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With his investigation complete, Quinlan relaxed a bit. He preferred not to do his missions undercover, just without announcing that he was a Jedi. He didn't really obscure his identity or anything, which meant he didn't have to hide himself.
After all, people so misunderstood the Jedi that very few would automatically be noticed as a Jedi if they did not say something. Most of those were because they were known Jedi, famous to the galaxy, rather than any obvious signs like supposedly being cold hearted.
But with the war, it was harder to investigate as himself. Most of his investigations had to include a cover or he would never be able to go without suspicion with the Separatists or even some of the crime rings. They all were suspicious of everything these days.
This time, though, Quinlan had ended up on a planet investigating rumors of Separatists starting a some sort of facility there. There was no reason to hide, so he didn't. And he thought he did better digging up information, acting the part of a normal investigator, than he would have if he had gone undercover and had to keep his cover straight.
He received his final orders. Meet up with General Kenobi and the 212th after they landed at the facility to take control. Quinlan smirked. His evidence to the existence of the facility must have been enough to convince the leaders of the planet to let the Republic interfere. Excellent.
Now he just had to wait and then he could see Obi-Wan again. And annoy Cody again. That was always great fun. Cody was like Obi-Wan in a lot of ways in that he had similar buttons to irritate him, but he was also both easier and harder to annoy. A great challenge that he didn't get all time but also his reactions were funnier than Obi-Wan's, who was just too used to Quinlan and his antics.
.
Cody led a squad through the facility to fight the droids that were of course protecting it. It was a good thing they got the intel for it, but he was not looking forward to picking up General Vos. No one had the right to look so hot while being so annoying. And the bastard was annoying on purpose, from the smug grin he always wore when Cody reacted.
The facility was weird, even for an experimental one. They were just passing over a pool on a bridge, and the pool was suspended above the ground so that one could swim and stare at the garden below. The person who designed the place had weird tastes.
Cody sent his squad ahead, keeping an eye on all possible sniping positions while they were on the bridge. It was too bad the bridge was the only way to get from one side to the other on this floor.
“Lookin' good Commander, want some co-” Quinlan stopped speaking with a startled yelp, eyes wide as he stumbled.
Cody had whipped around and shot at the intruder from the first words out of his mouth. Then he threw the person over the catwalk, only realizing as he let go that he just shot and threw a Jedi. Not his Jedi, but General Vos. One he should have known well enough to recognize in an instant.
Quinlan's look of shock, hurt, and pain as he fell would haunt Cody for a long time.
And unfortunately for Quinlan, he was not thrown into the water. No, he slammed into the wall of the pool, as that part of the pool didn't have floor around it. The impact cracked the reinforced glass, already shaken from the explosions and fighting going around, and as Quinlan tried to hold onto the wall, the pool fell apart, covering him with water and dropping him twenty feet into the garden below.
Cody stared down with horror, eyes wide under his bucket. With a deep breath, he took control of the situation. He commed for medics, then let General Kenobi know that General Vos was injured in an 'accident' that he took full blame for. It was unacceptable that he attacked a Jedi like that, especially one so close to his own Jedi.
Then he forced himself to follow protocol as the medics arrived to take care of General Vos and keep sweeping the facility for droids. He could find out how General Vos was doing afterwards. Find out how badly he had hurt the Jedi.
He was going to be in so much trouble.
.
Quinlan groaned as he woke up. “Ow...” Pain, pain too much pain.
A squeeze of his hand anchored him against his pain. Obi-Wan was worried, but happy he was awake, with that undercurrent of love for one's brother that was always present when Obi-Wan held his hand. He turned his head to Obi-Wan.
“Hi.”
“You're awake,” Obi-Wan smiled. “How are you feeling?”
“Ow. Everything hurts.”
“Of course everything hurts, you're lucky you didn't have more broken bones! A concussion, broken leg, fractures in your left arm, blaster wound in your chest, and just about everything else is bruised, cut or sprained.” Manner checked him over, then gave him some pain meds.
Quinlan relaxed as the pain started fading. That was nice. He was a bit drowsy with the painkillers, but not quite enough to actually pass out.
With Obi-Wan anchoring him through holding his hand and his feelings, and the pain mostly gone, Quinlan sorted through the last things he remembered. He was going to meet up with Obi-Wan and the 212th. He'd already dropped off his bag with the ships they'd taken down, and had headed in to see if he could help.
He couldn't find anyone at first, just took out some droids, and then he spotted Commander Cody on that bridge over the weird pool. He thought he'd give Cody a surprise, but right after starting his greeting, Cody spun and shot him before tossing him over the railing. And then he hit the pool, it broke and he fell further. That was where his memory ended.
“Aside from everything hurting, how do you feel?” Obi-Wan broke through his thoughts.
“Like an idiot. Shouldn't have tried to surprise your commander... he clearly had no clue I was there and it wasn't like I was trying to be sneaky...”
Obi-Wan squeezed his hand. “Yes, that was not your best decision. Cody has asked me to pass on his apologies.”
“He's not going to apologize himself?” Quinlan asked, strangely disappointed. “Not that he even deserves most of the blame.”
“It did take him a bit longer than it should have to recognize your voice,” Obi-Wan pointed out gently. “I saw his recording. I don't blame him either but I'm not certain he will accept that.”
Quinlan sighed, disappointed. “Then I'll have to find him and talk to him. This was just an accident. A painful one, but still, just an accident.”
“I know that, you know that. I'm not sure Cody knows that. You know how the clones feel about the Jedi.”
“You mean how a lot of them practically worship us? How they ignore our flaws? Or how they think they should put their lives ahead of ours all the time?”
“Because they were raised that way, Quin. I don't know that Cody will be convinced that it isn't his fault. He takes on as much responsibility for mistakes as I do and I have had to talk him down. That's difficult enough. In this case, he got you hurt and while you were dumb, it was still something he could have tried to prevent.”
Quinlan groaned. “So talking to you at your worst, got it.”
Obi-Wan spluttered. “I do not get that bad.”
Quinlan gave him a look. “Do I need to remind you about Qui-Gon? I have a couple other names I could list.”
“He died, it's different!”
“I'm pretty sure I could have died from this 'accident' Obi-Wan.” Quinlan shook his head. “I'll be fine, and I'll make sure Cody knows it.”
“First you need to finish healing. You're getting better, but you might still need a dip in bacta. And you have some scars that are probably sticking around.”
“Oh goody, I totally needed more. Where?”
Obi-Wan rolled his eyes, squeezing Quinlan's hand. Without letting go of it, he leaned forward and showed Quinlan with his other hand.
“Here's the worst.” Obi-Wan traced the edges of the spot where the blaster bolt had found its mark. “Being from a blaster and all. Pretty typical. The rest are pretty much all from the falling glass, aside from one necessary surgery for a broken bone... here.” Obi-Wan traced the scar on his leg. Then he started tracing all the other scars.
Quinlan closed his eyes and paid attention to where they were. A few other new ones on his arms and legs he wouldn't be able to hide. That was fine. A possible one under his right eye. Well, that would make it harder for Quinlan to convince Cody to forget about the incident if it didn't fade. And then Obi-Wan traced the last one, right along his jaw from his chin to his left ear. Since that one still hurt Quinlan was pretty sure that one was not going to go away any time soon.
Obi-Wan sat back down once he was done. “You got a lot of bad injuries, but it truly could have been worse. You could have died.”
“Ow,” Quinlan agreed. “More scars than usual... but they did do glass so I shouldn't be surprised. One, possibly two on my face... ow.”
Obi-Wan chuckled. “I'm sure you'll look just as good with the scars, Quin.”
“But Obes...” Quinlan whined. “I've never gotten a scar on my face before. How's it going to look? It feels pretty bad now...”
“I'm sure it'll be fine. It'll just take some adjusting in the mirror. I doubt that anyone who likes you will be bothered.”
Quinlan grumbled. “Let me have a moment to be emotional then reassure, 'kay?”
“Oh, I'm sorry, Quin, it is a big change.” Obi-Wan squeezed his hand again.
“It is... Gonna be strange and I'll have a harder time talking Cody out of guilt, too, with something so visible.”
“Then you'll have to come up with some way to help him feel better.”
Quinlan leaned back, thinking. He had to come up with something. He didn't want to lose Cody as a friend.
Obi-Wan left him to it, amused.
.
Cody avoided Quinlan until the last day Quinlan was with them, and that was because Quinlan managed to track him down. Quinlan was still a bit wobbly on his feet, still healing, but he was released from the medbay and planning on heading back to the Temple for the rest of his leave, and to ensure he healed up properly.
Cody didn't even notice the general show up at first. He was busy running drills. He had to be better at recognizing foe from friend. Especially when it came to Jedi. He knew General Vos, knew his voice pretty well because he was always around being annoying when he didn't have a mission. So why did he not recognize him?
Quinlan leaned on the wall and watched intently. Finally, when it was clear Cody was not planning on ending any time soon based on how tired Cody clearly was, he decided he better let his presence be known.
He moved along the wall cautiously. He'd learned his lesson about surprising Cody, after all. He turned off the machines and waited.
Cody stopped, blinking in confusion. He turned to find Quinlan leaning on the wall, right next to the on/off switch. Cody blinked and a flash of the look on his face as Quinlan fell flashed through his head. He shook his head.
“General. What are you doing here?”
“I leave in the morning and this is the first time I've seen you. Of course I had to check in with you.”
“Oh. Well, I'm fine. Don't worry about me.” Cody hesitated, looking over Quinlan. He did seem to be mostly healed, though not quite steady on his feet. But there was that scar along his jaw...
“You're about to collapse, Cody,” Quinlan pointed out. “You need a break. What happened was an accident.”
“I should have done better, been better!” Cody protested. “I should have known you were there!”
“Cody. I'm a shadow. Being sneaky is second nature. I wasn't trying to sneak, true, but I knew I would probably still surprise you. I should have known better than to surprise a soldier in the middle of a fight.”
Cody shook his head. “You got hurt because I didn't realize you were there until it it was too late.” His eyes lingered on the nasty scar that was visible.
Quinlan shrugged. “It happens. I don't blame you. I made a dumb choice and paid for it.”
“I'm sorry. I should have recognized your voice.”
“It's okay. I should have been smarter about that. I forgive you.”
Cody jerked back in surprise. “You shouldn't, not so soon, General. I hurt you. I...” He was shaking.
Quinlan was right there, wrapping an arm around him in support. “I've told you to call me Quinlan. I am fine. The injuries are healing up nicely. I'll just have some scars, that's all.”
“But you looked so betrayed.” Cody spoke before he could think it through and instantly regretted it.
“I was,” Quinlan admitted. “But that was my first reaction. I've had time to think and meditated and sort out my feelings. I am fine now. We can work things out. Right?” he asked hopefully. He liked Cody, liked hanging out with him. He wasn't like any other person Quinlan knew. Well, it was less that and more he was a combination of his favorite traits of his favorite people rolled into one person.
Cody frowned. “Why would we need to work things out? I can't be your friend.”
He walked away. If he had looked back, he would have seen an even more heartbreaking look of hurt than when he had first hurt Quinlan.
Quinlan wobbled and sat down hard to process. He was not going to cry. No matter how oddly rejected he felt.
Cody was just doing what he thought was best. Quinlan would have to give him space and some peace offerings next time. He had to be patient, hopefully Cody would come around.
...Why was he so intent on making sure he was Cody's friend? Why did it hurt so much that Cody said that wasn't possible? Why was he thinking of gifts as peace offerings?
Oh. Oh that was a problem. Quinlan took in a deep breath and put his feelings to the side, and calmed down. He just would have to try another angle.
.
The next time he saw Cody he took a moment to drop a gift in his office, with just a note. He acted like nothing was off, was still friendly with Cody as always. Though a boundary had been placed, so Quinlan did not treat him as a friend no matter how much he wanted to.
Obi-Wan noticed and cornered him later to get an explanation. He almost stormed off to lecture his commander when he heard what he'd said. But Quinlan managed to convince him to stick around, to worry about it another time.
.
Cody was happy to finally be in his office. It hurt more than he thought it would to see Quinlan. That scar along his jaw was still prominent, though it was all healed now. There was a faint line under his eye as well.
And it hurt more than he expected that Quinlan didn't treat him as he had before. He carefully kept his distance, didn't touch Cody the way he did those he considered his friends. Cody wished he knew what Quinlan was thinking. Was this because Quinlan didn't think of him as a friend? Or was it because Cody had said they couldn't be friends?
He stopped dead when he saw the package on his desk. Cody stared at it for far longer than necessary, very confused. Then he poked at it a few times before noticing the note.
Saw these and they reminded me of you.
Cody frowned, not recognizing the handwriting. He opened up the gift and stared. He pulled out a pair of very good blasters, the newest model in the type he preferred. He never would have gotten a hold of these. Did... Quinlan buy them? What?
He ran his fingers over the blasters, and set them aside. He had some work to do, then he could play with the blasters. How did Quinlan know he would love to get the newest model, that he wanted them? Why did Quinlan choose to gift him blasters?
They weren't friends, and the last time they saw each other Cody 'accidentally' shot the general with his blasters. Yet, Quinlan was comfortable gifting him the newest and best?
Quinlan made no sense.
.
The next time Quinlan met up with the 212th, he was pleased to see that Cody was using the blasters that was his gift. Good.
He left a much smaller package this time. Something a bit more frivolous.
Saw the sun and it reminded me of you. Since you love the sun so much, how about something you can wear even without the armor?
Cody took out the pendant, a bright cheery sun. He stared at it in amazement. Why would Quinlan get him something like this when he wasn't even making a single move in Cody's direction. He barely even looked at Cody sometimes.
So why? Why did Quinlan keep getting him gifts? Well, two very good, probably expensive gifts didn't mean much. Surely Quinlan wouldn't get him a third gift.
Right?
.
Quinlan was disappointed when Cody treated him the same as he had been the next time they met. So he kept his distance once more. He had promised himself that he would give up only if there was no change after three or no sign they could be friends after five.
He wanted to show Cody things were okay but he wasn't about to destroy his self worth to do it. He wasn't going to torture himself. And if Cody wasn't interested after five gifts, more was probably going to be treading on boundaries.
.
Cody was pleased to see a gift from Quinlan on his desk again. He had been looking forward to see what Quinlan could come up with this time. He wasn't sure why he was so certain Quinlan was going to give him a gift, but he was.
I remembered that conversation we had once when Obi was injured when I saw this.
Cody stared at the contents. It was a galaxy map. No, it was a planetarium... to project stars, constellations depending on the location input. It came with several volumes of a guide to constellations around the galaxy along with the legends.
He remembered that night fondly. They had been watching the stars outside the tent Obi-Wan was in. And Quinlan started telling him about the constellations and the local legends. Apparently being Jedi they grew up picking up such things from varying cultures.
Cody was just impressed Quinlan could keep it all straight.
And then Cody had admitted to sleeping better after watching the stars. Had said he wanted to know more, and begged for legends associated with constellations from other systems.
Quinlan had remembered that. And bought this.
How could Cody ever repay him? Why was Quinlan doing this? After Cody hurt him so badly. After Cody so callously shot him in the shoulder, so cruelly tossed him off of a bridge. After that long recovery... and Quinlan was gifting him these things while still keeping his distance?
.
Quinlan could help but wilt a little in disappointment when Cody gave him the same greeting as he always did. When he treated Quinlan the same as he always did. Not a hint that the three gifts were well received.
Quinlan couldn't bring himself to even be as enthusiastic with others as he was. He was thankful they were arriving to the Temple just one day after the realization. It was easier to slip away without being noticed in the Temple.
He hurried through the halls, his usual smile pasted on his face. He was headed for one place, and one place only. His usual place to be emotional.
.
Cody noticed that something was off with Quinlan, but he couldn't figure out what. Quinlan hadn't needed to show up one day out from Coruscant, he could have finished his journey without that. But he met up with the 212th anyways, and Cody couldn't help but think it was for Cody, not for Obi-Wan.
But there was no gift on his desk.
Then why did Quinlan stop?
After they arrived at the Temple, and reported in, Cody went to put his bucket on to return to the barracks (though he didn't have to yet) and a note hit his head.
I'm sorry to have bothered you.
What? Why would Quinlan think that?
Cody frowned at the note. The handwriting seemed a little shaky. That was... Strange.
He stopped misstep to consider his next steps. Returning to the barracks wasn't an option. He was more concerned with what was going on with Quinlan. Why would Quinlan think he was a bother? He wasn't.
But he had been keeping his distance. Despite the gifts, he was keeping his distance. Why?
Cody frowned. Their friendship had been different since Quinlan's accident. Cody couldn't look at him the same way, at least at first. He felt so guilty. But Quinlan seemed unbothered. Yet...
That was when he started keeping his distance. Quinlan wouldn't keep his distance over that. He was determined to make sure Cody knew he didn't blame him after all.
Cody froze when it hit him. It was a reaction to Cody. He recognized how uncomfortable Cody had been with resuming their usual friendship. And he was waiting for Cody to give any hint that it was okay to resume that. But... Cody hadn't, had he?
After further thought... Cody cursed under his breath when he realized that he had been treating Quinlan the same as before with no change. Quinlan had seemed less energetic after their greeting when he arrived. He thought Cody didn't want him around.
Why was Cody making this such a kriffing mess? First he hurt Quinlan physically, and now he did so emotionally. Both on accident. But that didn't meant he didn't have a lot to make up for.
And now he had to figure out where to find Quinlan, so they could talk. Quinlan was good at taking his cues from others. Because he was a good person and didn't want to be a real bother. But he could do with a little more communicating what was on his mind.
Cody should have been more open to talking. When his guilt started fading , he should have talked to Quinlan then, at least. Communicated that he was willing to talk, instead of continuing on the same path, acting the same way. Giving off the impression he didn't want Quinlan around.
He was a kriffing idiot.
Cody considered where to look. Quinlan had said he didn't like his rooms when he was emotional at one point. Cody couldn't remember why that came up at all. He just remembered being surprised by Quinlan's casual admission of that. Because just that statement said a lot- including that Quinlan got emotional. Quinlan didn't seem the type. He had perfected his act too much to be seen as emotional.
And maybe that was Cody's problem. He had willingly let himself be fooled by Quinlan's personas. Let himself pretend that if Quinlan was acting the same with Obi-Wan it was alright. But that was far from the truth. Quinlan was not okay.
(Why was Cody's lack of acknowledgment, his lack of communication and gratitude the reason Quinlan was not okay? Why did it affect him so much more than others?)
Okay. So Quinlan didn't like being in his rooms. But he liked being reminded of home... The gardens? Didn't the Room of A Thousand Fountains have gardens for just about every system? Quinlan didn't consider Kiffu home, no, but he clearly loved a lot of things from Kiffu... so the plants in the garden might be good enough.
Cody hurried to the room, trying to figure out what to say. How to fix this.
Because truth was... He liked Quinlan. He liked having a Jedi he didn't need to report to around. He liked how Quinlan kept Obi-Wan grounded, helped out his general when Obi-Wan needed a Jedi to help him. He liked Quinlan's sense of humor. How he had never let Cody's composure bother him, or deter him.
If he hadn't been so tense that day, if he had recognized Quinlan's voice, he would have laughed about Quinlan sneaking up on him, especially upon learning it was unintentional. And he would have been happy to work alongside Quinlan.
Obi-Wan was the one who helped him start learning how to be his own person, helped him figure out hobbies and what he liked and didn't like. But it was with Quinlan he felt like he truly lived, that he was more than just Commander Cody. He didn't even get that with his own brothers.
And he didn't want to lose that, not when Quinlan didn't actually blame him that much, apparently. Not when Quinlan apparently liked him enough to just get him gifts because they reminded him of Cody. It was sweet.
Quinlan was sweet.
And Cody was a fool for not seeing it sooner.
.
Quinlan settled up a tree, laying on a thick branch as he watched the fountain below bubble merrily away. Here, in the Kiffu garden, he could feel a bit like he was back on the planet. It was soothing, feeling the echoes of Kiffu in the plants and the water.
It helped him ground himself against his feelings without choosing the desperate not so great options.
Because his feelings were strong. He understood why Cody didn't want him around. Cody had screwed up because Quinlan was messing around. Cody felt guilty and couldn't really look at Quinlan, and did not accept the peace offerings. The gifts.
But it didn't stop it from hurting so much. Quinlan wrapped his arms around the branch as he tried not to cry. As the ache increased now that he was letting himself process his feelings.
He loved Cody. That was why it hurt so much. He hadn't wanted to admit it before, but he loved Cody. He had started falling for Cody the moment he saw Cody patiently handling Obi-Wan's migraines without patronizing Obi-Wan or making Obi-Wan feeling like a child. When Cody trusted that Obi-Wan knew his limits.
If there was one requirement to be Quinlan's friend, it was that they had to have some understanding of Obi-Wan and be willing to protect him. Because people mistook Obi-Wan's ability to remain calm, to be the perfect Jedi, as him handling it, and not needing anything. But inwardly, Obi-Wan was always emotional. He had just learned young how to handle it. And while he came out the perfect Jedi and processed things better than most, Obi-Wan should never have gone through the things he did to achieve that. He should've had the chance to grow into it as all Jedi did.
So seeing that Cody was treating Obi-Wan's migraine with care, but not judgement that he was working... That was all Quinlan needed to be interested in Cody, on top of all the other things that drew him to Cody in the first place. Like that scar curling around his eye. Quinlan thought it was adorable, and really built up the character of Cody's face.
But further than that... Quinlan had few that saw through his act. He had learned long ago to be cautious. His persona, his mask, that was himself exaggerated to get people to underestimate him. People knew he was a shadow, and he still got some Jedi wondering how he could be a shadow when he was so loud and obvious. Unsubtle. It came in handy when his missions had him having to work at a different angle than other Jedi, especially if they turned to be mixed up in the issue he was investigating. Being underestimated was useful.
More than that, when he was younger, he had found from many that if he was not careful... he would get burned. Most people found a limit with his personality, even before he started dialing it up for his act. He had many acquaintances but few friends by the time he was fifteen. The ones who were fine with it would stick around.
Even if they didn't see past the mask, if they could tolerate him at his most obnoxious and clingy, they were worth keeping around. He was still cautious if they didn't see past it even when he dropped more hints, but they were still more friends than those who could not tolerate him at his most obnoxious at all.
Cody had passed all barriers, all tests, and Quinlan had trusted him completely. Had thought there was no way Cody would ever reject him.
Only it seemed he was not cautious enough. Just about everyone always found their limit in the end. Obi-Wan was a bit of an outlier that way. He pretended to be annoyed, but he secretly loved the chaos, and was a bit of a chaos gremlin himself.
Quinlan wondered where he made the mistake this time. For now though, it was just time to grieve what was, what could have been, then release the emotions and start coming up with a plan on what to do now. He would not go back to the 212th unless he needed Obi-Wan, for one.
He was jolted out of his thoughts when Cody stepped foot in the garden. Quinlan stiffened and sat up, drawing back to the tree trunk so he could blend in as much as possible.
Cody looked around, walking around cautiously at first, but clearly looking for something. Or someone. But then he started relaxing and staring at the flowers in awe.
Quinlan watched him with wide eyes, wondering what he was doing here. Cody should be at the barracks by now. Why was he here?
Cody shook himself and his gaze swept the garden once more. "Uh, Quinlan, are you here? I think... I think we need to talk?" He paused, then muttered. "Force, I hope I'm not talking to myself. I'd look insane." He shook his head, then raised his voice again. "I wasn't bothered by you but after thinking about it, I get why you might make that assumption."
Quinlan hardly dared to breathe. Cody was here, looking for him? Cody... wasn't bothered? He barely spared any thought to the hilarious idea of how insane Cody would look if he weren't here after all.
He had to give Cody a chance. He thought it was highly unlikely Cody would come here if he wasn't telling the truth.
Quinlan dropped to the ground lightly.
Cody jumped, then looked up. "Huh. Trees. Would not have thought to look up."
"Kiffar are good at climbing." Quinlan offered with a shrug. "There's a lot of jungle on Kiffu."
Cody nodded. "That makes sense... Um... why don't we sit down?"
Quinlan promptly sat on the ground next to the fountain. Not what Cody had in mind, but he went with it, setting pieces of his armor aside to be more comfortable. He was far safer in the Jedi Temple than anywhere else, after all.
Quinlan was good at wiping all emotion from his face when he wanted to. But it was a tell on its own, so he usually didn't. But now he did.
"You wanted to talk?"
Cody let out a breath. "Yes, I did. I appreciated the gifts. But I was also confused and didn't know how to react, especially as I still felt a bit guilty and didn't understand why you didn't care. So I defaulted to the usual. And you didn't push as you usually did, so I became doubly confused."
Quinlan blinked, then looked down, one hand pulling up grass and dragging through the dirt. He thought over the words a few times, then let out a quiet chuckle before looking up.
"I did not think about how confusing that would be, Cody. I'd thought I got through to you enough that I do not care. I didn't push because you were uncomfortable and I don't actually like pushing boundaries, especially when I don't know where one is. But, I suppose I could have actually asked instead of assumed. We both had a failure in communication."
"Yeah we did. But I do really appreciate the gifts. they're amazing. A bit more expensive than I deserve, not that I should be owning anything near so amazing as a clone, but they're perfect. I can't believe you thought of me and just bought them for me."
Quinlan grabbed his hand and stared at him seriously. "You deserve nice things, Cody. You're a clone, yes. That just means you're mostly genetically identical to the others and Fett. Otherwise you are your own person with your own thoughts and feelings. I would not have bought them if I didn't think you should have them."
Cody had to look away from his intense, but caring stare. Only he made the mistake of looking down at their hands and felt heat come to his face and ears.
"So, uh. Why did it affect you so much?" Cody had to ask. "It seemed like it bothered you more than I would have expected. You care, yes, but you seemed hurt quite a lot."
Quinlan sighed, and looked at the ground but did not move his hands. After just the briefest of moments of consideration, the Force encouraging him... He looked back at Cody with a soft smile.
"It's because I love you." He held his breath, nervous that he had actually admitted it aloud.
Cody stared at him. Cody swallowed. "Oh." He hadn't considered that. Hadn't really considered his own feelings. But...
"I love you too?" Cody smiled sheepishly. "I'm not entirely clear on what is, but I do know I love you and it feels different than with my brothers... so I'm open to exploring what that means?"
Quinlan lit up, a wide grin spreading across his face as he lunged forward for a hug. Cody couldn't help but smile as he returned the hug. This was the man he loved. It didn't matter what happened next, what mattered was that hear and now, they were on the same page.