Work Text:
Randy has had a long day of doing pretty much nothing. He's not booked this week, and he saw his boy less than three days ago. Speaking of Cody, the younger man has a match tonight, he should probably check on the outcome of that at some point tonight. He sighs, relaxing further into the bath he's currently in. The only other person in this universe that knows he enjoys bubble baths is his boy, and he would strangle anyone else if the information got out. The water is boiling hot, but it makes his muscles relax, and brings a small smile to his face. He's drifting off, just on the edge of sleep, when suddenly his phone starts vibrating from where he's placed it on the counter. He opens one eye, glaring at the phone until it stops moving, and he relaxes back into the water. He gets about five seconds of silence before the vibrating starts again, and he groans, throwing a hand out to wipe against his towel before he picks his phone up. He doesn't look at the number as he places the phone against his ear, knowing he'll probably drop it in the water out of pure spite if it's Triple H.
“This better be good.”
“Well I would hope so.” It takes Randy a moment to place the voice, but when he does, he sits up suddenly, water splashing around him and out of the tub at the sudden movement. The voice belongs to none other than Brandi Rhodes, and Randy is suddenly very much so awake. “It's about our boy.”
Brandi, obviously, knows that the two men are together. The moment Randy realized he wanted more than friendship with the younger man, he braved the wrath of Brandi, asking permission to ask him out. He did end up getting some pieces of fruit thrown at him, but he did get a boyfriend too, so he figures it's worth it. The only thing that she doesn't know however, is about Cody's regression, and Randy is filled with a sense of dread.
“What is it?” He pulls the plug on the bath, hurriedly hopping up to grab his towel to dry himself, and wipe the bubbles off that have clung to his skin. “Brandi what's wrong?”
“I don't-” She sighs, and Randy can hear her click her tongue in frustration. “I'm not sure. He lost tonight, pretty badly, but I don't think that's it. He just came home and laid down on the bed, he didn't even say hi. Wouldn't even let me look at him.”
That's not at all like Cody, the blonde always flinging himself at his partners if they've been away for more than five minutes. For him to not even say hi to his wife is a major red flag, and Randy puts the call on speakerphone so that he can shuffle through his bag for some clothes.
“Does he have a fever or anything?” He pulls up his sweatpants, very grateful for how fluffy his towel is because he's already completely dry. And, well, the fact that he doesn't have any hair helps too.
“No, he feels fine. He's just laying, staring at the wall. I know you're free but would you-”
“Of course.” Randy cuts her off, grabbing his phone as he leaves the bathroom to put his shoes on. “I'll do anything for him, you know this. I'll be there in twenty-five.”
Brandi sighs in relief before she speaks. “Thank you Randy. You still have a key right?”
“Of course I do.” Randy is currently fighting for his life trying to plug his phone into the car. Yes, it's handy for the GPS, but having to actually turn the screen on makes him want to scream in frustration. Cody has called him an old man many times for this.
“Ok, see you soon. Stay safe please, if not for me, for Cody.”
Randy hums in agreement, putting his car in reverse as he hears Brandi hang up the phone. He's not shaking, he's managed to cool down quite a bit, but he's still very anxious, nervously tapping the steering wheel the entire time. A loss hasn't affected Cody like this since it was against Cena. The two weren't supposed to be anywhere near each other tonight, but who knows with the way Cena's been acting as of late. Randy just hopes that he didn't lay a hand on his baby, or else Triple H himself will have to personally pull Randy off of the older man's body. The GPS might have told him twenty-five, but he makes it there in fifteen, and he winces, knowing Brandi is going to scold him for this. He carefully parks in the driveway, pulling out his spare key and he jogs up to the porch. He opens the door softly, voice echoing out into the dimly lit house, shutting the door behind him.
“Hello? Brandi? Baby boy?”
He hears soft footsteps get closer, and Brandi rounds the corner, concern written on her face.
“He's this way.” She turns swiftly, and a bit coldly, walking towards their bedroom. He's not offended by her actions though, he knows that she's just worried about her husband. They make their way to the room, and stop in the doorway, Brandi leaning on the doorframe.
“Cody? I brought someone.”
The blonde lump on the bed doesn't respond. Randy can barely tell that he's breathing, and he frowns, eyebrows furrowing.
“Codes baby?”
Cody slightly stirs at Randy's voice, but he doesn't move, and Randy's frown deepens. He moves around Brandi, walking down so he can crouch in front of the younger man. Cody shifts his head so it's half buried into the sheets, but not quick enough to fully hide the flash of red, and Randy is suddenly filled with an unimaginable rage.
“Cody.”
Brandi grimaces at his tone and goes to speak, but Randy cuts her off, motioning for her to come closer. When she's standing next to him, he gently reaches out, and places his hand on the side of Cody's head. Cody winces, and Randy moves his hand slowly, tilting the younger man's head so that they can fully see his face. Brandi makes a sound of grief at the same time that Randy does, and Cody scrunches his eyes closed. Underneath and around his left eye is bright red, almost purple, swollen and puffy, like someone had punched him. Randy trails his hand over the swollen skin, and Cody's breath hitches as he tenses.
“Baby what happened?” Brandi has moved to sit down on the bed, placing one of her hands on Cody's hip. The blonde is silent, but Randy already knows what happened.
“Cena.”
Brandi looks up at the older man in confusion, but Cody's breath hitches again, and he nods slightly, just enough for Randy to feel it under his hand. Randy growls involuntarily, and Cody curls up further into himself.
“Baby what did he do to you?” Brandi's softly rubbing circles into the blonde's hip, trying to get him to uncurl even a bit.
“Got me-” Cody inhales suddenly, almost sounding like he's going to start choking. The other two both lean forward to coo at him, trying to calm him down. “Got me when I lef. Hit me.”
Cody's shuddering, and he uncurls an arm to reach out towards Randy. He grabs it tightly in his hand, bringing it up to kiss at the blonde's knuckles gently. Brandi reaches up to scratch at his scalp, and he shudders again, letting out a sob. It clearly hurts his face, and he grimaces, trying to hold his breath to stop himself from sobbing. When it's been a few moments of no breathing, Randy hurriedly moves forward to blow on Cody's face until he gasps in a breath. Randy looks up at Brandi, and goes to open his mouth but she cuts him off.
“I'll go get some ice. Make sure he doesn't do that again.” She leaves in a hurry, and Randy pulls himself up onto the bed. Neither of them move for a moment, before Cody shuffles so that he can lay his head down in Randy's lap. He leaves the bruised side up, trying not to agitate it anymore than he already has. Brandi returns with a bag wrapped in a towel, and she gently places it on his face, frowning when he winces. She brushes her hand through his hair again. “I know baby, I'm sorry.”
“Hurs.” Cody sniffles, and Randy can feel his heart break. He knows that Brandi's is doing the same thing right next to him. “Daddy it hurs.”
He breaks out into sobs again, clutching the ice against his face as Randy cradles him gently in his lap. He's cooing at him, trying to calm him down when he feels a hand on his shoulder. He doesn't look back until Cody stops sobbing, face pressed against Randy's stomach. The ice is cold and makes him want to wince, but he knows it's nothing compared to what his baby is feeling right now. He looks back to see Brandi's face covered in shock and confusion, and she mouths ‘daddy?’ at him. He sighs, looking back at Cody.
“Codes baby, can I tell her?”
Cody doesn't respond at first, sniffling where he's laying, but then he hums in response, nodding his head.
“He's regressed right now.” When that just makes her look even more confused, he clears his throat and tries again. “He's in a younger headspace right now, like a baby. Getting attacked by….that man, is probably what triggered it.”
Randy growls as he speaks, softening his tone when it makes Cody whine.
“How long has he….” Her voice trails off, and she looks down at the blonde man.
“A while. Don't blame yourself though, he was scared.”
“Scared?” She looks up at him, and Randy quickly backtracks his words.
“Not scared of you necessarily, scared of being judged. Scared of you finding it disgusting.”
Cody whines again, and Randy brushes a hand over his hair in gentle reassurance.
“It's not,” She sighs and trails off, and Randy half smiles.
“I get what you mean. You don't have to be involved, just don't shame him about it please.”
“I would never.” She looks offended, but also like she understands why he said what he did. She looks down at Cody, then looks back up. “So it's an age thing? Like how old is he?”
“Usually he's around three, but sometimes he gets younger, like now. He's just a baby when he gets like this.”
She's silent for a few moments, thinking, before she reaches out to hold onto one of Cody's hands. He whines, softly opening his eyes to look at her hesitantly. “Mommy?”
Brandi's eyes light up and Randy stiffles a snicker at it. She leans down to kiss the top of the blonde's hair. “Yeah baby, mommy's right here.”
Cody squirms and looks up at Randy, whining to communicate what he wants. He gets it instantly, helping him move over to lay in Brandi's lap while still holding the ice to his face. He nuzzles the un-bruised side of his face against her leg, and looks up at Randy. “Jus?”
Brandi raises an eyebrow at Randy, but he's already off of the bed, headed out towards their guest room. Cody keeps a duffel bag of his little stuff in the closet of that room, but Randy supposes it can be taken out now, and he grabs the whole bag. He returns to the room briefly, placing the bag down next to Brandi. He ruffles through it until he pulls out a baby blue sippy cup, and heads back towards the kitchen. When he returns, the cup filled with apple juice, Cody is sitting up, as Brandi softly touches the skin around his eye, cooing at him softly. Cody sees him first, gasping and holding out a hand, opening and closing his fist in Randy's direction. He sits down on the bed, handing him the cup, and Cody immediately puts the spout in his mouth, humming happily.
“Is that what's in the bag? I've seen it but never gone through it. I thought it was...” She trails off, and both her Randy chuckle. He opens the bag further, pulling out a soft blanket, Cody's pacifier, and a white stuffed fox.
“This is all his little stuff right now. I've wanted to buy him more, but he was worried that you'd find it.”
Cody reaches forward with his free hand to grab the fox, holding it to his chest. He takes the cup out of his mouth, placing it down on the bedside table, and nuzzles his face gently against its fur.
“I'm sorry I made you feel like you had to hide this baby.” She frowns, softly kissing his nose, and the action makes him giggle. His giggle seems to cheer her up a bit, and her frown lessens.
“Is ok mommy. M love you.” He shuffles forward until he can wrap his arms around her, burying his face into the crook of her neck. She wraps her arms around him back, squeezing him softly. Cody reaches out one hand, blindly searching for Randy, as he starts to whine.
“Daddy?” It's muffled, but Randy knows what it means, and sits closer to the two of them, wrapping an arm around Cody's waist. The blonde sighs happily, relaxing further against Brandi, and he mumbles against her skin. “Loves you guys.”
“We love you more.” Randy tilts his head down to kiss the top of Cody's head, a soft smile on his face. The next time he comes face to face with John Cena, he will be committing first degree murder, and he will do it in front of Triple H, just to prove a point. For now though, he's going to keep on holding onto his baby, keeping one eye on the sippy cup to make sure Cody doesn't accidentally knock it off of the bedside table. Again. He really is the luckiest man in the world.