[Baconwizard]

"Huh?" Zane said, eyes widening as he took back the picture. His eyebrows knitted together with concern, and he nodded slowly as he stood up. Maybe... the picture wasn't the best idea. Zane went back into the kitchen and put the picture on the counter, then reached up to get the medicine. He read the instructions for a moment, then poured Cody a glass of water before he went back into the bedroom. Sitting down on the edge of the bed, Zane put the glass and medicine down before turning to Cody, reaching out and brushing his fingers against Cody's shoulder. "Sorry, um... if I did anything that made you sad. I didn't mean to."

[zapdragon555]

Cody listened to Zane's movements in the other room, his throat lodged with something sharp. Maybe that was a sore throat settling in, or maybe it was the guilt at worrying Zane like this, or the guilt of not wanting to see the photograph when really he should have no problems with it... But sadness clung to him like a miasma, when he saw how much dust had collected on that frame, as though he'd been dipped in sadness on that day and never quite dried off from it. Cody swallowed, blinking as Zane came back in and sat down, and he shivered slightly as Zane touched him, but leaned into it regardless. "No," he mumbled, shaking his head. "I'm... k-kind of being stupid, I guess," he said softly, willing tears to stay out of his eyes. "I-it's... stuff." Cody reached for the medicine and tried to read the instructions, but a dampness in his eyes was making it hard, and he almost shoved the bottle at Zane, the bottle lightly tapping Zane's chest as Cody ducked his head. "S-sorry... how much do I take...?"

[Baconwizard]

"It's not stupid," he murmured, looking worried. Zane gently took the bottle from Cody, then looked at the directions. "Just take one, for now." He shook out one pill then handed it to Cody, then the glass. "Don't worry, Cody. You're just a little under the weather. Okay?" He reached out, gently smoothing Cody's hair back, smiling softly.

[zapdragon555]

Cody took the pill and water and downed it as quickly as he could, wanting to get it down before his throat closed with the tears mounting in his eyes. He sipped the water, wincing as a bit dribbled down, and he wiped his mouth with a wince, his hands shaking. He mumbled in the negative, shaking his head as he slowly put the water down on the bedside table. The hand in his hair was steadying, and he took in a soft breath, letting it out heavily. Oh, the fever was making his head fuzzy. "I-I... I haven't... been completely honest with you," he began softly, his voice lodging in his throat as he stared at a wrinkle in Zane's shirt, his shoulders trembling slightly. "I-I've got this... this stupid baggage, a-and I can't even... talk about it without getting so scared," he whispered, rubbing his hands over his face furiously to try to wipe away the tears, scrub away the fever, or something to make his head clearer.

[Baconwizard]

Zane got a tissue, and held it to Cody, adjusting so that he was sitting next to Cody on the bed. He wrapped an arm around Cody's shoulders, holding him closer. "It's okay," he whispered, leaning forward to kiss Cody's head. "I promise, Cody, you're safe. There's nothing to be afraid of. I love you." Zane hugged Cody, trying to reassure the crying boy somehow. "I love you. I promise."

[zapdragon555]

The appearance of a tissue in front of his face seemed to draw the tears out of him. He took the tissue and pressed it to his face as a heavy sob suddenly shuddered out of him. He immediately leaned into Zane's touch, pressing his forehead into the crook of Zane's neck, twisting slightly to curl into him as he let the other boy support him. "Thank you," he cried softly, voice muffled by the tissue, and he coughed, his body jumping in Zane's arms. His voice shuddered out of him, and after a long time he seemed to tire himself out, breathing ragged and soft with his arm draped over Zane's waist, hugging him loosely. "I-I love you," he whispered, the gentle words assuring him softly, stilling the turmoil in his heart. He swallowed roughly, throat thick, and sighed. "O-okay. I want... I want to tell you th-the whole story. Is... w-would that be alright...?" he mumbled, raising his head to stare up at Zane, his eyes a bit unfocused from crying and fever.

[Baconwizard]

Zane held onto Cody as tight as he could, his hands rubbing against Cody's shoulders as he tried to smooth away the shuddering breath. He turned his head to gently kiss Cody's head, his chest hurting every time he heard Cody sob. It was infuriating how helpless he was. All he could do was let Cody cry. "'Course it's alright," Zane replied, looking down at Cody with a small smile. He cleared his throat slightly, determined not to let Cody see how teary-eyed he was already becoming. "You can tell me anything."

[zapdragon555]

The feeling of Zane all around him, his arms steady and hands soothing the tremors in his shoulders and his soft, gentle kiss on his head, brought a peace over Cody that allowed him a moment to collect his thoughts, muddled by fever. "Okay," he breathed out, lowering the tissue for a moment. He sniffed, then brought it up to blow his nose slightly, his cheeks growing a bit pink in embarrassment as he rubbed his nose. He glanced up at Zane, his eyes flickering slightly as he noticed a dampness in Zane's eyes, and he felt a small wave of guilt mixed with a strange kind of happiness that Zane cared so much that Cody was crying.

He drew in a shuddering breath, wiping his eyes on his sleeve as a few more tears slipped down. "U-um... so... when... when I was younger, um, about... a-about sixteen or so... m-my parents and I were going somewhere. I-I honestly can't remember where, now, but... they were kind of, um, arguing in the front seat, or shouting about directions, l-like parents do I guess..." Cody's story started off rambling, and he swallowed thickly, shifting slightly. The way things had ended up, he was almost sitting in Zane's lap, curled up tight under the other boy's chin. "A-and then before I knew it... there were these big semis around us? Those big trucks... th-that carry stuff, yeah, and... I'm not sure what happened but I think a car in front of us suddenly slammed on the breaks or something. A-and my parents were watching the semis so... th-they didn't see and we collided, w-w-with the car, and... I-I got out of it, obviously but... m-my parents... d-didn't..."

[So much stuttering jeebus Cody :''|]

[Baconwizard]

Zane listened in silence, his expression drawing in gradually as Cody told his story. He took a breath, looking away for a moment as he tried to collect his thoughts. "Christ," he muttered, holding Cody tighter, and pressing a firm kiss to Cody's head. "Christ, I'm sorry, Cody..." Zane couldn't imagine it. Watching your parents die right in front of you. Even if it was an accident, it couldn't just be explained away. He took a deep breath, then kissed Cody again, wanting to somehow ease the pain around Cody's heart.

[zapdragon555]

Cody's voice caught like thorns in his throat as Zane kissed him, and he swallowed, trying to draw strength from the gentle reassurances. "I-I didn't get out of it totally unscathed though. I-I think I must have... ducked, or something. I was in the back seat, um... I-I got... really badly burned. All over my back," he explained quietly, his voice seeming to gather just a bit of strength from Zane's words, and with the hardest part of the story behind him. "I-it's pretty jacked up," he added with something like a laugh, trying to let the tension out of his neck and shoulders. "Um... I-I didn't have any living relatives, except... th-this one uncle who I think was estranged. I dunno, h-he drank too much and was pretty mean. H-he never really hurt me, though... b-but he said a lot of nasty stuff about my mom and dad and I think I punched him once. He did get me back for that one," Cody said, glancing up at Zane and somehow managing a smile. "C-can you imagine me hitting someone? I-I'm tiny."

[Baconwizard]

Zane's hand, which was rubbing Cody's upper back, paused for a moment at this new revelation. Zane stared down at Cody for a moment, then held him tight, letting out a breath. He didn't know what to do. How could he say anything in response to that? Zane kissed Cody's forehead, hating that obviously forced smile. "You're so strong," he mumbled, adjusting his arms around Cody to hold him better. "To go through all that... that's amazing, Cody..."

[zapdragon555]

Cody sniffed, rubbing at his nose as Zane kissed him, closing his eyes for a moment. Strong... No, Cody wasn't sure that word had ever applied to him. Cody didn't confront his problems; he took them and shoved them into a dark corner of his mind where he wouldn't find them until something like this dragged them up. And then he'd stuff them back down, repress them until he could breathe properly again and stop crying. But this time... someone was holding him. Zane was holding him, and kissing him, and calling him strong of all things... The false smile dropped off of Cody's face as a few more tears slipped past his eyes, and he swallowed, taking in a breath. "D-do... um..." He needed to confront it. To let someone else see. Suddenly, he needed that more than anything else. "W-want to see it...? My... my back... I-I've just never shown anyone, and... I-I dunno. Y-you can totally say no, I just..."

[Baconwizard]

Zane's eyes flickered, and he reached out and brushed away the fallen tears frown Cody's cheeks. His eyes looked more blue against the redness from the tears. "If that's what you want," he said softly, his other hand gently rubbing Cody's shoulders. He nodded, then smiled, his expression gentle. "If it'd make you feel better."

[zapdragon555]

Cody blinked softly as Zane brushed his face, his heart softening in his chest. "I-I dunno what'll make me feel better," he mumbled, a small laugh in his voice as he sniffed, bringing a hand up to rub his wrist against his eyes. "B-but... I-I guess I... want to show you everything. J-just... all the stuff I've been hiding from you. A-and... from myself, I guess, too," he added softly, almost blushing from the cliche. He was silent for a long moment, his eyes flicking up to meet Zane's soft brown ones, and he slowly nodded, reaching to the hem of his own shirt. He hesitated, glancing away for a moment, then turned in Zane's lap so that he was facing away, and carefully lifted up his shirt over his head.

As fabric shifted away, Cody's pale skin seemed to morph into a ragged scape of old reddish white scarring in a patchwork up Cody's spine, ending near the midpoint of his shoulder blades. If one looked closer, an expanse of tiny, delicate lines and points wound around the places that hadn't been burned, an intricate pattern of constellations on his skin. Cody hadn't mentioned those, and in all honesty had forgotten about them. He let out a shuddering breath, balling up the shirt and holding it to his chest, staring at a fold in the blankets as he felt his heartbeat loud in his own ears, threatening to renew the tears in his eyes but he kept them down.

[Baconwizard]

Zane was quiet as Cody shifted away, his hands going to rest on his sides. He watched as Cody pulled off his shirt, revealing his scars, and Zane's eyes widened with shock. It probably was a good thing that Cody's face was turned away, because Zane's face was an open book for a long moment. Swallowing with difficulty, Zane slowly reached out and traced a hand along the red scar tissue. "Jesus," he breathed out, his voice a little thick. Zane leaned forward, putting his forehead against Cody's back, wrapping his arms around Cody's thin waist. He was so small. His back was torn up, even though the burns were years old. This small, fragile boy... Zane wanted to protect him somehow, protect him from this. "Jesus, Cody..."