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It’s almost midnight when Adam walks out of the venue. He stops right outside the door and pulls out his phone to make the time pass faster. He’s waiting for Cody, who as always, has to talk to everybody backstage. Adam’s used to it at this point, Cody has to check in with everyone, and for Adam, it was finally a moment of silence.
He’s scrolling through Twitter when raindrops fall onto his phone screen. He groans, looking up at the sky, and pulls up the hood of his hoodie. He hopes that it’ll be just a little rain and it won’t start pouring. Per usual, luck isn’t on his side, and a few minutes later, he’s soaking wet. He looked for someplace to hide from the rain but found nothing and going back inside feels too awkward at this point, so he just stands there. He really regrets not taking the car keys from Cody.
Adam is zoned out, focused on the passing cars, when the rain suddenly stops. “Hey there, handsome.”
The voice rumbles in Adam’s ears, startling him. He turns around and sees Cody with an umbrella in one hand and his suitcase with a plastic bag on top of it in the other.
“Fuck, you scared me.” Adam gasps and puts his hand on his chest. He can feel his heart hammering against his rib cage. Cody steps closer to him so they’re both fully covered by the umbrella and puts his hand on the small of Adam’s back.
“I’m sorry,” he rubs Adam’s back, his touch immediately calming the other man down. “The Bucks ordered chicken wings and I stole some for you,” he says with a small smile and nods toward the plastic bag.
“Thanks, but can we go to the car now? I'm freezing.” Adam puts his hands in the pockets of his hoodie, his whole body shivering. He’s really grateful Cody got him food, but all he can think about is getting somewhere warm and dry.
“Yeah! Let's go.” Cody’s hand leaves Adam’s back and they both start walking toward their car. As soon as they get in Cody turns on the heating. “Sorry for making you wait so long.”
“It's okay, I should've just gone inside instead of standing in the rain.” Adam lets out a breathy laugh. He can’t stop his body from shivering, his damp clothes uncomfortably sticking to his skin.
“You should take off your hoodie, it's drenched.” Cody reaches above the gap between their seats and as he’s about to grab the zipper of Adam’s hoodie, Adam slaps his hand.
“Okay, stop that.” he points at the other man trying to look threatening and Cody laughs, shaking his head. Adam knows exactly what Cody is trying to do and he won’t allow him to succeed. He takes a deep breath, pulls off his hoodie, and throws it on the backseat.
He always tries his best to ignore Cody’s teasing and attempts to make him blush but most of the time, he fails because he feels like a teenager with a crush around Cody and even a slight touch sets his body on fire. Most of the time, he tries to repay Cody, usually by calling him pretty because that’s what makes the other man flustered the most. This time, though he lets it go and instead focuses on connecting his phone to the speakers.
“What do you want me to play?” he asks as they're driving out of the parking lot. He turns his eyes to Cody, who is focused on the road, his face illuminated by street lights.
“I don't know. You can just put on your playlist.” Cody shrugs without taking his eyes off the road. Adam can't stop himself from smiling.
“So you like it?” he asks teasingly. Cody always complains that Adam puts on his country playlist.
“I didn't say that! I don't like it, but I don't hate it.” Cody jumps to defend himself, and Adam's smile only widens.
“You sang some lyrics earlier today!” he points out, his eyes glistening with amusement. Cody rubs his face with one hand and sighs.
“There are some good songs on there, country just isn't my favorite genre.” he explains, gesticulating with one hand. “Also, the fact that you always put on the same playlist doesn't help.” he shoots Adam a quick look.
“Well, I'm sorry! I'm gonna play something else then.” Adam quickly scrolls through his playlists and clicks a random one. He then lowers himself in the seat and crosses his arms, Cody just laughs and pats Adam's thigh. They don’t talk the rest of the way to the hotel, music breaking the silence between them. Adam looks out through the car window with a small smile on his lips and soon his eyelids fall shut.
Adam’s eyes fly open when he feels a hand touching his shoulder. The door from the driver’s side is open, letting in the cold air. Cody is standing outside, reaching in, his hand on Adam's shoulder squeezing it gently.
“We’re here.” Cody says and backs out to the outside. Adam rubs his eyes with his fingers. He notices that Cody has already pulled their bags out of the trunk. “I know you would like me to carry you to the room, but you are a bit heavy.” Cody laughs at Adam, who still isn't fully aware of what is happening. “Come on, it's getting late.” he closes the door and heads to the hotel entrance with their bags in both hands. Adam quickly gets out of the car and follows the older man.
They are standing in the elevator after their usual routine of Cody talking to the receptionist and Adam looking around the lobby.
“Here, the key to your room.” Cody hands him the key and Adam puts it in his pocket.
“Thanks, but I think I'm gonna go straight to yours.” he is definitely too tired to walk between the rooms and he just wants to spend more time with Cody.
“Should've said that earlier; we would get only one.” Cody says as the elevator door opens and he puts his hand on Adam’s back, guiding him out. Adam rolls his eyes at his words.
“Like we haven't had them booked since yesterday.” he responds lightheartedly. Cody's hand doesn’t leave Adam's back until they get to the door of their hotel room. Cody opens it and gestures to Adam to walk in first.
“Ladies first.” he bows slightly, smiling like he just told the funniest joke ever. Adam decides not to comment on it, just shakes his head and walks inside. It’s nice, nothing fancy, but Adam only needs a comfortable bed to be happy. He lets go of his suitcase and face-plants onto the double bed. “You should shower.”Adam can hear Cody open his suitcase and look for something inside it. He rolls onto his back and leans on his elbows to look at the other man.
“Are you suggesting that I stink?” he says teasingly and raises his eyebrow. Cody sighs and turns his head towards him.
“No, a hot shower will be good for you since you got drenched by rain half an hour ago.” he gets up, holding his MacBook in one hand. “I just don't want my tag team partner to get sick.”
“Yeah, you're right.” Adam gets up from the bed and after finding his pajamas and toiletries in his suitcase, he heads towards the bathroom.
“Just don't take too long, the wings won't stay warm forever.” Cody says loudly from his place on the bed. Adam only mutters something of a confirmation that he heard him.
He gets into the shower and as the hot water hits his skin, his muscles slowly relax. He starts his usual shower routine without much thinking. Cody was right he really needed that. It’s weird to have someone take care of him after his matches. Adam’s still not used to it, and it’ll probably take more time for him to adjust. He has to admit that it’s nice to have some resemblance of stability and routine in his chaotic life.
Midway through washing the conditioner off his hair he realizes he’s zoning out. He reminds himself about what Cody said and quickly finishes his shower routine. When he walks out of the bathroom, Cody is still in the same spot as before, sitting on the bed with his laptop in his lap. He changed into his pajamas while Adam was showering. Adam goes straight to the table where Cody put the styrofoam box with his dinner.
“What are you doin’?” he asks as he walks towards the bed with the box in hand. Cody looks up at Adam and pats the space next to him.
“Just answering some emails.” he responds when Adam sits down on the bed and leans against the headboard. Adam opens the box and picks up one of the chicken wings. Cody was right they’re already cold, but that doesn’t stop Adam from eating them.
“You want one?” Adam's words are barely intelligible because of the food in his mouth. Cody just shakes his head without taking his eyes off the screen. Adam shrugs and keeps on eating.
“Don't get the sheets dirty.” of course, Cody can’t forget to remind Adam about that one time he accidentally dropped BBQ sauce on the bedcover. They had to sleep without it that night because it was too late to ask someone to change it.
“Mmmhmm.” Adam mutters and rolls his eyes. He leans his head on Cody's shoulder, mesmerized by his hands typing on the keyboard.
“Actually, you can give me a bite.” Cody says as Adam is about to bite into another wing.
“Fucking knew it.” Adam sits up straight and looks at Cody angrily, his reaction making Cody laugh. “Just a small one!” he brings the chicken close to Cody's mouth, who completely ignores what Adam said and takes a bite so big that half of the wing is gone. All Adam can do is sigh as Cody chews with a smirk on his lips. They share the rest of the wings.
As Adam gets up to throw away the empty box, pain shoots through his back, it's been bothering him for a while now, the consequence of being constantly booked. He puts his hand on the small of his back, trying to massage it. Cody looks up from his laptop screen.
“Your back again? You want me to take care of it?” he asks with a raised eyebrow.
“Nah, I'm g-”
“Take off your shirt and lay down.” Cody cuts him off and puts away his laptop. Adam feels bad for pulling him away from work, but he listens, takes off the tank top he's wearing and lays down on his stomach next to Cody. He can feel Cody shift on the bed and a second later, his cold hands touch Adam’s back, making him shiver.
Cody starts massaging his shoulders and Adam can't stop the sighs of pleasure escaping his mouth. He knows Cody's probably having that stupid smirk on his face he always has when Adam falls for his teasing. He couldn't care less at this moment though, Cody's hands magically relaxing all of his back muscles. He's working his way down from the shoulder blades to the small of Adam's back, his thumbs pressing on both sides of his spine and Adam can feel his eyelids getting heavier and heavier.
“Okay, you can stop or I'm gonna fall asleep.” Cody snorts at Adam's sleepy tone. He quickly slides his hands over Adam's whole back and moves away.
“Let's go brush our teeth and go to bed then. It's late anyways.” he states and walks towards his suitcase to pull out his toiletries. Adam gets up, surprised that Cody's massage actually helped a little. He doesn't bother to put his shirt back on, he sleeps without it anyway. Adam walks into the bathroom where Cody's already brushing his teeth. He smiles at Adam with the toothbrush in his mouth.
The white noise created by the sounds of brushing perfectly scratches Adam’s brain and calms him down. He looks into the mirror, where he sees himself and Cody standing shoulder to shoulder and smiles a little bit. He does see himself next to Cody on graphics and posters promoting their matches all the time, but there is something different in standing next to him in an ensuite bathroom of the hotel room they’re sharing. There are days when he can’t believe that he’s in the same room as Cody Rhodes, that he can just come up to him and talk to him like they’ve known each other their whole lives. Even more surreal is that he can just hold Cody’s hand whenever he wants and that most nights, they fall asleep embracing each other. The relationship that formed between them is something that Adam cherishes a lot. They don’t put any labels on it and it doesn't bother them. They know the meaning of it and that’s what counts. They know there’s always someone they can go to.
Adam is brought back to reality by Cody’s voice. His mouth being filled with foam and the fact that Adam wasn’t paying attention make his words inaudible. He spits out the toothpaste and washes out his mouth with water. “I said that maybe we should start booking just one room.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.” Adam’s response is barely comprehensible because he’s still trying to finish brushing his teeth. Cody raises an eyebrow at him.
“Why? Matt and Kenny do it all the time,” he asks. They’re both looking at each other through the mirror, which creates some kind of barrier between them, making the conversation feel a bit less serious, at least that’s what Adam wants to think.
“It’s different.”
“How?” Cody’s tone starts getting harsher and that stresses Adam out. It’s stupid because he’s a grown man and talking about relationships still makes him uncomfortable, especially when he feels good with how things are right now. He finishes brushing his teeth and looks at Cody, who’s still waiting for his response.
“Because they still book two rooms. Nick has to sleep somewhere and nobody knows that Matt isn’t in the room with him. It’s different.” he explains and Cody sighs. They both know he’s right, it is different, and comparing their relationship to Matt and Kenny’s doesn’t make sense.
“Just think about it, okay? We wouldn’t be wasting so much money.” after saying that, Cody leaves and Adam is left staring at the empty space next to him in the mirror. He puts his toothbrush and toothpaste away and follows Cody soon after.
When he enters the room, Cody’s already lying in bed, only the small lamp is turned on, illuminating it with warm light. Adam turns it off and lies down next to Cody, bringing the covers up to his jaw. He can hear Cody’s body shifting behind him and soon after, his cold hands are wrapping around Adam’s middle. Adam just shuts his eyes tightly and tries to fall asleep as quickly as possible so he doesn't have to think about their conversation. Cody, of course, has a different plan and brings his body closer to Adam’s, his chest now flush against Adam’s back and Adam can feel Cody’s breath on his neck.
“Hey, you okay?” Cody’s words are just a whisper, even though they’re both still wide awake. Adam opens his eyes and stares at the darkness in front of him. “I’m not angry at you or anything. You know that, right?” Adam lets out a breath he didn’t even know he was holding.
“I’m okay,” he whispers back and turns to face Cody. His face is barely visible to Adam, but he can still make out the smile forming on Cody’s lips.
“That was just a suggestion and if you don’t want to do it, I get it,” Cody brushes back some of Adam’s hair with his hand, making Adam involuntarily melt under his touch. “I shouldn’t have brought up Matt and Kenny. You’re right their situation is completely different.” his hand ventures from Adam’s head to his shoulder. Adam smiles at his words. Cody always knows what's bothering him, as if he can read Adam's mind and knows exactly what to do to make him feel better.
“It's okay, I just don't want to change anything right now. Maybe one day,” he says and Cody nods. They lie in silence for a few minutes, just looking at each other. Adam admiring Cody's face and Cody exploring the curve of Adam's side with his hand.
Adam takes a shaky breath that makes Cody stop moving, he raises his eyebrow at Adam. “Can I kiss you?”
Adam's words are barely a whisper and Cody smiles at them. He brings his hand to Adam's face and cups his cheek.
“Of course,” he responds and their lips meet in a kiss.
It's nothing much, it's just a normal, short kiss like many they shared, but it's exactly what Adam needs. All he wants is to feel that Cody is really there and everything is okay. After their lips part, they whisper their goodnights and Adam turns around so Cody can embrace him again and bury his nose in Adam's hair.