Fic: Love is...
Title: Love is…
Author: lou_angel
Pairing/Fandom: Shelter, Zach/Shaun (external POVs)
Rating/Genre: G, fluff!
Words: 1295
Warnings/Spoilers Spoilers for the movie. A few OCs.
Summary: Written for Shelter_Diner Valentine’s Day Fest 2010 for the prompt: Cody telling a schoolmate how love comes in all sorts of ways, talking about his two dads.
A/N: My first fic in this fandom…and just in time! Would have been earlier had I not been terribly picky and decided everything I’d written was terrible, deleted it and started again. Unbetaed as I don’t have a Shelter beta yet. If you spot a mistake, or know of anyone who would be willing to beta other fics, please let me know.
Jacob Cooper had been crying. It wasn’t obvious. In fact, Cody was pretty certain that no-one except him spotted Jacob’s faintly reddened eyes and the pink tip of his nose as he came into class late one Thursday morning. Except, perhaps, Miss Moore, who gave him a look of powerless sympathy and waved him towards his seat.
Jacob took his seat without speaking, not looking up as Cody tried to catch his eye. Cody frowned. Something was definitely Up if his best friend wouldn’t even look at him.
Jacob was called out of the class shortly before break so Cody spent the entire time wandering the yard looking for him. He didn’t reappear until they were back in class, nose still pink and eyes still averted, still staring at his desk when Miss Moore sat on the edge of her desk and read the next chapter of How to Train your Dragon and Jacob loved that book.
When the class was dismissed for lunch, Jacob fell silently into step alongside Cody as they went to the cafeteria. They were seated and unpacking their lunchboxes before either of them said anything.
“Okay, what’s up?” Cody asked, unable to stand the silence any longer.
Jacob sniffed.
“Is someone sick?” Cody guessed.
Jacob looked morosely at his peanut butter sandwich and shook his head.
“Has someone died?” Cody tried again, eyes widening at the thought. He didn’t really know much about dying. He remembered his grandpa had died a few years ago and he’d found Zach standing at the kitchen sink with red-rimmed eyes and a broken plate. He’d not known what to do until Shaun had come home and dragged Zach into a big bear hug without anyone saying a word.
“No,” whispered Jacob in a raw throaty voice.
“What is it?” Cody was alarmed.
“My dad’s gone.” Jacob said, so quietly that Cody had to lean forward to catch what he was saying.
“Gone where?”
“He’s left my mom.”
“Oh.” Cody said uselessly, looking down at the contents of his lunchbox spread across the table as if they would tell him what to say. “I’m sorry.”
Jacob sniffed again.
Cody selected one of his tuna sandwiches and offered it across the table. Jacob took it with a watery smile and bit into it. Then he gave Cody one of his sandwiches.
“They’re going to get a divorce.” Jacob volunteered once he’d swallowed his mouthful.
Cody’s mouth twisted into a sympathetic grimace.
“Do -” Jacob stopped, lowering his eyes again. “Do you think they don’t love me anymore?” he asked Cody’s flask.
Cody thought about this with all the solemnity of a ten year old. “Do you think my Mom loves me still?”
“Yes.” Said Jacob, settling into the familiar conversation they’d been having since they became friends in kindergarten five years ago. “Even though she lives far away and you live with Zach and Shaun.”
“I think the same about your dad.” Cody declared. “Sometimes…sometimes people have to go away but they still love you. It’s just different.”
“I don’t want it to be different,” Jacob said, mashing a banana with an angry fist, “I want my family back.”
“Families are all different too.” Said Cody with surprising diplomacy. Jacob considered this gravely. “Do you remember when we were in Second Grade and Alyssa Martinez said that her dad said that Zach and Shaun were an abr - an aberration?”
“Yes,” Jacob gave a small smile.
“And you threw a pencil sharpener at her head and Mr. Reed made you stay in at break?”
“Yeah,” Jacob said with a quiet chuckle.
Cody smiled. “Zach and Shaun are my family. They love me and I love them and they love each other even though other people don’t like it. But it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks because we’re a family. And my Mom lives far away with a man who doesn’t really like me that much but I love her and she loves me and we’re still a family. And your dad and your mom will love you and you’ll love them whether you all live together in the same house or not.”
“It’s just…it’s just if they can just stop loving each other like that, suddenly, couldn’t they just stop loving me too?” Jacob said slowly.
Cody shook his head emphatically, “There’s lots of different love. Grown up love is just complicated. Even they don’t understand it. Mrs. Young next door said that love means never having to say you’re sorry but I think she’s getting a bit old. She kept talking about someone called Ryan.”
“Maybe that was Mr. Young.”
“Nah, I think his name was Clyde.” Cody said. “Zach says sorry all the time. Shaun keeps telling him to stop but when I asked if it was because love means never having to say you’re sorry Shaun said no, it was because Zach shouldn’t apologize for being who he is and he is awesome, and Zach just gave him a look.”
“What, like a ‘you are in big trouble young man’ look?”
“No. More like the way Mason Taylor looks at chocolate cake.” The two friends glanced over at their rather portly classmate who was devouring a piece of chocolate cake like it was the last time he would ever eat, face smeared with chocolate mousse.
They shuddered.
“I am very sorry about your dad.” Cody said. “I can’t imagine what it would be like if Zach and Shaun split up.”
“I don’t know if they would.” Jacob said, packing away the remnants of his lunch as the bell rang for afternoon classes. “Maybe they’ve got it right.”
“What do you mean?” Cody asked as he stuffed his flask into his knapsack.
“They’re like best friends, only with all the hand holding kissy stuff too.” Jacob looked off into the distance. “Mom said that dad and her never talked much anymore. I heard her yelling that dad hardly ever told her he loved her and he said that maybe he didn’t anymore. I guess that’s something you should remember. To tell the people you love that you love them because otherwise you might wake up and find out that you don’t anymore.”
They walked back to class quietly and enjoyed an afternoon of making robots out of cardboard boxes. After school, Cody and Jacob picked up their bags and went into the yard together. Cody could see Jacob’s mom, weary and worried, waiting by the gate.
“Do you want to come back to ours tonight?” he asked Jacob as he saw Zach coming towards him.
Jacob shifted the weight of his knapsack and looked over to his mom. “I think I’d better go home with Mom. She’ll need me.”
“Sure.” Cody said, clapping a friendly hand onto Jacob’s back, “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Said Jacob as they went their separate ways.
“Everything okay?” asked Zach.
Cody glanced over at Jacob who was being shepherded out of the gates by his mom. Jacob looked back over his shoulder and gave Cody a small smile.
“I think it will be.” Cody said as he and Zach walked towards the car, Zach maintaining a slight distance from Cody so as not to embarrass him with pseudo-parental public displays of affection that some of Cody’s classmates were suffering. Cody chewed his lip, deliberating over everything he and Jacob had talked about that day.
“Hey Zach,” he said.
“Yeah buddy?” Zach asked as he began feeling in his pockets for his keys.
“I love you.”
Zach stopped his search abruptly and studied Cody intensely. Then he smiled, a slow twitching of the lips that spread into a great big grin. He reached out and ruffled Cody’s hair, ignoring the squeaks of protest this prompted. “I love you too buddy.”
Author: lou_angel
Pairing/Fandom: Shelter, Zach/Shaun (external POVs)
Rating/Genre: G, fluff!
Words: 1295
Warnings/Spoilers Spoilers for the movie. A few OCs.
Summary: Written for Shelter_Diner Valentine’s Day Fest 2010 for the prompt: Cody telling a schoolmate how love comes in all sorts of ways, talking about his two dads.
A/N: My first fic in this fandom…and just in time! Would have been earlier had I not been terribly picky and decided everything I’d written was terrible, deleted it and started again. Unbetaed as I don’t have a Shelter beta yet. If you spot a mistake, or know of anyone who would be willing to beta other fics, please let me know.
Jacob Cooper had been crying. It wasn’t obvious. In fact, Cody was pretty certain that no-one except him spotted Jacob’s faintly reddened eyes and the pink tip of his nose as he came into class late one Thursday morning. Except, perhaps, Miss Moore, who gave him a look of powerless sympathy and waved him towards his seat.
Jacob took his seat without speaking, not looking up as Cody tried to catch his eye. Cody frowned. Something was definitely Up if his best friend wouldn’t even look at him.
Jacob was called out of the class shortly before break so Cody spent the entire time wandering the yard looking for him. He didn’t reappear until they were back in class, nose still pink and eyes still averted, still staring at his desk when Miss Moore sat on the edge of her desk and read the next chapter of How to Train your Dragon and Jacob loved that book.
When the class was dismissed for lunch, Jacob fell silently into step alongside Cody as they went to the cafeteria. They were seated and unpacking their lunchboxes before either of them said anything.
“Okay, what’s up?” Cody asked, unable to stand the silence any longer.
Jacob sniffed.
“Is someone sick?” Cody guessed.
Jacob looked morosely at his peanut butter sandwich and shook his head.
“Has someone died?” Cody tried again, eyes widening at the thought. He didn’t really know much about dying. He remembered his grandpa had died a few years ago and he’d found Zach standing at the kitchen sink with red-rimmed eyes and a broken plate. He’d not known what to do until Shaun had come home and dragged Zach into a big bear hug without anyone saying a word.
“No,” whispered Jacob in a raw throaty voice.
“What is it?” Cody was alarmed.
“My dad’s gone.” Jacob said, so quietly that Cody had to lean forward to catch what he was saying.
“Gone where?”
“He’s left my mom.”
“Oh.” Cody said uselessly, looking down at the contents of his lunchbox spread across the table as if they would tell him what to say. “I’m sorry.”
Jacob sniffed again.
Cody selected one of his tuna sandwiches and offered it across the table. Jacob took it with a watery smile and bit into it. Then he gave Cody one of his sandwiches.
“They’re going to get a divorce.” Jacob volunteered once he’d swallowed his mouthful.
Cody’s mouth twisted into a sympathetic grimace.
“Do -” Jacob stopped, lowering his eyes again. “Do you think they don’t love me anymore?” he asked Cody’s flask.
Cody thought about this with all the solemnity of a ten year old. “Do you think my Mom loves me still?”
“Yes.” Said Jacob, settling into the familiar conversation they’d been having since they became friends in kindergarten five years ago. “Even though she lives far away and you live with Zach and Shaun.”
“I think the same about your dad.” Cody declared. “Sometimes…sometimes people have to go away but they still love you. It’s just different.”
“I don’t want it to be different,” Jacob said, mashing a banana with an angry fist, “I want my family back.”
“Families are all different too.” Said Cody with surprising diplomacy. Jacob considered this gravely. “Do you remember when we were in Second Grade and Alyssa Martinez said that her dad said that Zach and Shaun were an abr - an aberration?”
“Yes,” Jacob gave a small smile.
“And you threw a pencil sharpener at her head and Mr. Reed made you stay in at break?”
“Yeah,” Jacob said with a quiet chuckle.
Cody smiled. “Zach and Shaun are my family. They love me and I love them and they love each other even though other people don’t like it. But it doesn’t matter what anybody else thinks because we’re a family. And my Mom lives far away with a man who doesn’t really like me that much but I love her and she loves me and we’re still a family. And your dad and your mom will love you and you’ll love them whether you all live together in the same house or not.”
“It’s just…it’s just if they can just stop loving each other like that, suddenly, couldn’t they just stop loving me too?” Jacob said slowly.
Cody shook his head emphatically, “There’s lots of different love. Grown up love is just complicated. Even they don’t understand it. Mrs. Young next door said that love means never having to say you’re sorry but I think she’s getting a bit old. She kept talking about someone called Ryan.”
“Maybe that was Mr. Young.”
“Nah, I think his name was Clyde.” Cody said. “Zach says sorry all the time. Shaun keeps telling him to stop but when I asked if it was because love means never having to say you’re sorry Shaun said no, it was because Zach shouldn’t apologize for being who he is and he is awesome, and Zach just gave him a look.”
“What, like a ‘you are in big trouble young man’ look?”
“No. More like the way Mason Taylor looks at chocolate cake.” The two friends glanced over at their rather portly classmate who was devouring a piece of chocolate cake like it was the last time he would ever eat, face smeared with chocolate mousse.
They shuddered.
“I am very sorry about your dad.” Cody said. “I can’t imagine what it would be like if Zach and Shaun split up.”
“I don’t know if they would.” Jacob said, packing away the remnants of his lunch as the bell rang for afternoon classes. “Maybe they’ve got it right.”
“What do you mean?” Cody asked as he stuffed his flask into his knapsack.
“They’re like best friends, only with all the hand holding kissy stuff too.” Jacob looked off into the distance. “Mom said that dad and her never talked much anymore. I heard her yelling that dad hardly ever told her he loved her and he said that maybe he didn’t anymore. I guess that’s something you should remember. To tell the people you love that you love them because otherwise you might wake up and find out that you don’t anymore.”
They walked back to class quietly and enjoyed an afternoon of making robots out of cardboard boxes. After school, Cody and Jacob picked up their bags and went into the yard together. Cody could see Jacob’s mom, weary and worried, waiting by the gate.
“Do you want to come back to ours tonight?” he asked Jacob as he saw Zach coming towards him.
Jacob shifted the weight of his knapsack and looked over to his mom. “I think I’d better go home with Mom. She’ll need me.”
“Sure.” Cody said, clapping a friendly hand onto Jacob’s back, “See you tomorrow.”
“Yeah.” Said Jacob as they went their separate ways.
“Everything okay?” asked Zach.
Cody glanced over at Jacob who was being shepherded out of the gates by his mom. Jacob looked back over his shoulder and gave Cody a small smile.
“I think it will be.” Cody said as he and Zach walked towards the car, Zach maintaining a slight distance from Cody so as not to embarrass him with pseudo-parental public displays of affection that some of Cody’s classmates were suffering. Cody chewed his lip, deliberating over everything he and Jacob had talked about that day.
“Hey Zach,” he said.
“Yeah buddy?” Zach asked as he began feeling in his pockets for his keys.
“I love you.”
Zach stopped his search abruptly and studied Cody intensely. Then he smiled, a slow twitching of the lips that spread into a great big grin. He reached out and ruffled Cody’s hair, ignoring the squeaks of protest this prompted. “I love you too buddy.”