Cody and Noah had been together for a few years now, and despite their wildly different personalities, their relationship was solid. They had moved into a cozy apartment in the city—a place just big enough for the two of them, with a couch perfect for cuddling and a kitchen where Cody attempted (and sometimes failed) to make Noah’s favorite meals.

One lazy Sunday morning, Noah sat on the couch with his laptop, a book open beside him, while Cody was in the kitchen humming to himself. Cody wasn’t the best cook, but he always tried.

“Hey, Noah,” Cody called. “You ever think about what life would be like if we didn’t get together?”

Noah, without looking up from his screen, smirked. “Yeah. I’d be a lot less annoyed on a daily basis.”

Cody gasped dramatically, placing a hand over his heart. “You wound me.”

Noah rolled his eyes but softened when he saw Cody’s puppy-dog expression. He sighed and set his laptop aside, standing up to walk over to him. “But also,” he admitted, wrapping his arms lazily around Cody’s waist, “it’d be a lot more boring.”

Cody grinned. “See? You secretly love me.”

Noah rolled his eyes again but leaned in to kiss his forehead. “Not so secretly.”

Cody melted into him, wrapping his arms around Noah in return. “You know, I was gonna make pancakes, but this is nice too.”

Noah smirked. “Let’s keep it this way. You’ve almost set the kitchen on fire twice this week.”

Cody huffed. “It was just a little smoke—”

Noah shut him up with another kiss, and Cody had to admit, maybe pancakes could wait.