It’s too comfortable for a hospital bed. Noah doesn’t want to be here, doesn’t even want to be in the room - but Cody’s injured and Noah can’t just leave him alone. And when Cody had asked him to come to bed, Noah couldn’t say no. Or he could, could come up with any number of excuses - had even - but they had all died on his tongue when he realized it wouldn’t be fair to Cody to hurt him even more than he already was.
So he crawled up the hospital bed slowly, ruffling the blankets and gingerly, oh ever so gingerly, placing his body on the bed, as if putting pressure on the bed would put pressure on Cody and break him. He didn’t want to go too close to Cody either, and gave himself as much of a gap as he could. But hospital beds were small, so the gap was basically non-existent.
Cody whined and Noah couldn’t tell if it was in want or in pain.
“Do you want me to call the nurse?” Noah whispered, in case talking loudly would hurt too.
“No, it’s fine.” Cody said.
They fell into soft silence, with only the muted whir of hospital equipment to fill the void.
Cody was looking at him, but Noah averted his eyes and stared at the ceiling. It was plain white, hospital white, and empty except for the usual assortment of lights and smoke detectors. It really wasn’t interesting, but it was better than looking at Cody and looking at bandage white and pale skin white and needles and tubes white. Noah hadn’t cried yet, but he knew if he looked at Cody directly, he certainly would.
So instead he looked at the safe white of the ceiling, scrutinizing it in an effort to not have to scrutinize anything else.
He could hear a soft sigh from Cody. And then the slow sound of duvets being pushed aside, over the sharp creaks of the bed. Cody was moving. Noah turned around quickly, in case Cody was trying to get out of bed, in some bizarre attempt to walk around and only injure himself further.
Instead, Cody had only come closer, and wrapped his arms around Noah, being stupidly un-careful about it.
“Ow!”
“Idiot!” Noah shot back, instantly. But Cody only laughed, and the whole room felt brighter.
“You’re the idiot! I invited you into bed to snuggle, not to awkwardly stare at the ceiling and act like I have cooties!”
“Well excuse me, if I didn’t want to bother the injured!”
Cody was behind him, so Noah could feel Cody’s head shake along his back.
“Just be quiet and hold me.”
“I’ll try.”
Noah blinked a few times in preparation before slowly turning to face Cody, who smiled at him. Then there was the hard part, the task of getting Noah’s arms around Cody while avoiding the IV equipment and whatever the other wires were - Noah wasn’t a doctor, but he knew he shouldn’t mess with those. He settled somewhat awkwardly, with one hand on Cody’s back and the other snaking underneath Cody to hold him close.
Cody had always been soft, warm to the touch and easy to hold. Easy to squeeze close, and too comfortable for his own good. That’s why he was so easy to fall asleep with, and Noah would despair that Cody was still so tempting, if he wasn’t too busy just enjoying it. He had missed this so much.
“That’s better.” Cody said, and Noah snorted at the boldness of it.
“Aren’t you worried about the fact that I might mess up your bandages? Or did the shark bite affect more than just your leg?”
“The bandages aren’t going to come off that easily Noah.” Cody chided. “But if you don’t want to be here, you don’t have to be.”
Well then. Noah looked into Cody’s eyes for the first time that night, and only saw clear resolve.
“Well. Can’t just leave you alone here.” Noah said, shrugging away from Cody’s laughter.
Cody tugged him back. “That’s what I thought you’d say.”
Another silence, but it felt good this time. It was impossible to stay upset when you had Cody in your arms, Noah decided.
Cody was still paler than Noah would have liked, and the bandages covering his right arm and leg were a grim reminder of that bloody day on the beach, the worst day of Noah’s life. But Cody was alive, wasn't he? And still grinning like a cheeky idiot. Still as much of a brat as before. He was going to be fine, they were going to be fine.
Noah sunk down in the bed, ignoring Cody’s noises of displeasure, to rest his head on Cody’s chest. He could hear his heartbeat loud and clear, and everything was fine.
“Oh you’re just listening to my heart.” Cody said, somewhat disappointed.
“What else would I be doing?”
“Giving me a blowjob?” Cody said, and Noah didn’t have to look to know Cody’s eyebrows were wagging.
“Maybe when you’re out of the hospital.”
“Yes!”
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