By A Thread.
A Zack & Cody oneshot~

-x-

Zack almost choked on the almighty gasp that he sucked into his lungs as he sprung forward in his bed. His chest was heaving up and down with each heavy pant that escaped him. There was a thin line of nervous sweat running from the very top of his forehead as he reached back and scraped his fingers through his dark blonde hair.

It was then – in that moment – as the seventeen year old ran his hand over his head that Zack realised just how much of a pounding pain there was throbbing in his skull just behind his right eye.

Zack groaned, rubbing his weary, hazel orbs as he collapsed back into his makeshift double bed. Settling into his pillow, the teenage boy scanned the walls of his cabin. For the shortest moment, Zack's vision froze on the sight of his door. There was a slight, twinging feeling pinching at his brain as he pictured the room across the hall from his, but he soon shook off the nagging thought and instead tried to will himself to fall back to sleep.

His sudden wakeup call had been sort of peculiar. Zack couldn't really recall having any kind of nightmare that would have rattled him from his slumber so harshly. Apart from that, he couldn't think of any other explanation for the strange occurrence.

Although, it was rather hard to sustain a single thought about anything for longer than two seconds with how much his head was still thumping.

Trying his best to ignore his minor concerns, Zack rolled over onto his side and nestled into his pillow. Just as he allowed a long yawn to expel from the back of his throat and the temptation of sleep crept back up on him, the teenager's eyes abruptly shot wide open at the sound of the door across the hall clicking open. This was shortly followed by some quiet footsteps and then the creaking of the glass door that lead out to the wooden deck of the ship.

Zack frowned, leaning up on elbow as he shot his gaze back towards his own cabin door. The sounds coming from the other side of it were unmistakable, even amongst the gentle lolling and swashing of the ocean waves up against the side of the ship. Without sparing another second, Zack tossed his blankets off himself and grabbed a jacket to throw over his long pyjama pants and tank top.

Creeping over from his bed to his door, Zack quietly grabbed down on the handle and pulled it open. The dim lighting that lined the corridor was blinding for a couple of unsettling moments as the blonde boy blinked and turned his attention to the outside world beyond the glass door and windows.

Almost instantly, Zack narrowed his eyes at the figure of his brother.

Cody was standing against the safety railing of the ship, gazing out to sea. He looked completely frozen in his place, but that very well could have been a result of the icy winds swirling through the air out on deck. He hadn't noticed his twin emerge in the hallway behind him, but Cody certainly jumped in the slimmest surprise when Zack tapped on the glass of the door and gently pushed it open.

Cody glanced over his shoulder and only held his gaze on his brother for a second before he turned back to face the dark night sky. Zack felt his brow crinkle again.

"Oh, sure, but when I stay up all night before a test, you say I'm 'jeopardising my future'."

Zack waited for the snapping response that was sure to come from his brother. But when he was met with nothing but further silence, the elder Martin sensed his confident stance falter slightly.

"You okay?" he asked, with more confusion than anything else.

Finally finding his voice, Cody simply shrugged his shoulders, "Couldn't sleep."

Allowing the incredibly unconvincing comment to dissolve into the cool night air, Zack soon shook his head with a roll of his eyes. He took two steps forward, joining his brother out on the balcony and folding his arms over the railing.

"Well, seeing as how you've woken me up in the middle of the night, too – and thank you, by the way," he quipped sarcastically, "You may as well tell me what's really going on."

Cody grinded his teeth together at the stubborn and cynical nature of his brother. All the younger twin wanted was to steal a couple of peaceful moments alone. Although, by this point in both their lives, Cody should have certainly known that he was probably never going to get any peace again while Zack was around.

The blonde boy hummed over his answer to his older brother for an instant or two. As much as Cody didn't really feel like talking, he could only suspect that Zack wasn't going to quit bugging him until he offered some kind of reasonable explanation for his strange behaviour. Eventually, Cody licked his bottom lip with a soft sigh.

"I just... I just kinda' can't stop thinking about... Olson, and Spaulding, and the lab, and... I dunno'..."

Listening to Cody as he quietly trailed off, Zack sensed the slightest possible shudder run through him.

Spring Break had ended about a week and a half ago. Zack, Cody and all their other classmates were settling into their final semester before graduation, and the workload was just as strenuous as ever. The twelfth grade students already had one revision exam to sit that following morning – an exam that Zack wasn't ready for in even the slightest, not that this was to anybody's surprise. But, in this particular case, Cody also happened to be feeling uncharacteristically under prepared.

His brilliant mind had sort of been elsewhere for this past week or so.

The effects of the Corsican fruit had slowly started to wear off Cody and Zack little by little. The annoying, echoing impacts of the half-merge on Zack's behalf had – thankfully – been the first thing to go. Shortly after this was when the second stage emotional connection between the twins began to timidly fade away, and as relieved as the boys felt to not be stuck in the depths of each other's mind anymore, it may have also caused them to more forcefully slip back into their old, argumentative ways.

Their patience with one another was wearing thin. They were snapping at each other with sniping little insults at almost every moment possible. And they were certainly taking every opportunity to abuse the remnants of the stage one physical connection that still lingered between them from the bizarre science experiment.

But somehow, hearing that the whole exhausting, and slightly daunting experience was still weighing on Cody's mind so much kind of stung at Zack's chest.

"You're still not over that?" he asked, coating the more comforting parts of his brain with his patronising words, "Come on, dude, seriously. We got out of it in one piece, didn't we? You and Bailey worked everything out, you got to spend Spring Break with her like you planned, and you didn't have to lose your brain. That all sounds like a win to me."

Shooting his glower at his brother and his unsupportive words, Cody could only shake his head, "Well, I'm glad it's that simple for you to just move on from everything."

"Move on?" Zack repeated in what almost sounded like disgust, "Cody, I have far from moved on."

Peaking his little brother's interest, Cody's scowling features softened at Zack's serious words. But despite the sincerity in his expression, the next statement from the older twin wasn't exactly what Cody had been expecting.

"I only got to drive that beautiful, vintage, exquisite beast of a car once before it was completely crushed under the weight of London's spoiled childhood."

Instantly turning back to look out to the dark blue ocean, Cody chuckled with a soft laugh of disbelief and another shake of his head. Clearly, and despite all they had been through together, Zack's priorities obviously still hadn't changed.

"Whatever, Zack," Cody grunted, not wanting to encourage his brother any further, "If you don't have anything of substance to say, why don't you just go back to bed?"

Mimicking his twin's annoyed grumbles, Zack was quick to throw his hands up and agree for the sake of not starting yet another argument. But for whatever reason, as the older boy tried to spin around and dive back into the warm comforts of his bed, there was something keeping Zack in his place. He studied his brother's stance, focusing on his gloomy expression and remembering the miserable tone that had faded in and out from his voice.

Swallowing a slightly nervous gulp, Zack sighed.

"Did you have another nightmare?"

A silence immediately fell between the twins. They were both solidified in their place for a moment or two, until Cody looked over his shoulder and glimpsed at Zack in surprise.

It had been undeniably easier for the two of them to read each other while they were still being heavily impacted by the mind and emotion altering effects of the Corsican fruit. After all, Cody's bad dreams about what had happened had been unwillingly shared with Zack's brain, too. But this genuine olive branch being offered by the older twin of his own choosing and fruition was something that Cody hadn't seen in a long while.

Keeping his gaze on him for a second longer, Cody glanced back out to the water as Zack re-joined him against the railing. He hesitated for a moment and then opened his mouth to finally respond to his big brother.

"When we were standing up there… ya' know, up on the top of that old saw mill looking down at the water, and we had all those sets of creepy, brainwashed twins chasing us..." Cody paused again, mulling over his next words, "Weren't you scared?"

Letting loose a subtle roll of his eyes, Zack scratched his head, flinching at the spot above his eyebrow that was still throbbing. Hadn't this whole wacky adventure coming to an end meant that Zack didn't have to talk about his feelings anymore? He much preferred to be an emotionless jokester than a cheap substitute for a psychiatrist. But even so, as he forced his stubborn resistance down into the very pit of his guts, Zack shrugged his shoulders.

"Well, duh, genius, I was a little scared."

Cody peered at Zack challengingly out of the corner of his eye. The teasing insult hadn't exactly been the comfort the younger twin was looking for, "Oh, just 'a little scared'? Really?"

"Yes, Cody, really."

"Because you sure seemed to be screaming just as loudly as I was when we landed from that zip line and saw them all kayaking towards us."

Zack groaned out loud, running his hand down his face, "How exactly is me admitting that you're right gonna' make you stop having these stupid dreams?"

"You admitting that I'm right is a dream, Zack," Cody snapped, pushing right along before he could even realise what he was about to say, "And I dunno', maybe it might just help me not feel so alone seeing as they're not your nightmares anymore, too."

Skidding to an instant stop, Cody bit his tongue at what he had just admitted out loud. He shot his vision back over to Zack to find that, much to his shock and nervous surprise, his brother's concerned expression was absolutely piercing his, too.

Cody waited, stilly and silently, watching as his breath turned into mist throughout the cool air against his mouth. While Zack simply continued to gaze back at him without offering any other words, Cody felt his whole torso collapse in a hopeless sigh.

"I mean, we were probably only three or four seconds away from something really bad happening to us and – "

Hearing just about all he was willing to take, Zack suddenly snapped in over the top of his brother, grabbing Cody by the shoulder and viciously pulling him around to face him.

Although, as both boys were about to discover, the heat that Zack could feel bubbling inside him and that he could taste in his tone was nothing more than a very poor disguise for his words that followed.

"Are you a complete idiot? I was never going to let anything bad happen to you."

The confusion that swept across Cody's features was instant. Zack certainly sounded like he was bestowing yet another belittling insult on his brother, and yet, what spoke even louder than the older twin's frustrated volume was the caring and protective words that accompanied it. As he stuttered over the start of a sentence and wondered what the hell was even supposed to offer his brother in return, Cody quickly trailed off again as Zack's appearance softened.

He may have never been very good at the whole sentimental and supportive big brother thing, but Zack always knew when there was something that was upsetting Cody. Something really bothering him. And his suspicions on this particular night had stemmed from the precise moment he had been woken so violently from his sleep.

Swallowing a nervous gulp, and not being one hundred per cent certain of how to frame his next question, Zack focused on the thumping headache that still dwelled within him as he took a slow breath.

"Did you hit your head when you woke up?"

Screeching to an even sharper silence, Cody felt his head spin. He was still attempting to process Zack's last sort of half-compliment to him, but this new question from his twin left him completely thrown.

Clearing his throat, Cody shut his eyes for a second and frowned, trying to force his own headache to subside.

"I… yeah, I was facing my nightstand and was lying too close to the edge of the bed," he started to carefully explain, "When I woke up and sprung forward, I hit it…"

Cody brought his words to a halt, allowing his actions to complete his thought for him as he took a shaky hand to his face. Zack watched with wide eyes and felt a shiver race up his spine as Cody's forefinger ran along his right eyebrow. A slight bruise from the impact was even starting to become visible.

Flinching from the pressure of pressing on the spot that was still incredibly tender, Cody took his hand away from his head, noting the same painful discomfort in Zack's expression. It certainly seemed that some effects from the Corsican fruit were still tying a tight knot in the bond between the boys. Maybe Cody really wasn't as alone in all this as he was starting to think he was.

Awkwardly nestling in the quiet that had overcome the both of them for a moment longer, Zack thought back on everything that he had just spoken to his twin in all of its half-hearted sweetness. He subtly shook his head at himself.

Zack supposed that maybe just this one time he could let his sarcastic guard down for real.

"Even if we can't share our emotions or read each other's minds anymore, you could always try just talking to me, okay?"

Cody wasn't sure what to say. Or if he should even say anything at all. So, instead, as he let Zack's genuine, supportive promise secure itself in the back of his mind, Cody simply nodded his head.

He may never have been willing to admit it out loud at risk of how much his brother would make fun of him for it, but it was definitely comforting for Cody to know just how much they actually had each other's backs. Even if they didn't act like it more than half the time – Cody and Zack knew that they could always count on each other.

Keeping this thought fresh in his mind, a sly smile swiftly turned up in the very corner of Cody's mouth. His memory slowly drifted back to that moment over a week and a half ago when he and Zack had been stood atop the old, abandoned saw mill, about to take their daring and terrifying plunge into the water beneath them. A few of his older brother's last words still echoed within him with the most crisp clearness.

"So, about what you were gonna' say to me right before we jumped into that water..."

Feeling his expression drop and his skin turn pale from the lame embarrassment of the whole ordeal, Zack groaned inwardly.

The entire moment had been pretty damn intimidating. Zack remembered not knowing whether he and Cody were going to have all their bones crushed, or if they were going to drown, or be captured and never see the light of day again. But he also remembered getting as far as 'Cody, I want you know - ' before his brother had thankfully cut him off.

But honestly, now, Zack may have been willing to break away from his cynical self just long enough to give Cody the comfort he needed, but he wasn't in that much of a sappy mood.

Shoving his twin away from him, Zack waved off Cody's teasing comment, "I have no idea what you're talking about."

Chuckling to himself as he clutched onto the spot where Zack had pushed him and dodged a second attempt from his older brother, Cody shuffled back slightly. He turned his back to the deep, blue ocean and rested against the railing.

Zack was still facing out to sea, comfortably hanging his hands over the metal fencing as Cody glimpsed at him out of the corner of his eye. And in the very next moment, the younger twin felt the joking grin fall flatly from his face.

If there was one other instant that stood out to Cody more than any other since the start of Spring Break, it was moment that Doctor Spaulding had kicked him out of his internship and the teenager had sensed his full scholarship to Yale slip right through his fingertips.

Cody had never been more angry – he had never been more furious at Zack in his entire life. He was mad all those years ago when Zack had purposely manipulated him and hogged their brand new bike. He was mad on their sixteenth birthday when Zack had selfishly argued with him about what to spend the money from their parents on. But ruining his internship, and quite possibly his entire future, had evoked a whole other kind of emotion in Cody.

And yet, when Cody looked back on it all now and remembered what he had told Zack… had that emotion truly been raw, unequivocal hatred?

A twinge of guilt shot through Cody's bones as he sighed again. The soft sound had caught Zack's attention as the older twin blinked and looked up to meet his hazel eyes with the identical orbs of Cody's.

The answer to his own question appeared to Cody immediately.

"I don't hate you, bro. I never could."

As soon as the apologetic sentiment left his little brother's lips, Zack felt a surprising amount of weight lift with relief from his shoulders. It's not like he was shocked by this supposed reveal of the truth from his twin – Zack had known all along that Cody was just angry and probably hadn't meant to say something so viciously unforgiving. But that hadn't made it hurt any less.

Quickly deciding to simply brush off the thought, Zack smirked at Cody and patted him on the shoulder, gesturing back towards the inviting image of the warm corridor of the boys' cabins. The two of them had learnt more than enough lessons in understanding each other over the past three weeks or so, and they had definitely succumbed to their fair share of corny, sentimental moments for one night.

Looking to Cody with a cheeky glisten in his eyes, Zack pulled open the glass door to the hallway and held it open, "Yeah, well, you might just end up hating me if you sleep in past this test tomorrow. C'mon."

Following his brother's lead, Cody sunk his toes back into the carpeted floor of the corridor and swapped an appreciative smile with Zack. And then, it was as if they could both feel their headaches slowly start to drift away.

Neither Zack nor Cody had any clue how much longer the effects of the Corsican fruit would keep them linked together like this, even by such a thin thread. They also weren't sure how many more nightmares Cody was going to find himself confiding in Zack about. But what they did know was that they were both incredibly determined to remain understanding of one another and keep their new found connection strong and thriving.

After all, graduation was just around the corner. And Zack and Cody both knew that they needed each other now more than ever.

But, at the same time, that didn't necessarily mean that the desire to give in and pick on each other every once in a while wasn't going to completely vanish, either.

Right as he pushed open his door and went to step back into his room, Zack looked over his shoulder to Cody, "And, hey, next time - could you try waking up Woody first before you come crying to me?"

Scoffing under his breath with a shake of his head, Cody pulled down on his door handle and shot his eyes straight back at Zack, "Jerk."

"Loser."

I'm back, and I brought cuteness! :)

So after relaxing in bed the other night in front of the Suite Life Movie, I flicked back over my stories to see just how long it had been since I wrote my last Zack & Cody oneshot... and then after seeing that it was two years ago, I decided to slip right back into this adorable fandom and bring you all this new story!

I would really love to hear what you all thought about this sappy little oneshot. I'm honestly going through such a refresher at the moment and watching a whole bunch of old Zack & Cody episodes in an attempt to hopefully bring a new multi-chapter Suite Life story one day. I'm not sure how long that might take, but I'm so excited to see what I might be able to come up with :)

Please leave me a review and let me know what you think! I've written a million other things in the past two years, but it always feels just right coming back to Zack & Cody :)

Till next time guys,

Reneyyyyyyyy x