Message Received

By: Rhuben

Summary - [Post Suite Life on Deck] ["Sequel" to May I Have Your Attention, Please?] There was only so many times Cody could hear the question, "If I do this to your twin, do you feel it, too?" Finally he had the answer: Yes. [Cody/OC friendship]

"So when am I going to see your naked bum on my phone screen?"

Cody Martin choked on his coffee before he spat it back into the mug in his hand. Wiping at his mouth with the back of his hand, he said to the girl sitting across from him, "Just stick a beauty mark on the right cheek and you're fine." Dabbing his lips dry with his napkin he added, "Otherwise, never."

Riley Jackson grinned to herself as she reached for her fork. Stabbing her quiche with it, she worked off a portion of the egg dish and slid it into her mouth. "Mmmm." She smiled as she chewed. "I swear, everything is better with bacon."

"With all that grease?" Cody asked, lifting an eyebrow.

"Exactly," Riley replied, chewing happily. She hummed to herself, bobbing in her seat, shaking her shoulders.

"Actually, the healthiest thing you could eat would be oatmeal or whole wheat toast," Cody replied, reaching for his Panini. He took a bite of his toasted sandwich.

"I swear, the older you get, the older you get," Riley commented, shaking her head back and forth. "You're in college; live a little you old fart." She jammed her elbow onto the table, giving a small pout as she put her chin in her hand. "Too bad Max couldn't stay long; otherwise I'd have something interesting to talk about."

Cody rolled his eyes. "Ha ha," he replied dryly. "Why did I ask you to join me again?"

Riley nodded her head towards the empty chair at their table. "Because I was paying," she replied, lifting an eyebrow.

"I offered," Cody replied, lifting his hands in the air. "With all our meals being about 20-25 dollars and a 10% for tip, it couldn't be more than—"

"No worries, Codes," Riley replied, waving her hand in the air. "If you don't mind, I don't have to take math class anymore." She twirled her fork between her fingers. "I'd rather not hear anything about it. Plus, you're paying for the pizza."

Cody's lips twitched. He knew he'd be spending more money than he planned either way. Pizza wasn't that cheap, and knowing how hungry Zack got, he'd be buying large quantities of it whenever his arm was twisted enough. And his girlfriend sure knew how to do that.

Plus, he knew it'd be better to lift Zack's spirits someway. Never in his life had he ever seen Zack so down in his life. Maybe when Riley wouldn't give him the time of day before they started dating. But that was a normal occurrence at first and in the long run it really only fueled his desire to get her attention. He wasn't all too surprised when he eventually got it. Zack always got the attention one way or another.

"Codes," Riley said, catching his attention. She used her tongue pull a chunk of spinach into her mouth. "Tell me that there's nothing bothering you and I'll try and believe you."

Cody took another bite of his Panini, trying to stall himself for time. Not that it would work. Of course there was something bothering him. Zack was bothering him. Zack was always bothering him. Whether it was Zack getting him in trouble (whether or not he pulled the "older son" card), or getting himself in trouble but making the two of them receive punishments because it was "easier", or having people in his life asking him, "Why does Zack act this way?" as if he was supposed to have all the answers, Zack was bothering him.

"I'm fine," Cody replied.

"You're not that convincing," Riley said in a sing-song voice. Her pout returned; her bottom lip stuck out even more than it was before. "You know you can talk to me about anything."

"Yyyyep," Cody replied with a nod of his head. He just wasn't going to say anything.

"So are we just going to ignore that you've been in a mood since those pictures got out?" Riley asked.

Cody's cheeks puffed out as he sucked in a deep breath of air and held it. Slowly, very slowly, he let it out through his nose. He should have known he'd never get through even five minutes without Riley analyzing him. Not that he could blame her; he was "in a mood".

And all because Zack had to go and take those stupid pictures. It wasn't like he hadn't considered doing that himself. Or something like that. Maybe. And it wasn't like he was shaming Zack for doing it in the first place; he and Riley had a strong, close relationship, one they had been building and working on for years. He was happy to see that Zack had found someone he could be really open and vulnerable with as well as to allow himself to fall in love with.

But he wasn't happy that once again he brought negative attention to the both of them.

"When you first met Zack, what did you think of him?" Cody asked, reaching for his napkin.

"I thought he was an arrogant, flirty, lazy, schmuck," Riley replied so quickly and deadpan that it made Cody laugh.

"And now that you're dating him?" Cody pressed, tilting his head just slightly.

"I still think he's an arrogant, flirty, lazy, schmuck," Riley replied, copying his facial expression. "But, I also know that he's really nice, and sweet, and funny, and attentive, and ambitious with his gaming. What's not to like about him?"

Oh, I could give you plenty of answers. Cody pressed his lips together, stopping himself from reacting automatically. He loved his brother, he really did. But sometimes, he couldn't look past how different they were even as twins.

Cody was the book smart one. Zack was the people smart one.

Cody did well in school. Zack wasn't exactly the academic type.

Cody worked hard. Zack slacked off until it was convenient for him.

Still no matter what, people couldn't get past the fact that they were twins. To others one had to be the evil one and one the good one. One had to be the smarter one and one the dumber one. One had to be the oldest and one had to be the baby. It was like those were the most important things to people instead of trying to understand the two as individual people. They would forever be considered a duo, a package deal so to speak.

After they had made all that progress with the Gemini Project. He and Zack were really starting to understand each other. But, Cody just couldn't understand how Zack could make the same mistakes over and over again and leave Cody to be the one to make things right.

Maybe he couldn't physically feel any pain Zack could be going through, whether he showed it or not, but he could sense how embarrassed Zack was—an after effect of the Gemini Project he assumed—and he wanted to fix it. Only now, for once, he didn't know how to. He didn't know what he could do to get people to shut up about his brother. He was used to the attention, the double takes, and the stupid questions and comments about them being twins, but not about something like this. For once, he wasn't smart enough to come up with a foolproof answer to their problem.

He was the smart one, surely he could figure out what to do. But what was it he could do?

"You're being a real asshole you know," Riley said.

"Say what?" Cody asked. He lifted his hands into the air before placing them down on the arm rests of his seat. His fingers curled over the edge of the chair. "Excuse me."

"Zack's pictures were leaked, not yours," Riley replied with a shake of her head. "Instead of being mad at him, shouldn't you be mad at the person that did it?"

"I would if I could figure out who was the idiot who leaked them in the first place," Cody muttered, tapping his fingernails against the armrests of his seat. "I mean, who could do something like that?" He stuck out his jaw. "Maybe Agnes…she was always possessive of us."

"Agnes is intense, but I reckon she not that intense, mate," Riley said making a face. "She doesn't seem to be the, uh, 'revenge porn' type." Leaning back in her chair, she balanced on the back two legs of her seat, pulling her knee to her chest. "Cody, we may not ever find out who did it. But, that's ok."

"It's ok?" Cody asked with a snort. "It's ok for people to treat my brother like that? To embarrass him? To act like his privacy is something they can play with?" Riley twisted her mouth to the side. "I just want to fix it, Riles."

"It's not about you, Cody, it's about Zack," Riley replied in a tight voice, her eyes flashing.

"I know that," Cody replied. "Once again, he's got himself into some trouble and I have to figure out how to help him out." Riley reached for her fork and practically slammed the prongs down through her quiche and out the other side onto the plate with a loud clink. "Geeze, calm down."

"I AM CALM!" Cody squeezed his eyes shut at the sudden shout before slowly squinting them open.

While he didn't like being on the receiving end of Riley's quick anger, he couldn't help but notice how well that side of her balanced Zack out. He was spontaneous and said a lot that was on his mind and she could quickly reel him in with a look or a shout of words. On the other hand, he brought out a fun side to her that he had a feeling she hadn't shown to anyone in a long time.

Riley quickly shot him an apologetic look, lifting her hand in a small wave as other patrons of the establishment looked over in her direction. "Sorry. Sorry." Riley shook her head back and forth. "You know you can't always bail him out."

"Why can't I?" Cody asked, his voice cracking. "Its how it's always been; Zack and Cody. It's never been Cody and Zack."

"That's not how Zack sees it," Riley replied. She lifted her fork to her mouth and continued eating her food. Cody followed suit, finishing up his sandwich as silence fell between the two of them. "For him, it's always been Cody and Zack."

Cars rushed by in the busy streets of New York, honking, and stopping to pick up pedestrians that flagged them down. Men in briefcases speed-walked past, women on cell phones chatted freely, and kids ran towards their destination without a care in the world. It always looked easy for everyone else.

After taking a long drink from her glass of root beer, she said, "You remember that time you and Zack didn't know if you were actually who you were for a while? You know, when you thought your mom had switched you as babies and didn't switch you back?"

"Of course," Cody replied with a nod of his head.

"Zack was the most uncomfortable I had ever seen him when he thought he was you," Riley explained, folding her hands on the table, fixing her blue eyed gaze on him. "Even more so then he is now; because he had lost the identity he had always had. Sure, he's embarrassed, and yes, he's uncomfortable with everyone knowing what he did, but he'll bounce back. Because that's who he is; he lets things slide off his shoulders. You on the other hand, you think everything through and try and find reason behind every action you want to take."

"What's wrong with that?" Cody asked.

"Did I say there was anything wrong with it?" Riley shot back. Cody bobbed his head back and forth, falling silent. "I'm not saying that Zack's impulsiveness doesn't get him in trouble, because we both know it does."

Cody snorted. He could write a book about how much trouble they got into because of his impulsiveness. If it wasn't making him dress in drag to be part of a beauty pageant (although that did have a great ending because it led to his first kiss), it was being stuck in island jail their first few days on the S.S. Tipton.

"But it's also gotten him through a lot of that trouble, too," Riley insisted. "And it'll help him through this, too." Cody stayed silent. "I wish, too, that those pictures didn't get out, but I don't regret him taking them or sending them to me in the first place. It was something for us that he chose to do for himself. You shouldn't judge him for that."

"I'm not judging him," Cody replied, an edge to his tone. His annoyance and anger was building all over again. "I just need to think out how I'm going to help him. I stopped caring a long time ago what exactly it is that he's done to get himself in hot water, I just focused on how to get him out of it."

"And what makes you think he can't do that on his own?"

"This is Zack we're talking about. When has he ever done things on his own?"

"When he worked—seriously worked—the Smoothie Bar on the S.S. Tipton. When he found that Captain's compass at the bottom of the ocean. When he went to find you after you decided to become a monk. I could go on."

"You don't have to."

Cody blinked as he fell into a deep thought. Ok, so there were plenty of times Zack had been able to do things on his own. And he was proud of him for being able to take lead in those situations. Zack had shown his maturity and growth while they were aboard the ship. Maybe that growth was what had made his friend finally admit, or accept, her feelings for his brother.

Zack wasn't the troublemaker everyone knew him to be, he was more thoughtful of people's feelings, and the consequences of his actions. Maybe he wasn't the one who had grown or matured. All he chose to see was the "Old Zack." He had even said it himself; he blamed Zack for things that went wrong in his life. Not once did he ever blame him, or even thank him, for everything that went right.

Despite everything the Gemini Project had shown them, shown him, he still worried about what it was that Zack was going to do, or where he would end up. Not once did Cody stop to see if Zack could figure out for himself. He never had the faith in his brother to see what he could make of his life. Not until now; when he found his passion in video game design. No one ever thought Zack would go to college or even choose to attend, so Cody decided to go to NYU with him to make sure that he was going to be ok. Because once again, he was worried Zack wouldn't make it on his own.

"This is my fault," Cody said quietly. "I never had any faith in him." Riley lifted an eyebrow. "I was always quick to help him out of problems."

"That's just who you are, Cody," Riley said. She reached out her hand and placed it over his, gently squeezing it. "You always wanted to use your smarts to help people." She gave him a gentle smile. "There's nothing wrong with that."

"He doesn't need me anymore does he?" Cody asked.

"That's it, isn't it?" Riley asked. "What's bothering you?" She laughed quietly. "Take it from someone who knows, it's not easy to accept that people don't need you anymore. At the same time, it's something you can feel proud of, yeah?" Cody shrugged. "Look, it hurt for Patrick, Noah, and Sydney to tell me they didn't need me to make decisions for them, or to look out for them, and that they could do it on their own. I've been doing it for years and never thought I'd see that day come. But, it's ok. It's just them maturing."

"Zack maturing," Cody said with a small laugh. "Never thought I'd see the day."

Riley rolled her eyes and gave her famous smirk. "Who're you telling?" she asked. "Cody, all Zack ever needed was for someone in his life to give him a chance. To support him."

"Of course I support him, he's my brother," Cody insisted. Riley's eyes narrowed slightly. "I guess not as much as I think do. Not really."

"Look, I get it," Riley said, putting her hands up defensively. "I'm always worried, too. It never really stops. But you have to let the bird fall out of the nest sometime." She then made a face. "Which, by the way, I find it funny that you're scared of seagulls after you took care of that bird back in Boston."

"First of all, it was a hawk, not a bird," Cody said, pointing his index finger at her. Riley stuck her head forward, her jaws snapping shut on the air in front of his finger. Letting out a small shriek, Cody pulled his hand back away from her. "And second of all, pigeons are vicious. They'll take your food without looking and drop their waste on you. Which isn't unlike Zack."

Riley made a face, opening and closing her mouth. "I don't know if I want to know," she said in a disgusted tone. "Reckon, I really don't, mate."

"Don't ever go on a bar crawl with him," Cody replied, "That's all I'm going to say." He gave Riley a smile, turning his hand over, palm up to squeeze Riley's hand back. "Thanks, LeeLee."

"Sure thing, CoCo," Riley replied. She took his hand between hers before kissing the back of his hand. "Anytime." A jingle hit the air and Riley pulled back her hands to retrieve her phone. Grabbing it out of her pocket, she flipped it right-side up, her eyes lighting up when she saw who was calling her. Lifting her phone to her ear, she slid her thumb across the face plate and answer it. "Hello." Cody snapped his fingers twice before making a "come here" motion with his index finger. "Hold on a second."

Riley handed Cody her phone and he held it up to his ear. "Hey, Zack. We'll be back with the pizzas soon." Cody rolled his eyes as he heard Zack's whine on the other end of the line. "It won't take much longer, doofus. We won't take much longer talking about you."

"Good things I hope."

"Isn't it always?" Cody asked. "Hey, so, listen." Suddenly feeling embarrassed, he bowed his head and lowered his voice. "I just wanted you to know that I'm proud of you. And no matter what, I'm going to support you." He swallowed. "You know that, right?"

"Yeah, of course, Cody."

"Good." Cody let out a breath of air in a sigh of relief. "Good. I just wanted to make sure. I'll give you back to your girlfriend."

"Good, cause she's more fun to talk to. If you know what I mean."

Cody rolled his eyes. Typical. Of course Zack would bring some double entendre to his words. The older they got, Cody could have sworn Zack's flirt tactics had increased seven fold. Not that he could really blame him; they had both found great girls and wanted them to know as such. Zack laid it on a little thick sometimes, but who was he to judge. He and Riley were happy together and supported each other. That was all that mattered.

"Yes, we'll be back soon. No, we won't forget the pizza. Half sausage, half chicken, I know." Riley made a face, lifting her hand, using her fingers to form a mouth; opening and closing it to mock her boyfriend. Cody laughed as she hung up. "You know, I think you made his day. He sounded happier than he has since the pictures got out."

"I'm glad," Cody said with a nod, feeling the truth in his words. A smile slowly stretched across his face. Even being in two different places, he could feel Zack's happiness as if he was sitting right next to him. Just like he always would be for his brother.

A/N: After being asked to see Cody's side to things, I've been meaning to do this one shot for a while. So, here it is. Thanks for reading.