[Baconwizard]

Continued from this!

Zane smiled, shaking his head at Cody's words, and he plopped down on the end of the couch. He looked around with interest. He hadn't quite expected Cody to have this many interests. It was kind of neat, like getting a hidden glimpse. "That's so cool. Soon you'll have your own private greenhouse." Zane fiddled with a frond of a leafy green plant that was next to the couch, then glanced towards the kitchen, wondering what Cody was doing. He got up and wandered into the kitchen, a bright, interested smile on his face. "Anything I can do to help?"

[zapdragon555]

Cody jumped slightly in surprise as Zane's voice was suddenly in the same room as him, and he looked over his shoulder with a wide-eyed expression before it softened to a sheepish chuckle. "Ah, n-no, it's fine... I'm just making hot chocolate. You're in luck; I only had a few scoops left. S-so there's enough if you want a refill," Cody said with a small smile. He glanced back at the microwave and took out two mugs, beginning to stir the cocoa powder into the warm milk, and he paused, glancing back at Zane with a blink. "You're not lactose intolerant, are you?" he asked, his brows knitting together as he realized he hadn't asked first. Maybe he should've gotten some of those instant packages you mix with water... but hindsight was 20/20.

[Baconwizard]

"Huh? Uh, no, not really. I love cows." Zane chuckled, leaning against the counter. He looked at Cody for a moment, then around at the kitchen, then down at his feet. What a bizarre day. He set his apartment on fire, made a friend, and was now drinking hot chocolate in said friends apartment. And it wasn't even two o'clock yet. Zane cleared his throat, a sheepish expression on his face as he glanced back at Cody. "Um... thanks for having me over here. Like, you really did save my butt. I owe you one. And another for the hot chocolate, haha."

[zapdragon555]

Cody tapped the spoon on the edge of the mugs and blinked at Zane's words, setting the spoon down on the counter and holding out a mug to the other boy, his eyes softening. "Don't mention it. I-I mean... you're kind of the first person in this apartment complex who's talked to me," he admitted, shrugging one shoulder and glancing away, his eyes falling on the clock on the stove. One forty-five in the morning... Cody's eyes widened for a moment, and he looked back at Zane with an earnest expression. "Oh! I-if you burned your food, and all... a-are you hungry?" he asked, setting his own mug back on the counter.

[Baconwizard]

Zane's eyes softened a bit at Cody's first words, and he took a long sip of hot chocolate. It was good, just the right temperature. He sighed, closing his eyes, his shoulders slumped as the tension slowly unravelled from his stomach. At Cody's next words, he straightened up, back to alertness. He grinned, then shook his head, taking another sip. "Nah, I'm good. It was just a late night snack; this is fine." Zane paused, then continued, a hint of a laugh in his voice. "Actually, I'm really exhausted, if I'm being honest. Plus, you should probably get some sleep. I don't want you to get in trouble for me keeping you up all night, haha..." Zane trailed off, then quickly took a large gulp of hot chocolate so that he would stop talking.

[zapdragon555]

Cody held his mug in his hands again as he listened to Zane ramble, a small smile growing on his face that split into a grin, which he hid behind a drink of hot chocolate. "W-well... tomorrow is friday, which is a day off for me. So it's okay for me to be up this late..." Cody took a long sip, closing his eyes for a moment, then sighed. He blinked slowly, looking at the liquid in the mug, then took another small sip as he gathered his thoughts. "I have some extra pillows that you could use on the couch... O-or I could give you my bed. It's bigger, and I can fit on the couch just fine," he mused, tilting his head back slightly and peering up at an errant wisp of hair on Zane's head, staring at it in thought.

[Baconwizard]

Zane made a sound in his mug, and he moved away, swallowing as he shook his head back and forth. "What? No way! I'm not gonna take your bed from you. I'm totally cool with the couch." Zane grinned, as if trying to demonstrate how 100% cool he was with sleeping on the couch. It looked much bigger than the couch at home, so he'd probably be able to fit. Zane blinked, realizing that Cody was staring a little above his head, and he glanced up at the ceiling before looking back at Cody with a quizzical look.

[zapdragon555]

Cody blinked in surprise at Zane's sudden answer, and he was silent for a beat before he smiled sheepishly and nodded. "W-well. You're taking one of my blankets, anyway," he insisted. "Oh... wait, y-you probably don't want something I've been using. Um... th-there's probably a clean one..." he mumbled, beginning to move past Zane into the living room, mug of hot chocolate half drank in his hands. He set it down on the coffee table and began to straighten the couch cushions a bit, then darted into his dark bedroom. There was a thump and a squeak of pain, followed by the light turning on.

Cody emerged with a slightly pained grimace on his face and two pillows under his arms, but it quickly brightened to a smile as he glanced at Zane, and he deposited the pillows on the couch, then took a quick sip of hot chocolate. "This should work..." he murmured under his breath, stepping back to look at it, then glanced at Zane. "Need more pillows?" he called, gesturing to the couch.

[Baconwizard]

Zane watched, a little at a loss, as Cody bustled through the rooms. He let out a small chuckle, standing with his hands in his pockets. "Dude, really... you don't need to go to all this trouble. I'm the most low maintenance person ever. Like, just give me a blanket and a pillow and I'm out like a light." He laughed, smiling his usual crooked smile. "I do appreciate all this, though. You really didn't have to, and you're really helping me out."

[zapdragon555]

Cody blinked, his eyes a little wide, before he flushed sheepishly, fiddling with a longer lock of hair. "S-sorry. Yeah, I'll go find a blanket," he said with a small grin, disappearing into his room. He didn't want to admit that he'd honestly never had company in his apartment; he wasn't sure how to act. His mother had always made a huge deal of cleaning the house and cooking meals, so Cody was a bit at a loss. He pulled the outer comforter off his bed once he'd found there were no fresh unused ones, but he like to think that he smelled alright; the outer blanket was least likely to smell, anyway. "Here we go," he murmured to himself as he set the hastily folded comforter on the couch, then blinked, realizing his hot chocolate was getting cold. He picked it up and took a small sip. "I-I'm a little fretting I guess. Get it from my mom. Um... b-but yeah, if you do end up needing anything in the middle of the night, I won't yell at you if you come wake me up," he chuckled, sipping at his drink.

[Baconwizard]

Zane patted the comforter, liking the soft downy fluff of the blankets. He grinned at Cody, bobbing his head up and down. "This is great. Thanks, Cody. Thanks a lot." He sighed, then stifled a huge yawn. "Oh, gosh, it's way past my bedtime..." Zane let out a small chuckle, looking up at Cody with an easy smile. "Um, I'm a heavy sleeper, so if you get up before me, you don't have to tiptoe around me."

[zapdragon555]

Cody smiled at that, lowering his mug and nodding at Zane, somehow internally pleased to know this tiny minutia of inside info about Zane. Heavy sleeper. Got it. Cody blinked as he remembered something, his brows knitting a bit. "Ah, y-you said... you were cramming for a test, right?" he asked, shifting from foot to foot. "How early do you need to get up for that? O-or is it not tomorrow?" Cody found himself bustling with questions again, and he flushed, wishing he could just close his mouth. He rarely talked this much, if ever, though admittedly he did talk to his plants now and then. But of course he'd never admit that, no matter how good the carbon dioxide was for them.

[Baconwizard]

Zane didn't seem all that bothered by Cody's questions, and he leaned back against the couch cushions. "It's, in the afternoon, thank god. So as long as I'm up by noon, I'll be okay. I just got wrapped up with studying tonight and lost track of time. Leave it to school to be my downfall." Zane laughed, then trailed off with a yawn. He blinked his eyes wide, then chuckled, glancing up at Cody sheepishly. "Sorry. I'll take that as my sign to crawl under this blanket and get some sleep." Zane wriggled under Cody's comforter, adjusting it so that it was only his head visible. He sighed, nodding in affirmation. "Nice blanket."

[zapdragon555]

Cody relaxed visibly at this new news, and he nodded his head with a small smile. "A-alright," he murmured, nodding slowly, then glanced at his mug of hot chocolate before sighing softly and giving Zane a bigger smile. "I'll go ahead and turn off the lights. Um... see you in the morning?" he began, walking backwards towards the kitchen and squeaking as he hit his heel on the corner of the doorway. Cody stifled a curse with the edge of his mug on his lips, and he squinted at Zane sheepishly, quickly depositing his mug in the sink and moving towards his room. "Um--s-sleep well!" he added, his cheeks pink with embarrassment, before quickly disappearing behind the door to his bedroom.

[Baconwizard]

Zane had sat up with alarm as Cody stubbed his heel, a concerned look on the redhead's face. Seeing that Cody was alright, Zane tucked himself back in his blanket cocoon, letting out a small breath. "You too, Cody. G'night!" Zane watched as the door closed, and the apartment became quiet. He looked up at the familiar sight of the unfamiliar ceiling––it was the texture, Zane decided, that was so similar to his own apartment. It was in the middle of a thought about how he'd tell Cody about those similarities in the morning that Zane drifted off into a deep sleep.

In the morning, Zane was still draped across the couch, but just barely. One arm was strewn across his eyes to block out the morning sun that streamed into the apartment. His other arm, and a good part of one leg was hanging off the edge of the couch, the blanket in disarray on top of him. Even though it was almost nine o'clock, Zane was sleeping soundly, snoring softly.