Work Text:
After finding out you’re staying at a five-star resort, most people would be overjoyed. Noah, on the other hand, wasn’t.
Except that wasn't entirely true.
At first, he was pretty okay with it. Yeah, he had lost a chance at the one hundred thousand dollar prize. Being able to kick back and relax in such a fancy resort till the show ended more than made up for that.
As more and more contestants got voted out, things turned for the worse.
Someone would start a fight, everyone would pick sides, everything would get out of hand, then there’d be some sort of behind-the-scenes apology and it would all somehow go back to normal.
Having this every once in a while was fine. Entertaining, even. Daily was a nightmare.
On top of it, everyone was touchy. He couldn’t so much as hang around the pool without someone accidentally shoving into him, or something of the sort. Having eight siblings hadn’t prepared him for this insanity.
Noah was sick of it.
So he hid away in a more secluded part of the resort, staying there till things died down.
It was a small room, and mostly empty. All it had was some ‘The Smiths’ poster, and a pretty comfy couch with a few throw pillows tossed on it.
He’d been sneaking off there on his own for the last two weeks. No one came by this part of the resort, so it was the perfect place to have a read or take a nap.
Noah opened the door, raising an eyebrow as he realised he wasn’t alone.
It was Cody.
Of course, it was.
The teen watched him for a few moments, looking mostly at the other’s bandaged body. He had mostly healed up by now, legs both (almost) fully healed, and no longer had to use a wheelchair but just a crutch.
He really did heal fast.
Cody had a tongue sticking out of his mouth, eyebrows screwed in concentration as he played whatever he was playing.
He felt something swirling in the pit of his stomach but was ignored in favour of breaking the silence.
“What are you doing?”
Cody quickly turned his head away from his Nintendo Switch, looking at Noah in surprise.
“Oh. Hey, Noah,” he replied, clearly distracted, before going back to playing some sort of game. Noah let out an irritated sigh, standing beside him. He crossed his arms, an eyebrow raised like always.
“What are you doing?”
“I’m playing?” The geek replied with a grin.“I thought it was obvious, Noah.”
Noah rolled his eyes in slight annoyance. “No kidding, dork. I meant- what are you doing here?”
Cody blinked in confusion.
“What?”
“I’ve been going here for weeks, and no one else has even walked in this direction. Why are you here?”
Cody laughed awkwardly, shuffling from where he sat. He paused the game, putting it on his lap. Noah’s eyes immediately landed on it, reading the bold letters on the loading screen.
“I’m roommates with Geoff. and, uh, he always has Bridgette over. it’s kind of awkward trying to focus on a game while listening to someone make out with his girl and call her his, ‘sugar booger’. So, I had enough and left. I kinda wondered aimlessly till I found this place-”
“Is that Kosmic Kaos?” he interrupted, staring intently at the screen. Cody looked at him in surprise.
“You play too?”
Noah nodded, watching Cody go back to playing with a raised eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes. Something about Cody’s fighting style…
He looked torn between just going to find another room or sitting beside him. Cody decided for him, patting beside himself. The other sat, slightly awkward.
“That's so cool! I've had this game for like, 2 years. I don't play it too much,” he was stopped by dying again. Noah snorted at the look on his face.
“…Damn it. Whatever, I'll use my other life. But- my favorite character has got to be Evelyn. I always play her. She's the only one who can fly.”
Noah raised an eyebrow. He narrowed his eyes. Something about Cody’s fighting style…
“She can’t fly, she-“
“-Hovers, yeah, yeah, I know. That's what everyone says. Saying she flies is way cooler.”
Something about those words made Noah uneasy, like he’d heard them before.
He shook it off.
No point in dwelling on that.
He watched Cody pick the switch back up and get back to it.
This whole situation reminded him of something that he couldn’t quite put his finger on…
The geek let out an annoyed groan as he got killed mid-fight again, catching Noah's attention.
“How the hell am I supposed to..” he mumbled the rest of his sentence under his breath, eyebrows furrowed as he button-mashed like crazy.
Whatever. That wasn’t important now.
Noah sat himself next to Cody, leaning over. His eyebrows raised.
“Level 31?” Noah questioned, clearly surprised. Cody nodded absentmindedly, before getting hit 20 metres up into the air and off the platform. A big, bold ‘GAME OVER! XD’ covered the screen. He let out another sigh of annoyance.
“Yeah! I got here cuz of my Gamin’ Champ skillz, but I'm… uh…a little …stuck?” he needed nervously, before dying. Again.
As Cody re-tried the level, Noah turned his attention to the corner of the screen, wondering about Cody's death count so far.
If his eyebrows had raised any higher, they would’ve fallen right off his face.
“127 deaths? Seriously, dude?” he laughs again, making Cody turn a little red. “That level is like, the second easiest in the whole series. Are you sure you’re the Gamin’ Champ you say you are?”
The geek scratched the back of his neck, not looking at him. Noah snorted, before putting his hand out. Cody understood immediately, plopping it in his hand and scooting over.
Noah clears that level. Then the next. And the next. Cody watches in awe.
As soon as he was done with level 37, he passed the switch back into Cody’s shaky hands.
“I’ll help you, but you have to be the one playing this round.” He nodded, grinning. The geek scooted himself over, bumping their shoulders together and leaving it there.
“What are your orders, oh Noah, god of all gaming?” Noah rolled his eyes like he always did, before bumping Cody back.
“My first order is that you shut up and do as I say.”
For the next half an hour, Noah helped him out. Taught him some simple tricks as well as how to unlock certain Easter eggs. He still couldn’t shake the familiar feeling.
At some point, Cody must’ve moved closer since they were practically squished together. Noah had a free hand on Cody’s head that rested on his shoulder, while the other's arm was lazily wrapped around his shoulder. His other hand lay on Noah’s knee, just resting there.
Noah wasn’t sure if the racing of his heart was healthy or not.
He cleared his throat, standing up and stepping away from Cody, completely missing the disappointed look sent his way. He dropped the switch back into the other’s lap, picking his book up.
“As much as this has been fun, codester, I have a book to get back to.” He then turned around, intent on getting away from him, when a hand clasped on his own.
“Wait, what’s your gamer tag?”
Noah didn’t hear what he said, though, staring at the hand holding his. There were a few small scars on it, probably from the bear mauling only a few weeks ago. But the most notable thing about it was how warm it had been.
He came back into focus when Cody pulled his hand closer and picked up a pen that came from seemingly nowhere.
Or, more realistically, one of his many, many pockets.
“- We could totally play when this shows over, right? I’ll just give you my game tag, since you seem to be preoccupied by something,” he ended with a laugh, as Noah finally snorted and rolled his eyes in response.
He doesn’t reply, deciding to just give the other his again as he starts scribbling on it.
His nose twitched.
It tickled.
Cody pulled away, a grin on his face.
“I’ve gotta have a check up with Chef soon, since it’s, what- 2pm? I’ll see you around, man!” he waves the other off, strutting out the room.
Noah almost mentioned the fact the ink was probably going to run off soon, or tease him as he accidentally walked into the door, but all he could do was stare at the gamer tag quickly written on the back of his hand.
‘Cinderhella243.’