Cody learns to love

The one chapter where they stop being friends

  Cody's tiingilar was successful. Obi-Wan seemed to like it. Cody should probably invite him for more meals, he owed Obi-Wan a lot of dinners. "Do you want to stay for dinner as well?"

  "I'm afraid I can't. As much as I would like to stay, I need to prepare some materials for tomorrow's classes."

  Cody wondered if it was just an excuse. It didn't sound like one. "Oh. Maybe another time."

  "I could come again tomorrow."

  "Yes, please, Obi-Wan, you have to come!" Kix said. He was still happy that Obi-Wan agreed to play doctor with him. Cody just hoped the man wasn't too traumatized. But considering he himself offered to come again, Kix probably went easy on him.

  "I will," Obi-Wan promised. It was strange that Cody and Obi-Wan got close thanks to Obi-Wan helping with the kids. The few people Cody has met closer were usually only interested before they knew Cody was a full time big brother. "I mean, if you don't mind, Cody?"

  "I will be glad if you come."

  "In that case I certainly will. Is there anything particular that you want for dinner?" he asked. Cody would think he knew better by now. Children always had the craziest requests and whenever Cody asked a question like this, he ended up explaining that no, they couldn't have purple ice cream cake with blue and yellow frosting and a holo net princess on the top for dinner. Or something like that.

  "Cupcakes!" Jesse shouted.

  "Yes, cupcakes! With blue frosting and lots of chocolate," Fives added. 

  "But with pink frosting too. Pink frosting is better. And I want there to be glitters, lots f glitters," Echo said.

  "I'm not sure if cupcakes are the best for dinner," Obi-Wan tried to break the news gently. Cody felt sorry for him. He knew what was about to happen.

  Just as Cody predicted, the kids answered with a chorus of 'why not's and a lot of shouting.

  "Cupcakes aren't a real dinner. We can make cupcakes sometime, I promise, but not for dinner," Cody stepped in. "What about macaroni with cheese or pizza, you all like that."

  "Or we could have toasts," Emerie proposed. That was kind of random but whatever. Better than the unrealistic cupcakes.

  "Toasts with what?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "With nothing, just toasts."

  "Why?" Cody asked. So far, Emerie didn't seem to be particularly picky, she was just sensitive to strong flavours. Blank toasts didn't seem like her style at all.

  "Fox likes it." Emerie shrugged. Of course she wished for something that Fox could eat. She really seemed to take their friendship seriously.

  "It's fine, just eat whatever you want," Fox said but it was obvious from the way he smiled at Emerie that he was grateful. Honestly, Emerie was right, they probably should eat meals that Fox eats more often. Maybe Fox felt cast out when he had to eat different foods all the time.

  "What about chicken nuggets? Everyone likes those, including Fox," Cody suggested. Chicken nuggets sounded like a sensible idea. The kids seemed to agree.

  "What do you think, Wooley?" Obi-Wan leaned closer to the boy. Wooley hasn't really said anything for the whole time. "Do you like chicky nuggies?"

  Wooley just stared for a moment before he answered with a loud "Yes.".

  "Chicken nuggets it is. Are you going to help me or should I bring them already prepared?" Obi-Wan asked. Cody wondered if this was the moment when he was supposed to humbly say that he was going to do the cooking and then politely argue with Obi-Wan until he 'lost' the fight.

  "I will help," Emerie offered eagerly. Cody hoped she wasn't going to lose her determination to help around the house after she started school. She was excited to go when Cody proposed that she could start going there. She didn't know what was awaiting her.

  "We will cook it together, then," Obi-Wan seemed glad. Emerie was a fast learner, she was already a good helper in the kitchen, unlike the little kids who were more of a distraction then help. "You are starting school tomorrow, right?"

  "Yeah. I want to make lots of friends there. It's a shame I won't be in the same class with Fox, though. It would be so much fun if we could sit together! We could pretend we are twins."

  Cody had a feeling Fox was glad Emerie didn't end in the same class with him. He looked more then a little annoyed when Emerie kept ranting about it.

  The rest of the dinner was just Emerie being excited about going to school and the kids sharing their exaggerated horror stories about their school days. Cody didn't even hear all of it, he had to leave when Omega and Boba started crying in the bedroom.

  Obi-Wan followed him. The teenagers and Rex were probably already gossiping. Too bad that their theories about the nature of Obi-Wan's and Cody's relationship could never be true.

  "Can I help you somehow?" Obi-Wan asked.

  "Yeah, you can hold Omega."

  "Why not Boba?"

  "Omega is the well behaved baby. Boba is just a grumpy little guy, right, Bob'ika?" Cody pinched Boba's cheek gently. Boba just kept crying loudly. "I think they're hungry, they haven't eaten in almost three hours. I will make them their bottles."

  Cody more felt then heard Obi-Wan following them to the kitchen, it was hard to hear anything with how loud was Boba shouting. His crying was even louder than usual, or at least Cody thought so. It was as if he was trying to tell Cody to hurry up.

  So Cody did, he quickly put the water to boil. Not that he could explain it to Boba. Boba only quieted down once Cody filled his bottle and Boba could finally eat. It was similar with Omega, only her cries were somewhat quieter than Boba's.

  "You don't have to do this, you know?" Cody told to Obi-Wan. Obi-Wan definitely had better things to do than feeding a baby.

  "It's alright. Omega is rather cute. And so is Boba."

  "All babies are cute."

  "But Omega and Boba are yours."

  What did it even mean to Obi-Wan? "I suppose they are."

  "None of that, Cody. You suppose my ass. They are your babies and that's just how it is."

  "What does it matter to you?" Cody didn't want to say that out loud. He just lost the one friend he had, didn't he? Only somehow, Obi-Wan didn't look offended.

  "I admire what you are doing for your children. I admire you, Cody."

  Why did it sound like a confession? It was a confession, wasn't it? But why? "Admire me?"

  "Yes, admire you, Cody."

  "Why?"

  Obi-Wan gave him a look. Cody guessed it should be obvious but really, it wasn't. "Cody, tell me if I'm wrong but- I think this is something that we both want."

  Suddenly, Obi-Wan was close, closer than before. Or maybe Cody was just imagining that. He certainly wasn't imagining the feather light touch of Obi-Wan's fingers on his cheek.

  Then Obi-Wan kissed him, then and there. Just like that. It was perfect.

  I guess this is it, this is where it ends.

  Just kidding, I will be posting more tomorrow. I decided to make this a mile stone in their life. They kissed. Cody has learned to love. Now he just needs to learn to live his life for himself, not for others. And that's why I will call the next part of his story 'Cody learns to live'. So, stay tuned, the new story will drop tomorrow.

  Whether you are going to continue reading about Cody's journey or you are going to end here, I will be thrilled to hear your thoughts in the comments. I know I've asked this already but I'm asking once again. What do you think about this story? Who is your favorite character? Was reading this story worth it? What was it that made it worth it? What was your favorite moment? I have many questions, I know. Let me know what you think, please.