Fic: Shenanigans
Title: Shenanigans
Fandom: Hannah Montana/Suite Life (yes. sorry.)
Summary: Cody was glad to be on his own and away from his brother's shenanigans. Jackson was determined to get by without any wacky hijinks.
Notes: Nothing really, except that this started as a drabble to cheer up poisonivory. I suck at drabbles, so I wrote this instead.
For all that college was terrifying and new and difficult, Jackson found it refreshing. There were still the freaks who knew he was one of Hannah Montana's close friends, but for the most part, people saw Jackson Stewart as another guy.
And the best part was that Hannah Montana's escapades weren't present to overshadow anything else going on in Jackson's life.
The problem with that was that for the first time, Jackson had nothing to focus on but himself. And Jackson...had unresolved issues. Oh, nothing sinister. But a few unexpected evenings made Jackson realize he wasn't quite as exclusively attracted to women as he'd always assumed. And without Miley's problems to distract him, he spent a little more time worrying over that, among other personal realizations, than he would have liked.
But he was on his own, and that meant he could deal with the fallout without any shenanigans.
*
For all that college was terrifying and new and difficult (and how could he have seen that coming?), Cody found it amazing. There were still jerks and bullies and jocks who did their best to ignore or mock Cody, but for the most part, Cody could blend in with other people who shared his interests.
And the best part was that Zach's escapades weren't present to overshadow anything else going on in Cody's life.
The problem was that for the first time, Cody had time to think, not just study and react to the chaos around him. And that meant Cody had time to reflect on some understandable but mistaken assumptions he'd made about himself. Namely, his romantic prospects.
He wasn't the sort to freak out about such a simple thing as a mere inability to adhere to society's heteronormative expectations.
Well, maybe he freaked out a little.
But he was on his own, and that meant he could deal with the fallout without any shenanigans.
*
Balancing three platters of vegan tacos (really, Jackson didn't see the point), Jackson wove his way through the crowded student union.
"All right, where's the table of hippies?" he asked. "Cause I've got three tacos without a trace of animal in them."
"Over here!" Jackson swung his way towards the shout, and moved to set the platters down, only to freeze for an interminable moment when he saw the occupants.
Well, one of them.
He didn't quite drop anything, but Jackson did set the tacos down rougher than he should have. He flashed the blond guy a smile.
"Here you go," he announced. "The house special, sans meat, cheese, or anything else with flavor."
"Actually," the blond said, "beans can be quite flavorful when prepared properly."
"Shut up, Cody," one of the blond's friends murmured. "He's working."
Jackson glanced back at the counter reluctantly; there was a growing stack of orders sitting there. "Ye...ah, I guess I do. But that sounds really cool. How about-"
"Jackson! Back to work!"
Jackson winced and gave the blond an apologetic smile before whirling off to serve the other tables. The evening was madcap, and Jackson didn't get a chance to exchange more than a word or two with the blond before his party left. The hefty tip wasn't enough to make up for the disappointment, although the disappointment was tempered by the possibility that the blond was a student, as well.
The next weeks proved an exercise in frustration. Jackson might not have been as mature as he'd like to think, but he was certain he was enough of an adult to meet a cute guy without any crazy schemes.
His inability to find someone who knew the blond, however, made Jackson almost desperate enough to resort to the sort of stupidity that had marked his teenage years. That was, until Jackson decided to dedicate an evening scanning Facebook, jumping from one group to the next until he found a tagged picture of the blond at a "Free Culture" event grinning from behind a bank of laptops.
Cody Martin wasn't particularly open on his page, but the college's student directory made up for that. But after he had that information, Jackson realized there was no way to do anything with the knowledge without seeming like a creep.
Which...basically sort of sucked.
*
It wasn't that Cody was scared or shy; he'd had a lot of his quieter tendencies shaken out of him during his tumultuous adolescence. It was just that he'd never managed to accomplish much asking people out, and with the added complication of needing to determine what guys wouldn't react badly to a proposition...
Well, he hadn't done much with his newfound realization.
It was even awkward when Cody thought he might have met a cute guy who wasn't entirely straight, especially when his friends cottoned on to his possible interest. There were few things as embarrassing as trying to work up the courage to ask someone out for coffee when two college students had probably bet as to whether or not you'd manage to get any words out.
And naturally, there was no way to work up the courage to ask someone out after ignoring him for an entire evening.
Cody was beginning to miss Zack, who would have come up with an implausible, dangerous, and possibly illegal scheme that would have at least gotten the server (Jackson; Cody may have been nervous, but he'd snuck a glance at the guy's nametag) to talk to him.
But he was stuck with a terminal case of shyness (fine, he was willing to admit it) and a workload that was just this side of overwhelming, and, frankly, too many extra-curriculars.
Cody, however, was talented, which left him with enough time to feel sorry for himself, especially while tuning before the orchestra concert.
Naturally, Cody's preoccupation was integral in helping him remain completely oblivious to his surroundings until the concert was over. It wasn't as if he actually missed a lot, only had he been paying attention, running into Jackson loitering outside the instrument room would have been a lot less surprising.
Luckily, lack of attention seemed to be going around, so Jackson's startled scream when Cody walked into him ensured that Cody wasn't the only one who looked like a moron.
Jackson didn't seem particularly surprised to see Cody, only startled to have nearly run into him. Thus, it took a moment for Cody's surprise to give way to a wary sort of suspicion.
"You weren't waiting for me, were you?"
Jackson flushed before shaking his head emphatically. "No, man, I was just meeting a friend -- hi, Michelle!" One of the flautists returned Jackson's wave. "I mean, I sort of knew you were going to be here, but I'm not stalking you, not really. I mean, I looked you up on Facebook, and then the student directory..." He trailed off, smiling sort of sheepishly. "It's not nearly as creepy as it sounds, I promise."
Cody, who always looked up new people on Facebook, in case they were members of weird role-playing groups or secretly ax murderers posting their kills online, nodded. He was also impressed, suspecting that if their roles were reversed, Cody would have made up some stupid story in a panic, and the whole thing would have ended poorly.
"Yeah, I get that," he agreed, which seemed to be the cue for an awkward silence.
Cody was almost ready to work up the courage to break the silence when Jackson spoke up.
"So, the concert was pretty cool. Sort of...classic-y."
Cody grinned. It wasn't the sort of thing Zack would say, but it was just familiar enough to put him at ease. "Bach has a way of doing that. I take it you liked it?"
Jackson shrugged. "I guess. I'm not much of a music guy, though. More of a pizza type. You wanna get a pie?"
Cody was just comfortable enough to ask, "As a date?"
He wished almost immediately he could take it back, at least until Jackson's easy grin grew a little...more self-satisfied.
"I thought you'd never ask," Jackson replied. He put a hand on Cody's shoulder and shoved him towards the instrument lockers. "You just put that thing away and we can get some grub."
Jackson then winked, warming Cody with the understanding that while Jackson may have been excited by the prospect of eating, he was looking forward to talking to Cody at least as much. And that...was a promising start.
And with barely any shenanigans at all.
At least until Cody tried to introduce Jackson to his family.
Fandom: Hannah Montana/Suite Life (yes. sorry.)
Summary: Cody was glad to be on his own and away from his brother's shenanigans. Jackson was determined to get by without any wacky hijinks.
Notes: Nothing really, except that this started as a drabble to cheer up poisonivory. I suck at drabbles, so I wrote this instead.
For all that college was terrifying and new and difficult, Jackson found it refreshing. There were still the freaks who knew he was one of Hannah Montana's close friends, but for the most part, people saw Jackson Stewart as another guy.
And the best part was that Hannah Montana's escapades weren't present to overshadow anything else going on in Jackson's life.
The problem with that was that for the first time, Jackson had nothing to focus on but himself. And Jackson...had unresolved issues. Oh, nothing sinister. But a few unexpected evenings made Jackson realize he wasn't quite as exclusively attracted to women as he'd always assumed. And without Miley's problems to distract him, he spent a little more time worrying over that, among other personal realizations, than he would have liked.
But he was on his own, and that meant he could deal with the fallout without any shenanigans.
*
For all that college was terrifying and new and difficult (and how could he have seen that coming?), Cody found it amazing. There were still jerks and bullies and jocks who did their best to ignore or mock Cody, but for the most part, Cody could blend in with other people who shared his interests.
And the best part was that Zach's escapades weren't present to overshadow anything else going on in Cody's life.
The problem was that for the first time, Cody had time to think, not just study and react to the chaos around him. And that meant Cody had time to reflect on some understandable but mistaken assumptions he'd made about himself. Namely, his romantic prospects.
He wasn't the sort to freak out about such a simple thing as a mere inability to adhere to society's heteronormative expectations.
Well, maybe he freaked out a little.
But he was on his own, and that meant he could deal with the fallout without any shenanigans.
*
Balancing three platters of vegan tacos (really, Jackson didn't see the point), Jackson wove his way through the crowded student union.
"All right, where's the table of hippies?" he asked. "Cause I've got three tacos without a trace of animal in them."
"Over here!" Jackson swung his way towards the shout, and moved to set the platters down, only to freeze for an interminable moment when he saw the occupants.
Well, one of them.
He didn't quite drop anything, but Jackson did set the tacos down rougher than he should have. He flashed the blond guy a smile.
"Here you go," he announced. "The house special, sans meat, cheese, or anything else with flavor."
"Actually," the blond said, "beans can be quite flavorful when prepared properly."
"Shut up, Cody," one of the blond's friends murmured. "He's working."
Jackson glanced back at the counter reluctantly; there was a growing stack of orders sitting there. "Ye...ah, I guess I do. But that sounds really cool. How about-"
"Jackson! Back to work!"
Jackson winced and gave the blond an apologetic smile before whirling off to serve the other tables. The evening was madcap, and Jackson didn't get a chance to exchange more than a word or two with the blond before his party left. The hefty tip wasn't enough to make up for the disappointment, although the disappointment was tempered by the possibility that the blond was a student, as well.
The next weeks proved an exercise in frustration. Jackson might not have been as mature as he'd like to think, but he was certain he was enough of an adult to meet a cute guy without any crazy schemes.
His inability to find someone who knew the blond, however, made Jackson almost desperate enough to resort to the sort of stupidity that had marked his teenage years. That was, until Jackson decided to dedicate an evening scanning Facebook, jumping from one group to the next until he found a tagged picture of the blond at a "Free Culture" event grinning from behind a bank of laptops.
Cody Martin wasn't particularly open on his page, but the college's student directory made up for that. But after he had that information, Jackson realized there was no way to do anything with the knowledge without seeming like a creep.
Which...basically sort of sucked.
*
It wasn't that Cody was scared or shy; he'd had a lot of his quieter tendencies shaken out of him during his tumultuous adolescence. It was just that he'd never managed to accomplish much asking people out, and with the added complication of needing to determine what guys wouldn't react badly to a proposition...
Well, he hadn't done much with his newfound realization.
It was even awkward when Cody thought he might have met a cute guy who wasn't entirely straight, especially when his friends cottoned on to his possible interest. There were few things as embarrassing as trying to work up the courage to ask someone out for coffee when two college students had probably bet as to whether or not you'd manage to get any words out.
And naturally, there was no way to work up the courage to ask someone out after ignoring him for an entire evening.
Cody was beginning to miss Zack, who would have come up with an implausible, dangerous, and possibly illegal scheme that would have at least gotten the server (Jackson; Cody may have been nervous, but he'd snuck a glance at the guy's nametag) to talk to him.
But he was stuck with a terminal case of shyness (fine, he was willing to admit it) and a workload that was just this side of overwhelming, and, frankly, too many extra-curriculars.
Cody, however, was talented, which left him with enough time to feel sorry for himself, especially while tuning before the orchestra concert.
Naturally, Cody's preoccupation was integral in helping him remain completely oblivious to his surroundings until the concert was over. It wasn't as if he actually missed a lot, only had he been paying attention, running into Jackson loitering outside the instrument room would have been a lot less surprising.
Luckily, lack of attention seemed to be going around, so Jackson's startled scream when Cody walked into him ensured that Cody wasn't the only one who looked like a moron.
Jackson didn't seem particularly surprised to see Cody, only startled to have nearly run into him. Thus, it took a moment for Cody's surprise to give way to a wary sort of suspicion.
"You weren't waiting for me, were you?"
Jackson flushed before shaking his head emphatically. "No, man, I was just meeting a friend -- hi, Michelle!" One of the flautists returned Jackson's wave. "I mean, I sort of knew you were going to be here, but I'm not stalking you, not really. I mean, I looked you up on Facebook, and then the student directory..." He trailed off, smiling sort of sheepishly. "It's not nearly as creepy as it sounds, I promise."
Cody, who always looked up new people on Facebook, in case they were members of weird role-playing groups or secretly ax murderers posting their kills online, nodded. He was also impressed, suspecting that if their roles were reversed, Cody would have made up some stupid story in a panic, and the whole thing would have ended poorly.
"Yeah, I get that," he agreed, which seemed to be the cue for an awkward silence.
Cody was almost ready to work up the courage to break the silence when Jackson spoke up.
"So, the concert was pretty cool. Sort of...classic-y."
Cody grinned. It wasn't the sort of thing Zack would say, but it was just familiar enough to put him at ease. "Bach has a way of doing that. I take it you liked it?"
Jackson shrugged. "I guess. I'm not much of a music guy, though. More of a pizza type. You wanna get a pie?"
Cody was just comfortable enough to ask, "As a date?"
He wished almost immediately he could take it back, at least until Jackson's easy grin grew a little...more self-satisfied.
"I thought you'd never ask," Jackson replied. He put a hand on Cody's shoulder and shoved him towards the instrument lockers. "You just put that thing away and we can get some grub."
Jackson then winked, warming Cody with the understanding that while Jackson may have been excited by the prospect of eating, he was looking forward to talking to Cody at least as much. And that...was a promising start.
And with barely any shenanigans at all.
At least until Cody tried to introduce Jackson to his family.