The Suite Adult Life

Halloween (1.4)

It was early in the evening when Cody returned back to the city. He had gone down the 36 freeway along the New Jersey coast to clear his head. The amount of thoughts and scenarios that played out had to be in the thousands. But the one that stuck out the most was the two of them being young and trying to make it work. Going to school part time, alternating semesters so one would be home with the baby. The logistics of it were rudimentary, at best; but, he knew he would have lived every moment for them.

Bailey was right. He would have given up everything. He both hated and loved that she was right. That she was strong in a way he wasn't. She could always see past the problem that blocked his mind. When he couldn't escape the obsession that came. And he would have been obsessed. He wasn't ready to be grateful to her for making that sacrifice. He was still in pain and he wasn't sure the longing would ever leave.

He pressed the buzzer and a sexy, dark voice answered. "Hello?"

"It's your husband," he retorted, an inside joke between the twins and Jackson. The door buzzed allowing him entrance. Cody wasn't sure if Zack would be home, but even if he wasn't, Jackson was the one he was looking for. He opened the apartment door, calling out for the two of them.

"Shh! Zack is just getting them to sleep!" He loudly whispered, waving the baby monitor in the air.

"Great," Cody acknowledged in his own whisper. "Where's your alcohol?" He pushed past the tall mahogany man and his protests. It always amazed Cody at the growth spurt his old friend hit in college, and the workout regimen he kept up with as well. If only he swung the same way as his brother, Cody sighed internally. He opened drawers and cabinets, trying to be quiet and mostly failing.

"Cody, I told you we got rid of it when the twins came home." Jackson announced, trying to convince him.

The door to the twins room shut quietly and Zack walked out to the kitchen, straightening out the sleeves of his own shirt. Rolled up so they wouldn't get wet from bathtime. "What is going on out here?" He asked Jackson, quickly realizing they weren't alone. He took one look at his brother, his arms splayed to either side of him, leather jacket hooked around his elbow on the counter, and his eyes narrowed and searching both of their faces for an answer or trying to be intimidating for them to just cave. "What happened?" Zack breathed.

Cody raised an eyebrow, his tongue stuck between his cheek and teeth trying to decide how to express the news, or if he should at all. He pushed himself up suddenly and announced "I'm going back to blonde."

"YAY!" Jackson cheered, raising his hands in the air. Zack looked at him in annoyance. "What? I like the two of you blonde." He turned back to the searching man, "not that I don't think the dark hair is striking."

"He saw Bailey today." Zack clarified.

Jackson' eyes got wide and he let out a low and long "oh". He met Cody's eyes that told him not to act like he didn't know Bailey was in town. Because of course Jackson did. Jackson was the one who told her where he lived and to try and catch him in the bodega in the mornings. But he wasn't about to let that little deception slip. "I was wondering why you looked so good. This," he waved his finger up and down at the outfit, "works. You need this to be your everyday look. It's simple, it's maintainable, you did your hair!" Jackson listed off the pros.

The brunette waved it all off. "The fashion editor picked it out." Cody looked again at Jackson, making his eyes bore into the other's in a duel. Tell me what I want to know, they said.

His brother-in-law betrayed himself when his eyes darted down to a bottom cabinet that was barely used, right next to the oven.

Cody snapped his fingers in victory. And sure enough, there were two bottles of red wine hidden off to the side. Zack was shocked at his husband's hiding place. He had thrown out good and expensive whiskey for the twins at Jackson' insistence. "Yes, I saw Bailey." He said matter of factly, as he pulled a glass from the cabinet above and uncorked the bottle. He poured a glass and handed it to Jackson, and shotgun from the bottle itself.