Chapter 10
Cody went to his bedroom, Leo following close behind with the tote bag of drinks and snacks they’d assembled, and stared at his bed for a long moment. The bed was neatly made, because Cody as a general rule preferred coming home to a neatly made bed.
He knew, objectively, that his bed was plenty comfortable, and that the top sheet and comforter was usually enough for him even though he ran cold, because he liked keeping a heating pad in bed with him during the fall and winter months.
Sometimes it felt less lonely that way.
But now, looking at his big, empty bed, all Cody could think was that it looked cold and desolate. And yeah; very, very lonely.
“Why don’t we go to your linen closet,” Leo suggested, voice low. “And you can pick out anything that looks good.”
Cody nodded jerkily and hurried from the bedroom.
He skidded to stop in front of his main linen closet and threw the door open, taking in the contents.
A couple of comforters, a number of blankets, and the usual assortment of sheets and pillowcases.
Cody didn’t even use all this stuff most of the time; he just had a hard time passing up a blanket that was a particular sort of soft.
His pillowcases—silk, for his curls—were an indulgence he allowed himself so he didn’t wake up with a rats nest every day.
But he probably didn’t need so many of them.
Had he been collecting nesting materials this whole time?
Cody pulled out one of those soft blankets and clutched it tight to his chest. It was emerald green and so plush and fluffy that Cody couldn’t help rubbing his cheek against it, letting out a pleased little sound. Then he looked to Leo for approval.
“That looks good, sweetheart,” Leo rasped. “That looks great. What others do you want?”
Cody swung back around to take in his closet.
Before he knew it, he was pulling out blanket after blanket, one of the comforters, every single pillowcase.
He thrust his choices at Leo or piled them into his own arms, and when the closet was decimated and he and Leo were little more than stacks of linens and blankets, Cody hurried back to his bedroom.
He didn’t know how to build a nest, not really, but something inside him seemed desperate to find out if he could.
Back inside his bedroom, Cody beelined to the bed.
He looked from the bed to his armful before just dumping it all on the floor, and then before he knew it, he was pulling out blankets and pillow cases, rolling and folding and pushing them against each other.
When the floor was empty, he looked up at Leo, who set his bundle of linens down.
Cody made a little trill of a noise in thanks, then stopped, shocked, putting a hand to his throat.
“Go on,” Leo said, nudging the pile toward Cody. “You want to finish your nest?”
Yes, yes Cody did. He reached for blanket after blanket, emptying the floor again, and it was only when he turned to grab more material that he realized there wasn’t any more. He’d used it all.
Cody surveyed the bed. It had been transformed into a plush masterpiece, with plenty of soft blankets available to burrow into, and lots of nice silk to feel pleasantly cool to the touch.
But it didn’t feel enough yet. It didn’t feel finished.
“It looks great,” Leo said, coming up behind him. His voice was warm with approval. “You built a great nest, Cody.”
“It’s not right though,” Cody said, hands twisting in his shirt to keep from fussing with the nest more.
“Okay,” Leo said encouragingly. “What do you need to make it right?”
“I-I don’t know,” Cody said, feeling pathetic. He hunched his shoulders. No way Leo would want to join Cody in a nest that wasn’t right. Wasn’t enough.
How stupid are you? Can’t even make a good nest for your alpha.
“How about this,” Leo said, winding an arm around Cody’s waist. “Can you tell me what’s wrong with it?”
Cody huddled into Leo’s side and let out a breath as the dull ache at the back of his skull dissipated.
He hadn’t even realized he’d been walking around with a low grade headache.
“Um…” He looked back to the bed. It looked decadent and cozy and inviting, more pillows and blankets and bedding than Cody had ever been allowed as a kid.
More than he’d ever allowed himself as an adult.
But it was empty. Sterile. It was just Cody’s scent in there.
Highlighting that he was so often alone. Pushing people away because he was scared they’d unravel his web of lies.
His fingers twitched as he made an aborted grab at Leo’s hoodie.
Leo pressed a kiss to his hair and grabbed at the fabric himself. “Do you want it?” He sounded hoarse again.
It made sense, Cody thought. He wanted Leo to join him in his nest. Of course he’d want Leo’s scent in the nest too. Showing that Leo belonged there. With Cody. “Um, yeah. If that’s—”
Okay, he didn’t finish saying, because Leo was already letting go of Cody so that he could pull his hoodie up and off.
“Here,” he said, presenting it to Cody with a hopeful expression.
Cody licked his lips and took it, scurrying over to the bed again. He tucked the hoodie right behind the pillow at the head of the bed, the one on Cody’s side.
When he turned back to Leo, feeling somehow prouder of the nest, Leo nodded and smiled in approval. “Do you want me in it now?”
Cody nodded, throat closed with want.
Leo touched Cody’s shoulder before he climbed into the nest, taking care to disturb it as little as possible. When he was situated in the middle of it, head on the pillow next to Cody’s own, Leo opened his arms. “C’mere sweetheart.”
Swallowing, Cody carefully climbed into the nest, settling next to Leo. After a moment’s hesitation, he scooted in close, until Leo could wrap his arms around Cody’s body, Cody’s head on Leo’s chest.
“Ooh,” Cody sighed as his body went limp with relaxation.
How had he been so tense before and not noticed?
Suddenly his heart rate was slowing and it was easier to breathe.
He inhaled Leo’s scent and sank into the feeling of being held with the perfect amount of tightness, listening to Leo’s steady heartbeat. “That feels better.”
Leo’s arms tightened around him, but all Leo said was, “I’m glad.”
***
Cody blinked to awareness to a dark room. He felt cozy and soft and warm and totally surrounded by the scent of fresh rain, and he was loath to move.
But he needed the bathroom and probably really needed to change his absorption underwear, so move he must.
Grumbling quietly so as not to wake Leo who was asleep on the bed next to him, Cody carefully wriggled his way out of Leo’s embrace. Leo made his own grumbly sort of noise, but it subsided after a moment. It took another long moment for Cody to force himself to leave his nest.
His breath started coming shorter as he stood, and he had to steady himself on the nightstand as a dizziness overcame him. He pushed himself back upright after a minute, lurching his way over to his dresser to snag a pair of underwear.
The walk to the bathroom was hard in a way that felt ludicrous. Why did every step feel like his body was leaden? Why was his heart racing?
“You are a fucking…professional athlete,” Cody hissed at himself under his breath as he dragged himself across the room, trying to be mindful of Leo sleeping nearby. “Get…it…together.”
By the time he made it to his adjoining bathroom he was panting, and his whole body felt like it was on fire. Doing his business and then stripping off his pants and underwear to pull on the fresh pair felt like it took eons with how slow and painfully he was moving.
Still, Cody managed to make his way over to the sink to wash his hands. He splashed some water on his heated face while he was at it, hands shaking.
As he reached for the towel to dry off, he was hit with a pain that shot down his spine like lightning, electrocuting him from the inside out. Cody cried out, banging his elbow hard on the counter as he collapsed to the floor, tears streaming from his eyes.
Gasping, he tried pushing up to his hands and knees, but even that was too much. All he could do was curl into a ball and try to ride out the wave of pain.
“Cody? Cody!”
Large hands, cool in comparison, touched his overheated body. Cody whimpered and turned into them, chasing the relief the touch brought. A scent washed over him, fresh rain on warm grass, the scent that meant safety, meant comfort, meant things might stop hurting.
Distantly, he registered someone gathering him into their arms. Heard that person let out a low grunt as he pushed to standing, still holding onto Cody. Cody curled into the hold, taking deep lungfuls of his alpha’s scent.
It was only once he was deposited into his nest—his nest—the one Cody had built himself and shared with Leo, that his head began to clear, if only slightly.
“Leo,” he gasped, staring up at Leo who was crouched over him, worry written all over his face.
Without even thinking about it, Cody reached up and grabbed Leo’s shoulders, pulling him down so that Leo was blanketing Cody with his body.
The extra touch and pressure and scent helped.
“Leo, I think I—I think I’m having a heatwave. ”
It should have been impossible—except the room was dark. Cody had napped the afternoon and evening away.
Which meant he had missed another dose of his inhibitor.
“Hurts,” Cody managed. “Hasn’t ever hurt this bad before. Why…?” Because Leo was holding him. Leo was holding him and Cody was surrounded by his scent. They weren’t having sex, sure, but earlier just being held by Leo had helped the pain of Cody’s heat.
Why was it so different now?
“Let me help you through this heatwave,” Leo said, sounding urgent. “We can figure out what happened later. Call a doctor, because this is really fucking bad.”
“Fine,” Cody panted. “Please, yes, okay—”