kia-ness

You got up with a sigh; Pope’s old shirt swaying around your thighs as you shuffled out of his room. You wiped at your bleary eyes as you came to in the bathroom.

“Fuck.” You cursed at your appearance in the mirror, you were supposed to shower last night and remove your make up. But Pope had come home earlier than expected and you jumped at the chance to have him to yourself. Now your eyeliner and mascara had smudged giving you a messy and unintentional smokey eye. You stared at your appearance a little longer, listening to the silence within the Cody compound which told you that it was just you in the house. Alone. Again.

You didn’t care. You told yourself. Smurf could isolate you all she wanted and you’d stick it out for your sweet boy if it meant proving your loyalty. You snapped out of your head, god you were starting to become paranoid, maybe Smurf had gotten to you….

You opened the bathroom door to go grab some extra clothes and a towel from Pope’s room when you heard the front door open, a ruckus filling the Cody compound.

You heard Craig’s boisterous laughter filling the air. “I’m telling you, man, you’ve been off your game.” You heard the second eldest state. You scurried into Pope’s room; while you didn’t normally avoid the rest of the Cody family, you weren’t too sure you wanted them to see your impromptu raccoon makeup.

“I’m not off anything.” You heard your boyfriend’s muffled response. You imagined his gruff face and frown on his face as you dug through the collection of your clothes he had sorted into a specific drawer the more you began staying over.

“It’s 9 in the morning, Craig.” Deran complained out as you heard the familiar sound of a beer being grabbed from the fridge. “And where are you going?” He called out to someone.

“Bed.” Pope single-wordly replied, as you heard his footsteps began approaching the room.

“Ooh say hi to the missus for me,” Craig teasingly called after him, sipping on his beer. Pope ignored him, opening the door to his room, expecting to see you still in bed. He froze in the doorway at the sight of your back digging through the wardrobe, closing the door softly behind him.

“What’re you doing….” He softly asked, afraid.

The sight of your back and the sound of clothes being dug through, triggered a memory of Julia that he didn’t want to think about. It was after a particularly bad fight between her and Smurf when they were teens. He remembered her packing her things, furiously crying, mumbling about finally ‘running away’ and urging Andrew to come with. He remembered how he stood there watching unable to choose between his twin and his mother at the time. He remembered she’d come back after 8 days but still too stubborn to say anything to Smurf for another week.

“Just looking for my clothes, baby.” Your reply snapping him out of his trance as you continued digging for a specific shirt. You loved your boyfriend, but you couldn’t figure out how he organized your things for the life of yourself.

“Why…. Where are you going…” Andrew hoarsely called out. He worried he was losing you too. He couldn’t, not when he had been working so hard recently…

“What? Nowhere… I gotta shower babe.” You huffed exhausted, giving up on finding the particular shirt.

When had you left all this clothes here? You could’ve swore there was more of your clothes here than your own place. You looked back, curious at Pope’s silence, and instantly recognized his tense posture.

“Andy, baby, what’s wrong?” You stood dusting off your hands, getting up to meet him at his spot by the door.

“Are you leaving?” He whimpered looking at you sadly, tilting his head to the side, his frown curling down.

“What? No. I’m showering, where did you get that idea from?” You said, flabbergasted at your boyfriend’s outburst. He melted as you put a hand on his chest in comfort and another on his face to hold him.

Rubbing at the apple of his cheek with your thumb, Pope’s hands gently curling around your waist. His hands taking up your sides as he brushed his own thumbs against your midriff. “What’re you looking for…” He grunted softly, looking over your shoulder at the open drawer.

You chuckled awkwardly at the mess of the once organized clothes. “My polka dot shirt…” You offered him a bashful smile. He nodded and obediently went to his drawers, pulling it out with ease.

“This one?” He offered the top to you with an outstretched arm.

You nodded embarrassed by your obliviousness. “Thank you, Andy…” You kissed his cheek before turning around grabbing the towel and bottoms you had already found.

He took a silent step closer to you and when you turned around to leave your chest met his. Your eyes widened slightly as you tilted your head up to make eye contact with him. He gave you one his signature Pope Cody looks, like a shark locking on its prey.

“Andy?” You asked softly. He melted as you saw past his mask, the glare and pout often mistaken for a frown aimed at your lips, silently urging you for a kiss. You giggled bouncing up on your tiptoes, pecking his lips.

He let out a displeased growl, sending a callous hand from your hip to the back of your neck, trying bringing you closer. However your towel and clothing in your hands got in between the two of you which made him frown as you two pulled away. You smiled softly up at him, mumbling a confession before you realized the impact. “Missed you so much,”

He froze looking down at you. “Sorry…” He gruffly spoke. “Been busy…” As he bent down trying to plant another kiss on your lips but you turn your head slightly, dodging him. His kiss landed on your cheek, earning a whine from the bigger man as he rubs his face into yours.

“I know…” You mumbled, trying to remind yourself of the task at hand. You tightened your grip on your items and took a step away. “Okay, gotta shower before Baz takes all the hot water.” You joke trying to relieve the tension, but as you make your way to the door you can feel Pope following you like a shadow.

You turn around shooting him a playful look. “What’re you doing?”

He deadpans you with his arms behind his back, not answering. Your boyfriend was such a weirdo sometimes. You loved it, the corners of your lips upturned. You began walking away again and you hear the footsteps behind you, ignoring him. As you reach the bathroom, you turn around to shut the door but as you do your boyfriend catches it with a hand. “Andrew…” you scold him with his first name, an action you rarely did.

“I missed you too.” He confesses softly, nudging the door open, trying to follow you in.

“That’s good, honey, but I’ve gotta shower.” You laugh softly trying to brush him off but your boyfriend urged forward, he was seriously like a puppy. You place your hand on the door trying close it, but he leaned his forehead against it. Pope kept his fingers gripping on the edge of the door preventing you from closing it.

“Don’t go.” He whines under his breath, trying not to beg in the middle of the hallway in front of the others. “I’ll be good, promise, missed you so much baby….” Pope urges gently pushing against the door. You were no match; not only against his strength but against his pleading too, so you gently let up.

You giggled as he came in; the Cody bathroom was by no means small, but with Pope’s closeness the two could’ve fit in a porta-potty together. To anyone else, Andrew Cody invading their personal space was a form of intimidation. To you, it was a form of affection. You pointed him over to the toilet to sit and he nodded.

You began taking off your clothes but when you turned around you were met with your boyfriend grabbing yellow dish gloves from under the sink. Without hesitation, Pope began wiping down the toilet lid, but not before getting distracted with the countertop.

You let out a soft endearing smile, only your boyfriend could have a naked woman in front of him and still be more concerned about the state of the bathroom countertop. You shook your head, rolling your eyes playfully as he finished wiping down the toilet lid to sit on. You opened the glass door to the shower, turning it on and waiting for the water to heat up as you watched him sit on the toilet lid awkwardly.

He began wringing his hands together, looking anywhere but you and your body. You smiled teasingly, grabbing his hands and gently rubbing them. “You’ve seen me naked before, Andy.” You reminded him.

“‘m know….” He grunted, looking down at the tiles following the edges. He noticed the dirt that piled up in the grout. He glared at the dirt disapprovingly and put a deep clean of the bathroom on his to-do list, when he had the time. Before he could list another item, he gruntled at the tug of the curls at the base of his neck, causing him to look up at you.

You smirked down at him. “Then look at me. What’re you nervous for…” You said playfully leaning down to plant another kiss on his lips. He groaned softly at the kiss, trying to follow you as you pulled away but you tugged him back by his auburn curls as punishment.

“Nothing.” He said softly, anxiety flatlining as you showered him with affection. You smiled at that as you gave him a final kiss, before leaving for the heated up shower.

He sighed softly as you disappeared into the steamy glass. He was relieved he could breathe again but already missed seeing you. “How was the job today?” He heard you shout over the rushing water.

“Fine.” He grunted softly under his breath. Craig’s words from early still striking him. Off his game. He was never off his game, he was just off. That was his personality. The only reason he would be ‘off his game’ is because—

“Huh???” You shouted back, unable to hear his mumbling over the shower head.

Pope, frustratedly, shouted a little too loud. “Fine!!” After a few seconds, he gruffly apologized. “Sorry…” He didn’t want to talk about the recent jobs because he hadn’t even wanted to do them, Smurf had made him and he needed the money.

You pursed your lips at his response, he’d been touchy on the subject of work recently but it was all he did, before continuing. “You didn’t get hurt, did you?” You asked him.

“No.” He replied truthfully, crossing his arms as he sat up straight, facing forward, watching your body through the wet glass. It was beautiful, the way your body moved even if it was distorted with steam and condensation. He admired you both sexually and as a work of art. In his eyes, no one could ever compare to your beauty, no one even registered as an option, the day you agreed to be his.

A comfortable silence filled the air as you began washing your hair and Pope continued to admire you through the glass. He began, “Y’know I was thinking…” he trailed off.

“You were thinking what? I didn’t hear you.” You popped your head out of the shower, curiously, thinking you missed what he had said. He froze at your face, the mascara and eyeliner had began to run with the water down your face. You looked more like a horror movie monster than a real person.

Regardless, he melted looking up at you from his seat on the toilet, a rare and small smile graced his normally monotone face. A warm giddy feeling, one that he had rarely ever felt in his troubled life, began igniting in his chest at realization of the comfortable domestic air between you two. Yes. He was sure.

“Can you get me my cleanser on the counter? Should be the white tall bottle,” You interrupted his thoughts. Pope nodded, obediently grabbing the bottle he had seen you used every night before bed. A blush ran through his freckled face as his hand made contact with your wet one.

He let out an internal sigh as you dipped back into the shower he sat back down on the toilet lid patiently waiting for you to finish. “You were saying?” You called out to him, and Pope tensed up again at his train of thought.

“Was wonder if you…” Pope began to grumble. You had turned the shower off to hear him better but what you heard made you freeze.

“..wanted to move in together.” Pope’s eyes began darting around and he wrung his hands together at the sudden silence from both you and the shower.

“…like… away from here? Our own place…?” You wondered softly, staring at the water drops running down the green tiles.

“Yeah..” Pope shrugged as you said it aloud. “Been working more jobs, got some money saved up from my cut.”

You purse your lips. “That’s why you’ve been gone? ‘Cause you were saving for a place….” You gasped, he could see the shock through the glass. He nodded even if you weren’t looking at him. “Well what about Smurf?” You sputtered.

“Let me deal with her.” Pope grumbled at the thought of his mother. He knew she wouldn’t like it, she’d have less control over him if he wasn’t under her roof.

But he also knew everyone else in the family knew you were good for him and honestly couldn’t wait to get you two lovebirds hitched and out of the house. So, they could throw more parties without him threatening to shut them down if you were disturbed. He could have Baz, Deran, and Craig whittle away at Smurf’s stubbornness if they tried hard enough.

“Okay…” You murmured softly under your breath. “Let’s do it, let’s move in together.” You announced, more to yourself than him, in the shower.

Pope’s head shot up from the stain on the drywall he wanted to scrub away to your form in the shower. He stood abruptly pulling open the glass door and sticking his head in. You jumped at his suddenly action reflexively covering your body as he had a small smile in his face.

“Aw, but I’ve already seen you naked sweetheart.” He teased, smirking, reminding you of your previous words. You hit him playfully, laughing as you wrapped your wet arms around him as you kissed him happily. He smirked into it leaning into you, placing a hand on your waist and another on the tile wall behind you, leaning over you.

As he tried to pull you closer he placed a hand in your hair, he froze at the soapy lather in your hair. Shit. You’d both forgotten that you were in the middle of a shower. You smiled up at him bashfully, gently pushing him back onto the drier side. He whined softly at the colder air, leaning his forehead against the door, he wanted you so bad it hurt.

“Andy.. that’s glass,” You reminded him that you could see his smushed forehead against the glass, gently running your fingers over the opposite area where his forehead rested. Pope grunted, eyes closed as he, returned back on his spot on the toilet lid and crossed his arms. You laughed softly turning the shower back on to finish washing your hair.

Pope finished fixing the pillows on the white couch. Taking a step back looking at the couch as he backed up standing next to you. “Don’t like it…” He murmured into the side of your head as he kissed it.

“Don’t like what, Andy?” You patiently chided for clarification.

“Pillows… they’re off…” He mumbled to himself.

You laughed at your boyfriend’s comment “Well why don’t we finish building the skate ramp and decorating the pool patio, first.” You murmured back reminding him of the unfinished projects around the house. You leaned up, kissing the corner of his mouth as he wrapped your arm around your waist giving you a proper kiss.

Together you and Pope had found a house that was perfect. It was close enough that Smurf approved and it allowed Pope to continue working Cody family jobs, but it was also far enough that you didn’t have Deran and Craig randomly squatting in your house. You required that it came with a pool, knowing Pope’s love for the one from his family home, even if Pope insisted all he wanted was for his dream house was one with you in it.