summary ; based off an anon request for something related to s1 pope when we first meet him and see that he's a bit of an off-putting character.
wc ; ~1.3k
warnings ; story refers to him as 'pope' , reader refers to him as 'andrew' , gn!reader , 18+ mdni (no nsfw, you just shouldn't be on my page if you're under 18) , language , gen descriptions of violence (the cody's are a criminal family) , implied animal kingdom spoilers if you haven't seen any of the show or anything about the show , language , talk of mental health (OCD , autism , violent tendencies + outbursts , general descriptions of trauma faced growing up but nothing detailed ) medications + being off of them, pope in general is described as a creep or off-putting in s1. that's what this is.
an ; baby's first fic, so of course it had to be over my love and my baby pope cody. please be kind if you have criticism or a general dislike. i am open to critiques, suggestions, etc., just don't be rude! taglist is open here for being tagged in any future works, and requests are open here. thank u my queen @jclolz22 for proofreading this (and everything i publish on this page). please do not repost, republish or reuse my work as your own or without asking me for permission first.
as mika says it best, reblogs are a creators best friend so please show this some attention so i can spread my work all throughout tumblr
Growing up surrounded by the likes of the Cody family made for an interesting childhood, to say the least. You had befriended Craig when the two of you met on the slides in middle school, and he had naturally brought home his new “best friend” to meet his family, before he realized what exactly his family would drag him into when he was of age. It was that first dinner when you met Pope, or Andrew as you preferred to call him, seeing as no one else in the family would use his birth-given name. Seven years older, yet you immediately managed to befriend him. In Cody family terms, you managed to get him to look at you and speak, not just one or the other.
Befriending not one, but two Cody children, automatically made you part of the family in Smurf’s eyes. Family dinners? You were there. Mission planning disguised as a neighborhood party? You were there. No one heard the name of a Cody son without your name following shortly after, and it grew to be the expectation as you got older that more often than not, your name would follow Pope’s, not Craig’s.
The two of you got along like… well, you got along. You taught him ways to manage his anger, to help subside the urge he constantly felt to wash his hands till they were raw and dry. You were there whenever he was skateboarding, surfing, etc. It even got to the point you moved in when you turned eighteen, deciding that Smurf could provide for you better than your own family ever did. Point is, you were like his shadow. Where there was Pope, there was you.
Then he went to jail. For being sixteen seconds late to Baz driving off, and being caught with a tote bag of money and one too many guns.
Three years went by with Pope in a jail cell, and you carried on with life as it was at the Cody compound, but without him. He somehow got out three years early on “good behavior,” he told you the day he came back a few weeks ago. Told you he reigned in his anger, made a buddy, and just kept his head down in hopes they would let him out early. But he was… off, these days. Which is saying something for a man like Pope.
You’d wake up to him missing from your shared bed only to find him out by the pool, or maybe quietly hovering in the living room as if he had been sleepwalking and didn’t remember bringing himself out there. But he was awake. Everytime. His staring had gotten a bit worse from what you remember, too. Eyes always lingering on someone, intense and unblinking. There was a newfound tension in his shoulders, a new stiffness to his posture. A new aversion to things that used to not bother him as much. The handwashing came back, too, and worse than ever.
It was late when you stepped into the bedroom that night, exhaling as you set aside a used towel from your shower before pausing when you saw Pope sitting stiffly on the edge of the bed, staring blankly at a wall. “Andrew…?” You murmur, feet barely making any sound as you pad over the wood floors to stand beside him, watching as he tenses up at the feeling of your hand landing on his shoulder before meeting his gaze when he lifts it to you. “Smurf’s been sneaking meds into my food.” He spoke as he stared at you, still unblinking even now. “Didn’t… I didn’t even realize till they almost brought me back to Folsom today because I failed a drug test. Did you know?” He spoke, gaze going from the floor to you again, still blank though there was a furrow between his brows now.
“Did you know Smurf was forcing me to take my meds? When she knows I hate taking them? When she knows I could’ve been sent back to jail?” He asked again, standing slowly as you shook your head and raised your hand ever so slightly in a placating gesture. “Andrew, I would’ve done something if I knew.” You mumble softly, watching as he ran a frustrated hand through his cropped hair.
“Dumped ‘em down the sink. I’m done taking them.” He spoke as he stared down at you. “She thinks I’m crazy, but I’m not. I’m done taking them, I’m not going back to Folsom.” He mumbled, brushing past you and leaving the room without allowing you to argue with his sentiment, though you both knew you wouldn’t. You exhale for a moment as you stand there before just shaking your head, watching him go, since you knew he needed a moment to get it off his chest and then a moment to breathe.
The wandering around the compound, the staring, and the handwashing all got a bit more intense after Pope made a show of throwing the meds away in front of Smurf so she knew not to push it anymore. Not to push him like that anymore. A bit of yelling, some shattered glasses thrown at Smurf, and the pills being shoved down the sink later, she finally understood his point. For now, at least, since she always had to have a hold over her sons in some form.
You had been sleeping in your shared bed before waking up slightly when you felt someone staring at you, exhaling as you shifted to find Pope sitting up and staring over you, his gaze shifting to acknowledge you were now awake. “Andrew, you should be sleeping.” You mumble, voice rough with sleep as you sit up on an elbow, looking up at him.
“Do I creep you out?” He mumbled as he looked down at you, still unblinking, still blank, and waiting quietly for an answer before speaking again without waiting anymore. “I creep Craig and Deran out. Probably creep J out too, Smurf, even.” He spoke, eyes scanning your face as if gauging your reply to his words. “So, do I creep you out?” He repeated, watching as you slowly took in his words in your sleep-addled brain before shaking your head, inhaling tiredly as you sat up fully and clicked a lamp on.
“No, you don’t creep me out.” You finally murmur. “And, Andrew, I didn’t know about the meds. You have to believe me when I say that.” You say, watching as he finally blinks, processing everything you were telling him. “But no, you don’t creep me out. Haven’t since I met you when I was eight.” You say quietly, shifting to look at him a bit better. “You…” A soft sigh separated your statements as you thought of what to say to keep him reassured, at least for the night, so he would sleep. “It doesn’t matter what your family thinks about you. Everyone here has their own issues to worry about.” You finally mumble softly. “Smurf needs to get her properties in check, Craig needs to get his problem with that girl and her family settled, and Deran… is Deran.” You say, shifting a bit to accompany him as he scoots closer.
“I know it sucks, I know your family sucks, but that’s why you have me. That’s why I stick around, so you know if all else fails, you have at least one person to turn to. You could never creep me out, Andrew. I’m always here for you.” You murmur, fingers slowly coming to rest on his scalp as his head lies against your collarbone, listening to you speak and your heartbeat as you speak, his fist curling into the sheets as he nods slowly. “I’d never think of you as a freak or… or a creep. You’re Andrew, to me. Always have been, always will be. Just that. Andrew.” You finally quiet down, thumb rubbing at his cheekbone as he visibly settles down in your grasp, quietly staring at the wall ahead of the pair of you before speaking up, shifting slightly to look up at you as he spoke, his voice a gentle murmur in the night.
she/her, 20, college student unfortunately, mdni please !
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