Cody learns to love

The one chapter where something is wrong

  Cody knew something was wrong when he came home to a clean kitchen. The counter was wiped clean and the dishwasher was empty. The only ones who were in the house were Wolffe and Fox. And the kitchen was Wolffe's chore now. Wolffe never did his chores.

  After helping all the kids to remove their shoes and changing Boba and Omega into lighter clothes, he went for an inspection that confirmed that Rex indeed wasn't in the house. It was Wolffe or Fox, then. Probably Fox trying to make Cody's life easier once again.

  "Fox?"

  "Yeah?"

  "Did you clean the kitchen?"

  "No. Wolffe did."

  Now that was just odd. But if Fox said so... "Wolffe?! Did you clean the kitchen?"

  Wolffe emerged from his room and it only took him a few seconds. No 'I can't hear you, I'm wearing headphones!' or 'I need to finish the game!'. That itself was pretty suspicious. "Yeah."

  Now what was Cody supposed to do when the one of his children who just refused to grow up and do any chores suddenly started to do chores? He would probably give Wolffe a hug but Wolffe was resisting that since he was about nine years old. He settled for squeezing Wolffe's shoulder. "Good job, Wolffe."

  "Also, Cody, I need to talk to you. Without the kids."

  "Okay. Give me a few minutes to make sure that everyone is occupied and I will come to your room. Is that alright?"

  "Yeah, okay."

  So Cody went, sat the kids to the table, prepared them each a small plate of bite sized pieces of jogan fruit and a bowl of cereals. He hoped that the snack will keep them busy for long enough. Fox was kind enough to take Boba, who decided that he was done being a good boy and has been screaming for most of the day. At least Omega was asleep, somehow not woken up by her loud brother.

  "I will be in Wolffe's room. Call if you need anything," Cody told the kids and then he went to Wolffe's room. He honestly had no idea what to expect from this conversation. He knocked at Wolffe's door and waited for answer.

  "Come in!"

  Cody opened the door. He hoped his talk with Wolffe wasn't going to end with a disaster. "So... what did you want to tell me?"

  "Uh... you know how the twins refused to talk to you and then they suddenly started talking to you again?"

  Cody most certainly did remember that. It was one of the happiest moments of his life, seeing that his kids still loved him. "Yeah?"

  "So that was because Rex convinced that the conversation didn't happen and that it was just a dream."

  "What the actual kriff?!" Cody always tried not to swear in front of his siblings. This situation required it, though. How did Rex even do that? Why would he do that? It was going to make things even more complicated! There was no way Rex did that. He would brush it off as a joke only he knew that even Wolffe had enough common sense not to joke about this.

  "I don't know what was Rex thinking, I'm just telling you what he did."

  "How am I supposed to talk to the twins about it now?"

  "I don't know!"

  "Sorry, Wolffe, of course you don't." Cody was going to get the answer out of Rex, even if he had to threaten his little brother with death. "Thank you for telling me."

  "Actually... There is something else."

  Cody wasn't sure he even wanted to hear it. "Yeah?"

  "Master Plo wants to talk to you."

  Cody has only talked to Wolffe's teacher a few times but he liked the man. Most of Wolffe's teachers he talked to only wanted to tell him how bad Wolffe's grades were and asked him to make Wolffe study more. Not master Plo. Master Plo asked if Wolffe was alright, if there was something he could do to make the classes more appealing for Wolffe. "What happened that even master Plo wants to talk to me? Some bad grades?"

  "Uh... I think it will be better if master Plo tells you that."

  Something really bad, then. Wolffe was never ashamed to admit to all the shit he's done. "It's okay, Wolffe. I will talk to him. Did he say when I should come to school?"

  "He said you can meet up wherever you want. I guess you will just have to message him," Wolffe shrugged.

  "Alright." Whatever it was that Wolffe has done to draw master Plo's attention, Cody wasn't going to get angry. He wasn't, no matter what.

***

  Cody was hungry and tired and wanted nothing more than to eat his dinner. That was going to have to wait, though. He had to cut Fox's meat first. Fox was trying his best but he still couldn't cut food properly.

  "I don't like potatoes," Rex said. It was random but children tended to be just that. "We eat potatoes all the time! Potatoes with eggs, potatoes with meat, potatoes with beans, potatoes with potatoes."

  Rex had a point. Cody has been cooking potatoes a lot. The main reason was that it was the cheapest side dish. The fact that potatoes contained important minerals and vitamins was another benefit. "I will try to cook more pasta and rice," Cody promised. He made a mental note to keep an eye open for discounts. Pasta seemed cheap but no one talked about how easily the whole package disappeared.

  "I like Cody's meals," Fox informed Rex. He happily munched on some potatoes while Cody was still in the process of cutting his meat.

  Then Wolffe proceeded to drop a piece of meat to the floor. "Wolffe! Be careful with your food," Cody chided.

  "That wasn't me, that was Fox," Wolffe lied. It wasn't by far the first time Wolffe or Rex or Bly tried to blame something like this on Fox. In fact, every single time something happened, whether it was a spilled drink, broken glass or a new dent in the wall, Fox was blamed. This was the first time Cody saw with his own eyes that the accusation was false.

  "It wasn't me!" Fox defended himself.

  "Wolffe, I saw it. I know it was you." Cody gave Wolffe his disapproving look. He has perfected that look over the years.

  "Sorry."

  "Why did you want to blame Fox, Wolffe?" Cody asked. Because he really was curious. Not only about this incident in particular but all the other times the boys blamed Fox. "I noticed that whenever something bad happens, you all blame Fox'ika. Why are you doing it? Wolffe? Rex? Bly?"

  For a moment, no one spoke. Then Rex mustered up the courage to answer. "You never yell at Fox."

  Cody's hand brushed the scar on his face subconsciously. He most certainly did yell at Fox a few times. Now that he thought about it, he yelled at his other siblings much more, though. He didn't know why. It was just the way it was. Fox was sweet and wasn't to be yelled at safe for exceptions. "I'm sorry, boys. Ni ceta. I will try to yell at you less, okay? I promise."

  "You have to promise properly. Like a real mando," Bly demanded. Cody wasn't even a real mandalorian but whatever.

  "Haat, ijaat, haa'it."

  Lmao, Cody has no idea what master Plo wants to talk about.