he couldn’t call Gene pretty when he was all the other times Kodi had been around him. “Mm… What kinda thirsty?” he teased. “This kind?” Without warning, the older boy leaned in and started smothering the younger one’s face with ticklish kisses, intent on waking him up more and making him giggle. “Or d’you mean literal thirst?” he asked after a while, pulling back and grinning. Of course he knew what Gene had meant, but playing around was fun, especially after the drama of earlier that morning. “Want me t’carry you to the kitchen an’ cook somethin’ for you?” he asked, playing with the younger boy’s hair again. “… I kinda raided your cereal stash earlier. I’m sorry, I’ll buy you another box….”

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Gene smirked in response and shook his head. “Your level of idiocy never ceases to amaze me…” he said in mild amusement. Kodi was a lot of things, it seemed, and Gene couldn’t decide if that was a bad thing.

“What kind?” he asked, confused, though before he could clarify, Kodi came in with his notorious kiss attack, smothering the younger boy from his head to his cheeks to his neck… Gene couldn’t help squealing in his surprise, and continue to whine and giggle as he was showered endlessly with kisses. Dammit, he was already tired and exhausted, and now he had to put up with this!? “Noooo….stooooopppp~” he wailed, trying to cover his face to protect it from the attack. When it finally stopped, Gene struggled to breath again, having been worked up all over again, though this time it wasn’t in an entirely unpleasant way. “Of course…that’s what I mean….dumbass…” He too was grinning despite his headache and tiredness. Gene shook his head at the offer though. “I can walk myself,” he asserted. It wasn’t like they’d done anything, so Gene was definitely not crippled this morning like he’d been other times.

He frowned at the news about the cereal and gave it a moment of thought. “That’s okay,” he said with a small sigh. “I owe you a bottle of whiskey…so maybe we’ll just call it even…” Though the whiskey was much more expensive than cereal…not that Gene knew that.

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There, that was the Gene that Kodi knew and l…iked. The one that would snark right back at him without blinking. Kodi grinned and ruffled the boy’s hair affectionately. “I guess I’ll just keep amazin’ you, then,” he teased.

Hehehe… He should’ve just done this earlier when he’d woken up with Gene beside him, rather than be all grumpy and grouchy and terrible. The rich boy’s laughter was like music to his ears, which just spurred Kodi on until he, too, was laughing too much to continue. “Ooh, right, of course,” he giggled, grinning right back. “My mistake.” He totally expected Gene to be lazy and take Kodi’s offer, but blinked in surprise and nodded slowly when the boy declined. “Alright,” he replied, giving him one last peck on the forehead before beginning to sit up. “I’d say I’ll race you there, but I ain’t exactly in top form right now either.” Hell, Gene might actually win, and that would be no good.

He considered the ‘deal’ and shrugged, chuckling a little in embarrassment. “I, uh, don’t remember why you owe me a bottle… But okay, that works for me.” Had Gene taken one from him or something? Ugh, Kodi couldn’t remember… But whatever, it wasn’t like the younger boy would want to encourage his drinking now anyway, right? Kodi shifted his legs to the edge of the bed and stood, grimacing as his arm started to get all pin-and-needle-y after being asleep for so long. “Have you gained weight? My arm feels squished…” he grunted, smirking back at the younger boy.

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“Please. Don’t,” he said bluntly. “You’ll probably hurt yourself.” This was what Gene was used to. The playful insults that didn’t mean anything….well, probably didn’t mean anything. Gene could argue a lot of the things he said about Kodi were true. But there were still a lot of other things he didn’t say about Kodi that were true too. Either way, the banter was reassuring that the storm had passed finally. That made him feel better.

The kisses too….with each one that Kodi gave, it healed his heart just a little bit more. He was rolling and giggling, trying to fend off the attack, but to no avail. Gene completely fell victim to Kodi’s onslaught of affection, his face burning red and cheeks aching from such gleeful smiles. Gene had to take a moment to catch his breath after, but the exhaustion he felt was the good kind. The kind that revitalized his energy rather than consumed it. He snorted at the challenge, or rather lack of it, his smile being the only response to it. Gene wasn’t exactly in top for either for racing. He wasn’t ever, actually, and today was no different. Besides…he ached from sleeping so awkwardly for the past couple hours.

Gene frowned, remembering the horrid experience of trying the whiskey from the night before. “I dropped it,” he admitted, his face still scowly. “It tasted nasty.” Kodi was right, though. Gene definitely didn’t want to encourage any more drinking if he could avoid it. Not that there was anything wrong with it, he knew, just it wasn’t okay to do it in such excess, like Kodi had done last night. Gene slipped out of the bed, still in the same pjs he’d been wearing when Kodi first came over. He never got a chance to change. “Huh…? No…” he said uncertainly. At least, he didn’t think he’d gained any weight. Curious, Gene lifted the hem of his shirt to show off his skinny, fatless belly. “You think?”

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It was rare that any of the snarky or bratty comments that the younger boy made towards Kodi truly upset him. Honestly, he preferred that sort of interaction over things that were overly sweet or friendly… He got bored with that most of the time. Even though Gene wasn’t the brightest kid he’d ever met, Kodi still got a kick out of him, and that was what mattered. He didn’t mind being the smarter one.

Or the more affectionate one, when he felt like it. Kodi had come to learn that these were the sorts of intimate touches that the younger boy liked, and while the dentokinetic typically preferred to be a bit feistier and rougher, he also gained a lot of satisfaction from seeing his partner, whoever they may be, in bliss. “I like it when you have that big stupid smile on,” he teased with another peck on the corner of Gene’s lips. “Maybe even more than I like your cute grumpy face.” Kodi stuck out his tongue playfully.

He tilted his head at Gene’s admission, trying desperately to remember how that had happened. Nothing came to him – he couldn’t remember a bottle being dropped. “Don’t tell me I forced you t’drink it,” he grunted, irritated at himself. “I gotta start you on somethin’ way easier for your palate.” Not only was Gene a newbie, but he was so damn picky he wasn’t sure he could find anything that the other boy would like. Not that he should be encouraging it anyway… Kodi’s gaze fell to look down at the patch of skin that the kid was offering him to look at, and he scowled a little more, rubbing his still tingling arm. “Hmph. If anything, you look skinnier,” he accused, poking his bellybutton. “C’mon, I’ll make you pancakes or some shit for breakfast.” Even though it was probably past noon by now. Kodi snagged his hand and gently pulled him towards the kitchen, where he grabbed Gene a glass of water to drink after plopping him down at the breakfast bar. He began rummaging around for-“Do you have any pancake mix?” he asked, deciding that would be easier than searching the dozens of places that a bag of it might be.

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Gene wasn’t sure, still, what sort of relationship the two of them had. If Kodi were to have left and never come back, there would definitely be a hole left in Gene’s life. A hole he wouldn’t know how to fill again. A hole he probably wouldn’t even know was there. He’d grown accustomed to their lighthearted verbal battles, to the intimacy they shared every few nights, and even to the silly complaints Kodi would make against his eating habits while afterwards forcing him to eat something healthier than just cereal, canned weenies, and nutella spread.

Gene pursed his lips forward at the teasing compliment. “What grumpy face?” he pouted. “What cute?” How could his grump be cute? Kodi really was crazy. He held the pout for a total of three seconds before breaking into another wide, bliss-filled smile.

It wasn’t surprising that Kodi didn’t remember that either, about Gene dropping the whiskey bottle. He’d made such a fuss about it when it happened though. Gene didn’t mind giving him money for another, but…honestly, it was better that he didn’t. Gene shook his head. “No, I bribed you into the shower by sampling it,” he explained with a grimace, remembering the horrid taste. Gene paused a moment, then spoke up again. “I like peaches,” he said, just like he had the night before. “If that helps…” Not that Gene wanted to get drunk like Kodi did…but if he was going to try it, then he may as well start with a flavor he likes.

Gene squirmed and whined at the poke to his tummy, and quickly pulled his shirt down again, holding it there firmly by the hems. “….pancakes?” he repeated. Gene had no objections to that. He didn’t dislike pancakes…though, like most things, he would only eat them a specific way. Warm and fresh, and quickly after being doused with syrup. Once the syrup soaked through to where the pancake would crumble and fall apart, it was no good anymore. Gene sipped on his water and watched Kodi run around the kitchen. “In the pantry,” he said. “Where else?” Gene pointed to the large, walk-in closet where most of the canned and dry foods were kept. Then he took another sip of his water.