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One minute, Cody was doing some swimming away from his brothers so he could have some quiet time to himself, the next he was swept under by a wave, and when he tried to get up, he was trapped by the seaweed as it tangled around his foot.
Cody panicked, trying to get free. Just when he thought he was going to die, he got his foot out and was able to reach the surface, gasping for air.
And he was horrified to realize a storm had unexpectedly swept in.
Cody cursed and swam for shore, occasionally stopping to count brothers, to make sure they were all making it back to the beach as well.
Some vacation this was turning out to be.
He had to make a detour to help Rex, who had a mishap with his surfboard. Then he helped Fox get out as Fox grumbled about not being able to float anymore.
He counted brothers again. No Boba- where-there!
Cody swam out to Boba and found his baby brother panicking as he tried to get free of some debris that had him a bit trapped.
Cody got him free.
Boba took off without a thank you, desperate to get to shore.
Cody went to follow, but another wave took him, and this time, he couldn't fight it.
He got trapped by more debris. He tried to shove it to the side, but he was getting tired. He had been swimming for a while before the storm, and he helped three of his brothers escape the ocean.
Cody panicked as he tried to reach the surface, but he was trapped.
.
Cody woke up in the hospital. He had survived, barely, thanks to Monnk finding him and getting him out in time. Monnk had also been helping their brothers get out, though there were too many for just him.
He had developed pneumonia from inhaling too much seawater. He had some cuts and bruises from the beating he took in the storm.
But, he would make a full recovery.
Cody wasn't sure he wanted to go swimming on the ocean any time soon after that experience.
He was in the hospital for two days, and was released just in time for the return trip home.
He was still a bit shaky, but in the rush of his brothers, it went unnoticed. He wasn't even the only one that ended up in the hospital for an overnight.
Cody relaxed on the plane ride, and was a bit disappointed to touch down once more hours later.
He coughed as he gathered his carry ons. He helped his brothers when they needed help.
But when they started leaving him behind in their rush to get to the luggage claim, he just sighed and resigned himself to the long trek alone.
Cody stopped and coughed briefly but then resumed walking almost immediately. He wanted to get out of there and he didn't want anyone to have to wait too long.
He reached the door to bring them into the public part of the airport.
Cody had to catch his breath. His brothers were nowhere in sight. Typical. He stretched a little, as some of the bruises were quite sore. Then he grabbed his carry on once more and started through the door.
"Cody!" Quinlan's cheerful voice reached him just before Quinlan hugged him.
Cody panicked and shoved Quinlan away.
Quinlan looked wounded, but he covered that up with concern. "Sorry, I didn't mean to surprise you that bad."
"It's not that..." Cody stopped and coughed. He grimaced at the looks he was given. "I just can't stand the feeling of being trapped right now."
Quinlan nodded. "What happened? You said you were in the hospital?" He took Cody's carry on from him as they started walking towards the baggage claim.
Cody winced. "An unexpected storm came in while we were at the beach, I got trapped. It's a bit of a blur, I don't even remember what trapped me. Monnk got me free, but I inhaled a lot of water and got pneumonia."
"That's rough... and they left you?" Now Quinlan sounded indignant.
Cody shrugged. "They're more worried about everyone else. I can take care of myself."
Quinlan raised an eyebrow at him. "And that's why you came out of the door more than five minutes after they did, without any help. Your cough sounds awful."
"Yeah, I've been getting looks. I should've just worn a mask. Not like I'm contagious but I bet they'd be less judge-y."
"Probably," Quinlan agreed.
"What are you doing here, anyway, Quinlan?"
Quinlan shrugged. "You were on vacation for two weeks, and for part of it you were trapped in the hospital. I wanted to be here to greet you."
"Really?" Cody asked, surprised.
They hadn't even been dating that long, just a few months. No one Cody had dated would have made that effort if they weren't asked to be a ride.
And yet, of all people, it was Quinlan, who Cody had been dared to date. Cody hadn't thought it would work, but if he was going to follow through on the dare, he was going to make it work.
Cody sighed when he reached the baggage claim to see that his brothers all had their bags already, but they hadn't thought to grab his.
His brothers were organizing to leave.
Quinlan glanced around. "Which ones are yours?" he asked.
"The ones with the suns." Cody pointed, then coughed, covering up his mouth.
Quinlan nodded and grabbed one, then the other quickly, pulling them over to Cody.
"So... what's the ride situation?"
"I rode over with Fox."
"Right. Let's go." Quinlan let Cody take his carry-on to handle the other two bags.
Cody stared at him but accepted the help. If he wasn't so out of breath, struggling to breathe with his worst coughing fits, he would have refused. He didn't like admitting he couldn't do something.
But he was struggling and it was a relief not to have to worry about two of his bags.
That Quinlan didn't draw attention to how much he needed help was a bonus. It was nice to not feel totally helpless.
Quinlan frowned. "Where did Fox park?"
The Fetts were gone.
Cody sighed and directed Quinlan in the right direction.
Several minutes later, which included a few breaks for Cody to catch his breath, they arrived in the parking garage to find no sign of Fox's car.
"...they left without me." Cody sighed, resigned. This wasn't the first time. He usually found his own way home. And as always, this reminded him why he had chosen to get his own place. At least the separation gave him the illusion they weren't purposefully leaving him out, that he was just being left out because he wasn't around.
But it was very apparent at a time like this.
Cody hadn't even expected Monnk to rescue him.
It was a normal pattern. As the oldest, Cody did everything for everyone, and then they did nothing for him in return.
"Well, let's get over to the other parking garage, I can drive you home."
"Really?" Cody asked.
Quinlan gave him a disbelieving look. "Of course. I came here to welcome you home and to make sure you're okay. I'm not going to leave you stranded here. Want to get some food on the way home?"
Cody stared at him, then nodded. "Um. Pizza?"
Quinlan grinned. "Pizza it is!"
Cody smiled back and followed Quinlan to his car.
Dating Quinlan may have started on a dare. It was ridiculous, Cody had laughed at Fox for grumbling about how annoying Quinlan was, and Fox dared him to date Quinlan to see how annoying he was.
Cody hadn't wanted to do that; it wasn't nice. But... Fox had been paying attention to him for once, and they agreed that if Cody could date Quinlan and not find Quinlan annoying enough to complain like Fox, then Fox would bake him his favorite cupcakes. If Cody did find Quinlan that annoying, Cody owed Fox a painting of Fox's choice. It was a fair deal.
And since Fox rarely made things for Cody, Cody had wanted to win. He decided privately to give it a real try. He wanted to truly see that they were incompatible.
But... so far... all he could see was that people never looked close enough with Quinlan. Sure they had only been dating a few months, but Cody had only been expecting it to last one month, at most.
He knew Quinlan because he was Fox's most frequent study partner in college, and they were weirdly antagonistic friends after that. Cody wondered how that worked with how annoyed Fox got with Quinlan.
He also knew Quinlan because his friend Obi-Wan was foster brothers with Quinlan, and they were close enough to consider each other brothers years later.
It was weird, though. Obi-Wan didn't seem the type to put up with someone like Quinlan, and yet he did. He was also fiercely protective of Quinlan, which was why Cody decided to give it a real go.
Quinlan ushered Cody into the car while he got the luggage put away.
Cody sat down and closed his eyes. That felt a lot better. He could breathe again. He knew that moving was supposed to help, because it would clear his lungs. But that also led to the worst coughing fits ever so he hated it.
Quinlan got in the car and started it up. "Any requests?" he asked lightly.
"Uh..." Cody glanced at Quinlan, then down at his phone and sighed. "Disney music is fine." He secretly loved Disney music, so Quinlan's open love of it was a nice excuse to listen to it.
Quinlan grinned. "Alright!" he put on his Disney playlist and got ready to drive. "If you need anything, let me know, okay?"
Cody nodded. "I will." He closed his eyes and listened to the best Disney songs, and Quinlan singing along to them.
Quinlan nudged him gently. "Cody, we're at your house."
Cody grumbled, then opened his eyes and blinked. "Already? But it's an hour long drive..."
"It is... you slept the whole way through. I already got the pizza ordered. You go inside, I'll follow with your bags."
Cody still felt exhausted so he decided to just go with it. He could contemplate that later.
Quinlan was a chatterbox, he didn't seem to like silence, even when music was playing, and yet he let Cody sleep the whole way home. That was amazing.
Cody thought he understood why Obi-Wan was so comfortable with Quinlan.
Quinlan tried, so hard, to be good while staying true to himself. And most people didn't look past the obvious loud and obnoxious personality to the real person it covered.
Cody wasn't sure why he was thinking so much about Quinlan.
He climbed the stairs from the landing and collapsed on the couch. He did not have the energy for anything. He'd get some water later. And a blanket.
Maybe he was thinking so much about Quinlan because Quinlan had passed his low expectations, and beaten his brothers in terms of caring, and remembering that Cody existed. It was... nice.
Cody enjoyed the pizza, though he couldn't eat much.
At least he and Quinlan shared the same taste in pizza. It meant they didn't have to get separate pizzas or argue. They could just order and eat. No fuss.
Quinlan even brought Cody water, his blanket, and anything else he thought Cody might need.
Then he disappeared to do some of the unpacking for Cody, so that Cody at least would have access to the necessities he'd brought along.
Cody fell asleep two hours later.
He woke up in bed, a lighter blanket resting loosely on top of him. He blinked a few times then rolled over and checked the time. 9am. At least he didn't have work. He quickly texted his boss to let him know about the pneumonia and that he wasn't certain about work, he'd have to check with his doctor.
Then he dragged himself out of bed.
It took him a while before he felt human enough to go get breakfast. When he headed out to the kitchen, he was startled to find Quinlan asleep on the couch.
That was... weird.
Cody got himself a water and started pouring himself cereal. He had to stop to breathe after a bad coughing fit.
"You okay?" Quinlan asked.
"Yeah..." Cody glanced at him. "Why are you still here?"
"You're pretty sick, and you don't seem like you should be alone. Do you need me to take you to the doctor or anything?"
Cody sighed. "Actually... a ride to the doctor would be nice," he admitted.
"Alright. Let me know when."
.
Cody ended up being out of work for two weeks. In that time, he had sporadic contact with his family, none of them, not even Rex, checked up on him and his illness.
But Quinlan hardly left him alone. The times he did, was for just an hour or two, or when Obi-Wan was around.
Apparently, Quinlan had chosen to go into writing as his career after he got his degrees, and could handle it because Quinlan's parents had left him a huge inheritance. Which he also used to ensure that Obi-Wan was living comfortably.
This meant that Quinlan was mostly writing and leaving Cody alone, just there to help Cody out while he recovered. It was... actually kind of nice.
After the two weeks though, Cody noticed that something wasn't right with Quinlan.
He was scratching his arms absently, not even seeming to notice that he was doing so. He didn't seem to have his usual energy.
Cody was starting to get worried. It was so unlike Quinlan to act the way he was. He was usually so loud and vibrant, flinging himself over the nearest person to chat their ear off.
And yet, Quinlan always respected Cody's boundaries.
Cody had explained a little about why feeling trapped bothered him, and Quinlan had accepted it. He never pushed, never questioned why. He never even asked if Cody was ready to try again.
Cody wasn't used to people being respectful of his boundaries. Even his brothers pushed a little too much. The ones he liked the most pushed the least.
That was why he liked Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan was laid back and chill. He let Cody be, and Cody let him be. They were two kindred spirits. Too similar to date, though.
Quinlan was a whole new level.
They hadn't even been dating all that long, and Quinlan was already proving to be a good choice for a boyfriend.
But could Cody fall in love with him?
.
Two months later, Cody started in on therapy because he still couldn't stand being trapped. He didn't understand why that had stood out him so much compared to other things.
Cody wouldn't have started therapy... he wouldn't have realized that he needed it, if he hadn't seen how much it was affecting Quinlan.
Each day Quinlan respected his boundaries and was an attentive boyfriend, Cody fell in love more.
But as Cody invested more in the relationship, no longer feeling things out but committing to it whole heartedly, he realized that Quinlan actually hadn't shared a lot about himself. He was still guarding a part of himself. He was didn't trust Cody yet.
It was amazing how open Quinlan was, fully admitting to his general problems with socializing, and that he was clingy and his personality wasn't for everyone.
And yet, Quinlan kept the real things to himself.
Cody got peeks now and again, but nothing Quinlan wasn't ready to share. He decided to be as respectful of Quinlan's boundaries as Quinlan was of his.
Quinlan would share eventually.
But... after two months of Cody refusing hugs because they made him feel trapped, Cody realized that something was seriously wrong.
Quinlan was scratching at his arms more and more. So much that they bled at times. He didn't even seem to notice. He was looking exhausted, like he wasn't sleeping well.
Cody asked Obi-Wan about it. Obi-Wan was immediately concerned, but he didn't say why Quinlan was like that.
Quinlan stayed with Obi-Wan for a night of hanging out, and Quinlan was better after that.
He was still off. But he was so focused on Cody and making sure Cody was okay, and not expecting anything from Cody in return, that Cody couldn't get anything from him.
It was nice, Cody could admit, being taken care of. But he was doing better, and he didn't need it as much. He wanted to go back to a better dating dynamic.
And he suspected his boundaries around hugging were a huge barrier. They kept Quinlan at arms' length, and a single sleepover with Obi-Wan that probably involved cuddling improved him.
Which meant that Quinlan wasn't clingy for no good reason. He clearly needed the affection, even if he would never ask for it.
So Cody would find a way to make sure that Quinlan got it.
Hence starting therapy.
Cody wasn't prepared for the therapist to start untangling his relationship with his brothers.
After a month of therapy once a week, and a month of poking at his relationship with his brothers, Cody decided it was time to actually talk to Quinlan.
They were approaching six months of dating. They were definitely passed the feeling it out stage and into serious territory, though they had been serious about dating from the get go. They just had the time to back it up.
Cody nagged Obi-Wan until he found out what Quinlan's favorite food was, and then he ordered that from a restaurant and picked up what he knew was Quinlan's favorite ice cream, even if Quinlan didn't go for it often.
He prepared his house for the date. Once again, he was grateful that things had worked out with roommates or it never would have worked out well with Quinlan staying there a lot while he was recovering. But they were all busy with their own lives, and two of them were considering moving in with their significant others after more than a year of dating. Which was a thought that Cody had to shelve, for now.
Quinlan was stunned by the dinner when he showed up for their casual date night.
Cody smiled and seated him at the table.
"What's all this?" Quinlan asked, bewildered.
"You've been doing everything for me, it's time I do something nice for you," Cody said, smiling. "I'm not used to being taken care of."
Quinlan looked down at the food on his plate and rubbed one of his eyes. "Neither am I," he said softly.
Cody hid a frown. He knew that Obi-Wan did his best to help Quinlan out, but Quinlan was older, so he must have done more to take care of Obi-Wan. And outside of Obi-Wan... Quinlan didn't have anyone... besides Cody.
They kept the chatter lighthearted and fun, things they both liked to talk about. The discussion got heated at times, but they always backed off before it could devolve into a real argument.
After dinner, Cody gathered up the dishes and put them aside to clean later. The trash was thrown away. Then he pulled out two containers of ice cream and two spoons.
"I thought we could talk about some things," Cody said as he offered the ice cream to Quinlan.
Quinlan frowned, but nodded. Then he lit up. "Mint chocolate chip! My favorite!"
Cody smiled. He had his own favorite, moose tracks. He led Quinlan over to the couch and sat down, facing Quinlan. He dug his spoon in and hummed happily at the first bite.
Quinlan took a bite, but he looked like he was waiting for doom to hit him.
Cody tried to give him a reassuring smile, but Quinlan wasn't quite meeting his eyes.
Cody sighed and decided to take the plunge.
"I've been seeing a therapist," he started slowly. "I can't remember if I mentioned that. I... It's now been three months and I still can't stand the feeling of being trapped. I miss your hugs. So I started therapy."
Cody paused and took a bite as he grimaced. "I got more than I bargained for... it's good, but at the same time... it's so much more complicated than I expected."
"It is?" Quinlan just looked confused.
Cody nodded. "So... our current theory as to why this hit me harder than other times is a combination of things, I never was that close to death before, I had saved three of my brothers and then had to be saved myself, and..." Cody shoved another spoonful of ice cream into his mouth. He chewed and swallowed, sighing.
"I'm the oldest of my brothers... it's looking like I was parentified, and because they generally forget about me and don't seem to care, I'm not used to people caring... I didn't get a hug in the aftermath, you know... not until you met me at the airport." Cody sighed. He didn't think his brothers even realized he had been forgotten. He could have said something, but it had never made a difference. Most of the time they hardly believed him.
Quinlan frowned. "So... you're not used to being hugged, and it makes you feel trapped as a result?"
Cody shook his head. "It's more... I'm already feeling trapped with my family. I do things over and over again for them, get hardly anything in return, and they just expect so much of me... they only remember me when I need them and I guess... I just keep going back to them because I want them to love me the way I love them, but that's never going to happen. I'm trapped. And then I actually physically got trapped trying to help them and they still didn't care." Cody shoved another spoonful into his mouth and rubbed his eyes.
Quinlan reached over and put a hand on his knee. "I'm sorry."
Cody gave him a small smile. "You help, a lot... I thought I was going to die. I didn't think even Monnk would try to save me. And... despite my panic, part of me was relieved because it meant it was all going to be over because I didn't have anyone who cared about me. Only... I was wrong because I came home and you were there, and you gave me everything I needed and more. You didn't even push my boundaries even though I can tell you desperately want to hug me."
Quinlan sighed. "I do, but what you need is more important."
Cody huffed. "Stop that, you're acting like me and it freaks me out." He jabbed his spoon at Quinlan.
Quinlan stared at him. "Huh?"
Cody smiled sadly. "That's how I act with my family, I ignore everything I want... everything I need for them and I get nothing in return. You need touch, don't you?"
Quinlan shrugged and looked away. The hand not holding a spoon started scratching his arm.
Cody reached over and pulled it away. "I don't want you to hurt yourself because I can't handle hugs... because I can't help but feel trapped right now. We can find another way."
"What?" Quinlan stared at him, more bewildered.
"I want to keep dating you, Quin. I want to make this relationship work, and once we're ready, I could move in with you, and maybe one day we could get married, if we can keep making this work, but we're not going to get there if you're always sacrificing yourself to respect my boundaries. We can find a compromise."
"Like what?"
Cody nudged his feet off the couch and scooted over until he could wrap an arm around Quinlan. "I don't feel trapped like this... It's more about not being able to escape, but... you're only on my side here, and the couch is at my back, I can jump up or move to the side, so I don't feel trapped."
"Oh!" Quinlan leaned on Cody, relaxing almost immediately. "Thank you."
"For what?" Cody asked, now confused.
"For accepting me as I am... and still wanting to be around me... and being willing to accept that I need all the cuddles."
Cody shrugged. "You put up with my quirks while I was recovering. Even the worst habits."
"It was worth it."
"And so is this."
Quinlan rubbed his eyes. "Outside of Obi... I can't remember the last time anyone ever did anything this nice for me... Codes... you're amazing."
"So are you," Cody said softly. "I know there's a lot you're not telling me, and there's a lot I'm not telling you. But that can come with time. We have a long ways to go before we can fully trust each other... and there is something I really should tell you."
"What is it?" Quinlan asked warily.
"I was laughing at Fox for grumbling about you and he told me that if I spent as much time with you as he did I'd understand, I laughed harder since he's the one making that choice, and then he dared me to date you."
"What? A dare?"
Cody nodded. "But I don't regret this. You're wonderful. I knew that if I was going to take him up on his dare, I wasn't going to put in half an effort, that wasn't fair to either of us, and I'm glad I treated it the way I did because then I would never have realized how nice it is to be taken care of... and how alarming my behavior can be from another perspective."
Quinlan let out a breath. "Um... what were the terms of the dare?"
"If I complained, I owed Fox a painting of his choice. If I didn't, Fox owed me cupcakes."
"And...?"
Cody shrugged. "I haven't complained. They know we're dating. But Fox hasn't remembered, not that I expected him to. He doesn't even make cupcakes for my birthday, why would he do it for a silly dare. And anyways, it doesn't matter, because I'm actually happy, and I'm starting to work on figuring out my relationships for once in my life. So this is wonderful, for me."
Quinlan stared at him, astonished. "I'm happy too," he admitted. "But... there's a lot you don't know..."
"That's okay. We can figure it out as we go."
"I stream on twitch," Quinlan blurted, a bit embarrassed.
"You do? What do you do?" Cody asked.
"I mostly stream writing, lots of people like just hanging out and chatting while we all write, and sometimes we talk about what we're writing or how we write. And I run sprints and do stream raiders, and it's a lot of fun."
"Oh, cool. Do you make money off of it?"
"Not much, writing isn't that popular, though I do stream four to six hours most days since I don't actually have a job. And... sometimes I play instruments... my second major was in music but I don't know, I don't feel that good at it, I mostly do it for milestones and redeems."
"That's still really cool though!" Cody exclaimed. "What's your twitch name so I can find you?"
"I uh..." Quinlan stuttered, clearly surprised that Cody was so interested.
Cody wrote it down so he could find Quinlan and follow him later. He would support his boyfriend in this. And it would be a good way to get to know him in other ways.
Cody tilted his head. "If people stream writing on twitch... do people stream art?"
"They do, it's actually a lot of fun watching people craft on stream, especially the things I could never do."
"Maybe I should start a twitch account... Try streaming a little on the weekends."
"Really? Why?" Quinlan asked curiously.
Cody shrugged. "My painting hobby isn't exactly one my family enjoyed beyond liking the paintings as gifts, they just... never really supported me either, not that they ever supported me in anything if it didn't help them... I've always wanted to find others who do painting and maybe branch out more..."
Quinlan beamed. "That's great! I can help you out, if you want."
"I'd love that."
With the hardest part over, both relaxed and ate their ice cream, thinking over the conversation, and how lucky they were to find the other.
.
Three months later, Cody took Quinlan to Christmas. He'd continued to be mostly unnoticed by his family. This was a final test before he started pulling away and refusing to help so much.
Fox nearly choked on his drink when he saw Quinlan walk in with Cody, hand in hand.
He was more astonished to realize that Cody and Quinlan were acting quite in love. And yet, Cody had never once complained about Quinlan.
On top of that... he'd never seen Cody so relaxed and happy.
Quinlan didn't even tone down his behavior, but how he acted with Cody hinted towards a softer side than any of them knew.
The greatest shock came when Cody decided to say no to their requests for help, pointing out that most of them never even bothered to wish him happy birthday just a month previous. None of them did anything for his birthday, nor had they for years while he always got them gifts. He always dropped everything for them.
But when he had pneumonia, they left him behind at the airport, and it was only the fact that Quinlan had been waiting for him that allowed him together home quickly.
That stunned everyone into silence, but then the arguing started.
Cody left Christmas dinner, hand in hand with Quinlan who had been nothing but supportive the whole time.
His family telling him he was ruining Christmas rang in his ears. And it hurt like nothing else.
But Cody was done trying and trying for them, only to feel like they didn't love him. He was only there to do things for them.
So, it didn't matter if he ruined Christmas. They'd ruined his countless times. This was the last Christmas he would be around for. He doubted they would notice when he disappeared anyways.
But now Cody had something to look forward to, with Quinlan. They hadn't even been dating a year, but they fit so well together. Cody couldn't imagine a world where they didn't get married eventually.
He didn't know it at the time, but eventually he would reconcile with most of his brothers as they came to realize just how messed up his life had been, and as a result, came to regret how they treated him.
It would be enough that most of them would be able to stand with him when he married Quinlan three years later.