Wow, my first ever piece of fanfiction. I'm amazed that I even put it up here as I usually just read back over my work and delete it all after realising how hideous it sounds…

Disclaimer: 'The Suite Life of Zack and Cody' is awesome, but I don't own it.

Importance

Zack groaned loudly as the program he was watching suddenly came to an end and was replaced by, in his opinion, the most boring, brain-numbing thing on television.

"Good evening, and welcome to the eleven o'clock news report…"

He turned his attention away from the screen (which wasn't that difficult considering the circumstances) and began to rummage noisily through the cushions on the couch before pulling out the remote from where it had been hiding. He was about to change the channel in hopes of finding something fun to watch, when a thought hit him.

Wait a minute, eleven o'clock? He was supposed to be in bed half an hour ago! Hurriedly, he turned the T.V off and practically jumped off the couch, casting an anxious glance towards the door of the suite. If Carey found him he was going to be so dead!

After falling asleep in half of his classes (due to some extremely late nights of constant video game playing) his mother had become convinced that he wasn't getting enough sleep. Unfortunately for Zack, that meant lights out by ten-thirty. He shuddered in embarrassment every time his new 'bed time' was mentioned.

Still, if Carey found out that he'd broken the rule, he was in big trouble. Being grounded again wasn't very appealing, especially since he had only finished his last punishment a few days ago. Heh, hitting the emergency button in the elevator had been so worth it…

Making his way through the suite, Zack frowned a little when he saw that the door to the room he shared with his twin was still shut. Cody had disappeared in there a few hours ago and, as far as Zack knew, hadn't come out since.

Reaching for the handle, he opened the door carefully.

"Hey, Cody," he called. "What are you…?"

Zack trailed off as he looked around the room. His eyes finally rested on a small, motionless form, slumped over the desk with a dozen various books scattered around him, clearly fast asleep. Silently, he crept over to his twin, as not to wake him from his slumber.

From this view, it was quite obvious that Cody didn't look so good. There were dark rings around his eyes and even while he was sleeping, he still looked exhausted. Zack knew that they had been given a lot of homework lately, and now that he thought about it, Cody had been spending a lot more time trying to finish it all.

On closer inspection, Zack could see that his twin actually had his head resting on the last book he had been working on, but it was then that he saw something that he hadn't noticed before. It was a maths book, Zack's maths book.

The immediate feeling of guilt hit him hard. Cody had probably finished his work ages ago; it was while doing Zack's stuff that he had basically passed out. Gently, Zack reached out a shook Cody's shoulder.

"Hey, Cody, wake up," he said softly.

Slowly, the younger twins eyes opened, blinking owlishly. He looked around for a moment before setting eyes on his brother. Despite everything, Zack tried not to laugh at the mildly confused look on his face.

"Zack?" Cody asked uncertainly. His voice was quiet and slow, giving away the fact that he was still half asleep.

"Yeah, it's me," Zack said with a smile. "It's late. What do you say we both go to bed, huh?"

"But I'm not finished yet," Cody replied, his eyes straying back to the piles of books still sitting on the desk around him.

The guilt washed over Zack once more, but he tried not to let it show. Instead, he plastered a grin onto his face and shoved the books away.

"I'm sure the teachers wont mind if my homework doesn't come in for a few weeks," he joked. Unfortunately, his twin wasn't convinced.

"Zack, you're going to fail if I don't get it done!" Cody exclaimed, suddenly seeming to be wide-awake. With a loud sigh he turned away and pulled the work towards him, picking up the blue biro that he had been using from the floor where he had dropped it.

Anyone else would have thought Cody was fine and just left him alone, but Zack wasn't 'anyone else'. He noticed the way Cody's hands were shaking ever so slightly, a movement so subtle that it was barely detectable. He noticed the way his whole body was tense and how his breathing was more heavy and laboured than it should have been. Yep, something was definitely wrong and Zack knew it.

"Cody," Zack said firmly, causing the other boy to stop. Cody didn't look up, choosing instead to have a staring contest with a particularly evil looking algebra equation, but Zack could tell that he was listening.

"It's really great that you're doing my homework for me," he continued. "Like you said, I probably would fail if it wasn't handed in. But still, you're my twin brother, and I care a lot more about you than some stupid schoolwork."

Cody looked up, his eyes mixed with confusion and surprise. This hurt Zack slightly, but he kept going, hoping that he was saying the right thing.

"No offence buddy, but you look like you haven't slept in a week, and I'd much rather get and 'F' in every class than have to watch you being this stressed out."

There was a moment of silence, in which a suddenly very self-conscious Zack stared awkwardly at the ground, before Cody leapt out of his chair and wrapped his arms tightly around his brother. As he returned the embrace, a genuine smile broke out on Zack's face for the first time since he entered the room.

"Thanks," Cody whispered.

Zack heard the slight tremor in his brother's voice, causing him to grip the younger boy even tighter before he finally pulled away. Cody still looked exhausted (and now a little embarrassed), but there was a small smile on his face and that was all Zack needed to see.

"You know, unless we both want to be grounded for the rest of our lives, we really should go to bed," Cody stated.

"Yeah, I guess," Zack replied before yawning loudly.

The younger twin grinned and made sure to stack the now forgotten homework into a neat pile and turn off the light while Zack made his way over to his bed and jumped in. Cody followed his brother's example, neither of them bothering to change out of their clothes. There was silence for a few seconds, and then Zack spoke.

"Hey, Cody."

"Yeah?"

"Never make the mistake of thinking that something else in my life is more important than my twin."

Staring through the partly opened door, Carey smiled. She was furious with both of the boys, but maybe she could let their punishment slide just this once…

End

Just to be clear, I haven't actually seen a lot of The Suite Life, so I apologise if I have some of the facts wrong. For example, I'm not entirely sure whether Zack and Cody even have a desk in their room…

Reviews would be nice, and any constructive criticism is most welcome 