[Baconwizard]

Zane's eyes brightened like stars at that, and he beamed at Cody, clapping his hands together and rubbing them. "Excellent! I'll start planning now, haha." Zane took another big bite of eggs, chewing eagerly. It was the least he could do, really. It made Zane feel like he wasn't as much of a freeloader. Zane made a sudden noise, swallowing the entire mouthful at once. He coughed, ducking his head as he thumped his chest, trying to get the mouthful to go down correctly. Zane took a deep breath, looking back up at Cody. "Are you allergic to anything? Or have any foods you hate?"

[zapdragon555]

Cody looked terribly alarmed as Zane started to choke, then calmed as Zane seemed to get it under control. He blinked at Zane's consideration, then smiled and shook his head. "Mm, no, n-no allergies... thank you," he breathed, relaxing and leaning back in his chair, pulling his knees up to his chest for a moment and resting his chin on one as he thought. "I-I mean, I guess I'm not a huge carnivore, but I like meat anyway. I-I'm not that hard to please," Cody smiled, tugging at a strand of his bangs, which hung loose around his face, not joining the rest of his hair pulled back in a loose ponytail. "S-so go at it! I'm excited to see what you make, haha."

[Baconwizard]

"Cool, cool," Zane said, a slow smile growing on his face. He looked up at the ceiling, then let out a breath, thinking. "Hmm, now that I'm thinking about it, I'm actually gonna plan this properly." Zane straightened up, giving Cody a grin. "I'm excited! This'll give me something to look forward to after my exam." Bringing his plate back to the kitchen, Zane put it in the sink, humming to himself. Did Cody like fish? Well, Zane couldn't really make a fish. Casserole took a bit too long to make; Zane couldn't make it as well as his mother, anyway. What about pasta? Cody seemed like a pasta kind of person. Maybe spaghetti. Hum growing louder, Zane turned back towards the main room, then went to make up the messy couch-bed.

[zapdragon555]

Cody watched with a kind of wonder in his eyes as Zane began to move around the kitchen, humming. He snapped out of it and finished his food quickly once Zane went back into the living room, and he brought his own plate to the sink to run a bit of water on them. He glanced back at Zane for a moment, watching the other boy's back, and he flushed a dark red, realizing something. Zane was still in his underwear for pete's sake! Well, pajamas, but... but still! Cody quickly picked up one of the plates and began to properly wash it with hot water, hoping the heat on his hands would drag the flush away from his face and voice as he cleared his throat. "Um--s-so is there anything you need to get from your apartment? Like... mm, uh, phone? Valuables? Um... c-clothes...?"

[Baconwizard]

Zane straightened up, looking back at Cody with a caught-off-guard look. He ran a hand through his bedhead, then sighed, thinking. "Yeah, my wallet and phone and stuff. I'll have to go ask the landlord if it's ok to go get my stuff yet." Zane sat down on the edge of the sofa, rubbing a hand over the day-old stubble, lost in thought.

[zapdragon555]

Cody blinked slowly at the tone in Zane's voice, and he turned off the water and reached for a dish towel to dry the plate. "Well..." he began slowly, his eyes softening as he leaned against the counter and wiped the towel in a wide arc across the plate, taking his time to dry it. It felt good to do something with his hands. "I can't imagine the landlord wouldn't let you..." Cody trailed off, his brows knitting in a kind of understanding. "Though... I-I guess it wouldn't be too fun to go back there."

[Baconwizard]

"Yeah, I'm more worried about the smoke getting into all of my stuff. I'll smell like a bonfire for weeks, haha." Zane shrugged his shoulders, laughing at his own joke. He sighed, then stood up, stretching his shoulders out. "Still, better do it sooner than later. I'll just run down and grab the stuff I need."

[zapdragon555]

Cody's eyes softened at that, a sympathetic noise coming out of him as he set the clean plate on a rack to dry, and picked up the other. "Well, it's not a bad smell," he murmured, frowning a bit as he stared at Zane, the movement of the towel on the plate slowing a bit. "Um--b-be careful, I guess... try not to breathe in too much smoke, and all that, since it's... probably not fully ventilated yet." Cody trailed off, his voice a little bit gloomy, absently wishing there was something he could say to cheer the other boy up. But then, he never was very good at that sort of thing.

[Baconwizard]

"Yeah, I'll keep that in mind. I'm gonna go down and talk to the landlord first, before I do anything. See if the apartments still mine, hopefully." Zane let out a sigh, then gave Cody a smile, trying not to come across as too much of a downer. He rubbed his hands together, then moved towards the front door. As he passed  Cody, he gently brushed a hand against Codys shoulder, the smile still on his face. "Okay, here I go."

[zapdragon555]

Cody nodded slowly at Zane's words, inwardly wishing there was something he could do to help. He stiffened slightly in surprise as Zane touched his shoulder, unprepared for the gentle contact, before he relaxed and nodded, trying not to think too much about what it meant. "Ah, y-yeah... see you," he murmured, holding the plate close to his chest, almost clutching it as he looked up at Zane, his eyes flickering in surprise. He hadn't gotten a good luck until then, when the lighting in the room was much brighter from the sunlight outside and Zane was looking right at him. Zane had a lot of freckles. Oddly pleased by this sudden realization, and embarrassed at not being observant, Cody nodded, giving Zane a wide smile. "Things'll be fine. G-good luck... um..." Cody trailed off for a moment, then released his tight grip on the plate to appear a little more relaxed, his expression open. "E-even... if things don't work out quite right... with the landlord, I mean, um... y-you can... I mean..." Cody glanced back at the couch for a moment, trailing off before the thought picked up again and he nodded slightly. "Um... the couch is open. For... for as long as you need to get things figured out."

[Baconwizard]

Zane blinked as Cody spoke, pausing and turning to look at the smaller boy intently. He smiled, looking a little bashful, and gave a shy grin, bobbing his head. "Hey, thank you," He looked at Cody, his expression growing a little serious, though the smile was still sincere on his face. "I really appreciate all of this. You're a really great guy. And your couch is super comfortable." Zane laughed, then scratched at his head. "Okay, now I'm off!"

[zapdragon555]

Cody nodded quickly as Zane moved to go out the door, realizing he'd been stalling Zane, and he flushed slightly in embarrassment once the boy had gone out the door. He let out a soft sigh, staring at the plate in his hands, then gripped it a little tighter, moving towards the sink to try to deal with the fluttering feelings in his chest. It was terribly foreign, and it made him anxious, if anything. Doing something with his hands would help, he decided, beginning to wash the rest of the dishes. Maybe after that he would paint a bit, or at least set things back up, he thought, glancing at the tubes of paint sitting on the counter and pushed up against the wall.

[Baconwizard]

About an hour later, there was a knock on Cody's door, then Zane walked in, completely laden down with stuff. He had a duffle bag on one shoulder, and a school backpack on the other. In his hands were various, random things like a file-folder, a pillow, a computer, a frying pan and a box that carried a ton of recipies that he had collected. He grinned, then moved into the living space, slowly putting his things down on the couch. He carried a distinctly smoky air to him. "I got all the important stuff. Clothes and documents and things like that. Contemplated leaving the bills there and claiming that they caught fire, haha."

[zapdragon555]

Cody had resigned himself to at least touch paintbrush to canvas for a short time, and when Zane came in he straightened up, his bangs pinned back with a bobby pin and hair in a sort of messy bun to keep it out of the paint. He stiffened in embarrassment and quickly undid his hair to his previous loose ponytail, accidentally getting a few streaks of turquoise paint in his hair as he stood up with a small smile. "Welcome back," he chuckled, grinning sheepishly at Zane's joke, then looked at all of the stuff on the couch. Yep, college student. Cody sniffed the air as he smelled smoke, then smiled sympathetically, going over to the couch as he wiped his paint smeared fingers on his jeans, which already sported some old, dried paint smudges. "I'm glad most things made it out alright, a-anyway..."

[Baconwizard]

Zane let out a sigh, letting his duffel bag flop to the floor with a big thud. His backpack followed with a more carefully-placed thud. "Well, I'll need to go get the other stuff sometime later. But this is stuff that I'll need on hand most of the time. Clothes, and books, and junk like that." Zane put some of the stuff on the coffee table, trying not to clutter up Cody's apartment too much. He looked up at Cody, realizing that the other boy was covered in paint. A slow smile grew on his face as Zane's eyes flicked up into Cody's. "What are you painting?"