A/N: Wohoo, only three days since my last update. Take that, haters. ;D Warning: Sap. Be prepared to get sticky.


"'Night mom!" Zack chucked his bags on the ground by Carey's feet as he leapt over her ankles, making a mad beeline for the bedroom.

Cody caught up to him, panting, dropping his own pack next to Zack's. "Yeah, what he said!'" He skidded, colliding with the door before his brother could reach the doorknob; only stopping long enough to turn and give Carey a sheepish wave. Zack took advantage of his distraction, shoving him aside, and they struggled briefly.

"Move—!" Breathless laughter. Zack pried the handle from beneath Cody's fingers and disappeared inside the room victorious, slamming the door in his face.

Cody stared at the length of cold, hard wood in open-mouthed disbelief, his sweaty hands sliding uselessly down the doorframe. "Zack, you—" Seconds later the door opened again, just long enough for one slim hand to reach out and pull him inside by the shirt.

The second slam was even louder than the first. Carey stared at the shaking wood for several moments.

"Good night," she called out wonderingly. "Guys?" There was no answer. "Did you have fun with your dad?"

A loud shushing noise could be heard from behind the door, followed by silence. There was the sound of low, hushed laughter and a throat being cleared.

"Yeah, Mom… It was really fun…"

"Dad says hi."

More giggles.

Carey rolled her eyes, returning to her book. "I don't even want to know what kinds of drugs he gave you," she called out as threateningly as she could, but it was half-hearted at best.

They ignored her.

She sighed, flipping a page, and returned the favor.


Zack and Cody grinned at each other, breathing hard in the dark. Cody knocked the back of his head against the wood, feeling high.

"Zack…" he resisted aimlessly, but Zack silenced him with a finger to his lips, pressing his arm more firmly across Cody's chest.

They waited several moments, listening, but apparently their mom was done with them for the night.

Zack's face grew predatory in the darkness, and Cody shivered. The wood from the door was digging rather painfully into his back, but he could bear it for a hundred years so long as his brother kept looking at him like that.

When Zack spoke again, his voice was very soft and very, very low. "You deserve what's coming, you know. Teasing me like that." He stepped between Cody's legs and pressed forward, making his point.

Cody laughed, his chest fluttering under Zack's hand even as his chin lifted in defiance. "I have no idea what you mean, sir." He could feel the evidence of Zack's arousal digging into his stomach, and it was all he could do to bite back a moan.

Zack chuckled. "Oh, I don't know about that." He pressed flush against him, and Cody clenched his teeth. "I seem to remember this brat I know telling me he'd 'make it up to me later'. You wouldn't know anything about that, would you, Cody?"

He relinquished his grip on Cody's shoulder long enough to stroke his chest lightly through the fabric of his shirt. Cody leaned into the touch, his eyes closing, but the hand stopped him from moving, pushing him back against the wood.

"I… suppose I might," he grinned finally, and Zack responded with a slow lick up the side of his prisoner's jaw, "ah… know something."

Zack smiled into his Adam's apple. "Tell me, Cody. Just what would this compensation involve? I'm... curious." His lips parted at the juncture between Cody's neck and shoulder, applying light suction to his sensitive skin. Cody melted bonelessly into the woodwork. "What could you possibly give me that I don't already have?" Zack captured Cody's wrists to illustrate, pinning them squarely above his head and leaning in close.

Cody tried for a kiss, but Zack drew away from his questing lips, smirking.

"Oh, no. I already have those. Wouldn't you agree?" Zack laughed at his own joke. He returned to mouthing at the side of his throat.

"Then what…" Cody paused, breathing hard, and thought.

Zack couldn't really be referring to... could he? But then, he had asked for it before. And now that things were better between them, perhaps it made sense that Zack wanted to go further.

Hands slid under his waistband, one clutching possessively at his hip while the other slid up his back.

Cody chose his next words carefully, feeling lightheaded. "Is that what you want?" He gasped as Zack nipped at his ear, and pressed forward hesitantly, a small thrill running through him when Zack copied him. "I mean- what it is that I can give you, that you don't already have."

Zack had been attempting to divest Cody of his shirt, but at Cody's question he looked up at him in alarm. "What?"

Cody frowned at the sudden change in his brother's demeanor, eyeing the dark line worrying his brother's brow and reaching out as if to wipe the lines away.

But Zack released him quickly, as if the touch had shocked him. "You really think that's how I'd ask you for that?" His brow furrowed even further.

"I—well, I guess not. No." Cody licked his lips. Part of him was relieved he'd been wrong, but the rest of him was at a loss to explain his brother's clenched fists and paling face. He tried to explain, his voice as gentle as he could make it. "It's not that much of a stretch, though, is it?"

He looked down, gesturing vaguely in the direction of Zack's shorts. "We haven't exactly—you know, done that yet, and… I know you've been wanting it forever. I can feel it, whenever we're together." Willing himself not to blush. "You've been so good to me, so wonderful, and I... I want to give this to you."

When Zack didn't move, Cody bit his lip and went over to the bed, anxious. His brother followed after a couple seconds, as predicted, perching awkwardly at Cody's side to stare at the opposite wall.

"Zack?" Cody asked after several moments of uncomfortable silence. "Talk to me." A terrible thought occurred to him. "Do you not want to? Is that it? If so-"

"How could you just," Zack interrupted, mouth twisted as if it hurt. "Man, I..."

"What? What is it?" His brother's eyes were downcast. "If you don't tell me, Zack, then I can't do anything about it," Cody urged, hoping his face displayed the earnestness he felt.

Zack turned away from him on the bed. "You never owe me sex, Cody." His words were tight and short, like they hurt. "You have to know that."

Cody blinked, bewildered. He placed a hand on Zack's shoulder, feeling suddenly out of his depths. "Of course I do! I didn't mean it like that." He leaned forward, planting wet kisses all over his brother's ear, his hair, the corner of his mouth. Those always made Zack smile. "Relax, okay?"

Zack turned to meet his lips head on, and Cody could feel a shiver running through the other boy's body from the hand braced on his chest for support. Cody did his very best to kiss the shivers gone. He stroked the hairs at Zack's neck, overwhelmed with love for the boy sitting beside him. If only he could make Zack understand.

Cody would do anything for him.

Zack's hand was shaking where it pressed against Cody's shirt, and Cody grabbed it before Zack could pull away, stroking along his knuckles. He tried to deepen the kiss but Zack ended it before he could.

Cody tucked a couple of hairs behind Zack's ear, hating the way Zack flinched. "What is with you, Zack?" He scooted closer, and for the moment Zack let him. "I can't read your mind, contrary to popular opinion. So…" He scrambled for the words. "Just tell me what I did wrong?"

"…You didn't do anything."

A snort. "Great, Zack. Fine… What did I say?"

Zack paused, staring at the opposite wall like it fascinated him. "Earlier today, when I made you kiss me. Why didn't you say anything?"

Another snort, although the non sequiter surprised him. "Actually, Zack, I kind of did." He hesitated. "But you didn't make me kiss you. I was pretty heavily invested, if you recall."

"I meant, why did you cave? If you didn't want it?"

Cody blinked. "Of course I wanted it." His brow furrowed as he thought. "I may have put up a fight, but I was just worried about Dad…. I thought that was obvious." He squinted at his brother suspiciously. "Is that what you're so worried about? I mean… how could you possibly doubt that I want you?"

Zack rolled his eyes at that, but quickly sobered. He cleared his throat. "I know that you have... desires for me. But you never seem to want to act on them. This past week has been… well, you know." He frowned. "There were times when we were sleeping together, and I'd be lying right next to you so that you could…" he swallowed, "obviously feel how much you were affecting me. And then… when I found that book, it was so clear that you were uncomfortable talking about it, but I just kept pushing." His eyes squeezed shut. "We haven't done anything since our date, Cody. You know? And even that was my idea." A pause. "Everything was my idea."

Cody reached out to put a hand on Zack's arm, feeling the beginnings of real fear swirl around in his stomach when Zack leaned away and turned to meet his eyes. "What in God's name are you getting at?" He didn't like that look. At all. "Zack, you're freaking me out."

Zack was getting red. "You're attracted to men, Cody," he finally burst out, the sound an intense whisper.

"So are you," Cody pointed out, irritated.

Zack ignored him. "And I'm the first guy that's showed you any interest. From the beginning, I was the one who called the shots. And then, right after you—sucked me..." Zack stumbled on, sipping air. "You had that weird nervous breakdown. That wasn't the only time, either; you've been having them for weeks. Obsessive showering, baby wipes carried everywhere—and afterwards the bathroom always reeking of Windex." Harsher. "Don't think I haven't noticed."

Cody paled. Unable to defend himself, because was Zack had said was true, all of it, though he had been hoping against hope Zack hadn't really noticed. "It's not like that, Zack," he said weakly, "I swear. I've always been a neat freak."

Zack closed his eyes, frustrated. "Would you listen to me? What if… what if all of our fighting and troubles have been happening because… deep down, you don't really want to be fooling around with your brother?"

Cody stared at him. After several moments of careful consideration, he spoke, making sure to keep his voice as level as possible. "Zack. Look at me."

He did, but it took a while. Eyes shuttered like a door, lips flat as a line.

"I will be completely frank and honest with you," he began, not knowing exactly how to get the words out the way he wanted them. "Part of me... still has no idea what I'm doing. Part of me still recoils at the idea that I found love with my own flesh and blood, my twin. The one person I have loved without fail since before I was even born." He paused. "On the face of it, it couldn't be more wrong, could it?"

Zack had flinched after every blunt statement, and now sat completely still, listening. Cody continued, his voice barely a wisp. "And when you kissed me, that first time... A part of me felt like it sort of. Died."

At this last sentiment Zack stood, fists clenched. Cody stopped him, blurting out, "No, you didn't let me finish!" He tugged. "Please, sit."

Zack sat, his face dark, and Cody took a deep breath.

"The part of me that died, Zack? Was the part that was pretending. Hiding. Hurting. It... was never really me in the first place." He licked his lips, and met his brother's dark, considering gaze. "In a way, you… introduced me to myself. I'm new, Zack. I'm a new person. I mean… I never claimed that I'm comfortable, exactly, with- with what we're doing. Because when is rebirth every comfortable?"

Cody hadn't let go of his grip on Zack's arm, and now stroked his skin carefully with his other hand, searching for the words that fit. "It's hard, and it chafes, and sometimes it even kills. But that's not always a bad thing. You know?" He bit his lip, the truth as solid and real before him as Zack himself. "And it does nothing to change the fact that I am absolutely, totally and irrevocably, head-over-heels in love with you."

"No!" Zack's face was tight, shoulders bowed beneath guilt and denial. "You say that, but you can't know that."

"But I do! I love you, Zack. I trust you, I need you, and I want you." He swallowed. "God, I want you. And if that's wrong-"

Zack flustered, pulling weakly at his trapped arm to no avail. "How can you be so sure you'll feel the same in a month? Or four? Or a year?" He shook his head. "You should take some time off, see other people. Make… make absolute sure." At that he went a little green around the edges, as if the very thought of his own suggestion made him sick.

Cody stood without a word, fed up; his jaw set into a severe line, he glared down at his older brother with all the fury he could muster.

"Zackary Martin, you are going to shut up and listen." Zack froze, face paling, but obeyed. Cody crossed his arms. "You are a real idiot sometimes. I could punch you right now, I really could. Sorry." He lowered his voice self-consciously, daring a quick glance at the closed door. He cleared his throat, the fire in his eyes renewed by the time he returned to Zack's face. "I know we've had our share of fights these past few weeks, and believe me, I know that there are plenty of issues I still have to work out on my own." He paused, blushing. "Issues that have nothing to do with you. Honest." Zack looked doubtful, but remained silent, so Cody continued. "But I am telling you— would you look at me when I'm talking to you?"

Zack did, his eyes going wide when Cody pointed at him and shook his finger as menacingly as he could.

"When I tell you that I love you, Zack, it means that I love you more than anything in this world, and that I know you'll always feel the same. I don't want to be with anyone but you." He grabbed Zack's hand, pressing it fiercely to his heart.

Zack's eyes went suspiciously bright, his adam's apple bobbing, and Cody clutched his hand closer.

"To say that you complete me would leave too much unsaid, and there just isn't time for me to explain how much I need you." He kissed the palm in his grip earnestly, dragging his lips softly up the thumb. "And when I tell you that I trust you, I don't mean 'just for the moment,' or 'just about the small things,' or 'only on the days that go off without a hitch.' I mean it for forever. So stop worrying if you are right for me." He frowned. "Breathe, Zack."

Zack looked like he was suffocating, or possibly drowning. The blood hadn't yet returned to his face. Cody tugged at his hand again, making him stand, and brought the palm down to rest on his hipbone, curling the fingers around his thigh and holding them there. Zack gazed at his hand, still not breathing.

"So when I tell you that I want you, Zack? It means that I'm on fire, and that if you don't touch me this instant I could very well die."

Cody purposely shifted, moving so that Zack's knuckles grazed Cody's erection through his shorts, and Zack gasped as if coming alive, lips parting in surprised pleasure. His eyes darted up to meet his, shining with some unnameable emotion.

The sight made Cody weak in the knees.

"And then wouldn't you feel terrible?" he finished weakly. Wings beating fiercely, brushing feathery soft against the walls of his heart...

Before he could say another word, Zack's arms were around him and Cody was tugged into a vicious hug, one that hurt in all the right ways. He closed his eyes against the sudden column of warmth that flooded him, returning the embrace, and Zack flipped them around so that Cody lay flat on the bed, the sheets still strewn about the floor from that morning.

Zack crouched above him and Cody promptly buried his hands in his hair, taking in the smell and weight of it. It comforted and delighted him in equal measure.

"Want me, do you?" Zack asked between kisses, eloquent as always, and Cody could feel his pulse pounding through their lips. "Need me forever?"

Cody gasped as his brother bit him, collarbone burning from the brand. "Yes…"

Zack stopped, staring down in quiet awe. "Love me?"

Cody braced himself up on his elbows, his face an inch away. "Always."

A sparkling kiss. An accusing nip.

Soft: "Are you sure?"

Cody growled, turning them around so that he was on top, pushing Zack into the mattress by the shoulders. "Don't make me hurt you."

Zack chuckled, the sound turning into a groan. "God, you're so... foxy."

Cody rewarded him with a sinfully luxurious kiss and a laugh. "Foxy, huh?"

The older boy moaned. "Yeah…" Cody grinned at the hint of embarrassment that shone through. "I like it when you take charge..." He added just a bit of tongue, making note of Zack's every reaction. Beneath his hands, Zack's chest stretched as his back arched, arms folding around to pull him even closer.

"That's it," Cody whispered by his cheek, knotting his hands in Zack's hair. "Let me love you."


A/N: I have a feeling you guys are going to like this next bit. But I shouldn't get ahead of myself. XD

As always, review if you liked it, or even if you didn't. :D