I was on Tumblr looking for hot wrestling images, as one does, and I found this series of really beautiful animations depicting the loving relationship and frequent Public Displays of Affection between Cody Rhodes and Randy Orton. Were these dudes in love or what? You know me, I just had to download these GIFs and write captions for each one.
These images must be from about 2008 to 2010 when Randy and Cody were aligned in a group known as “Legacy” — young Second- or Third-Generation pro wrestling studs who dominated in the ring, looked amazing, and enjoyed many privileges — including the privilege of being hot young Bros and loving all over each other on national TV.
It appears that Randy was forever touching cute Cody’s face, or resting a hand on his shoulder, or gazing intently into his eyes as if they’re about to kiss. I’m not sure if Randy actually wants Cody sexually, or if he’s just doing this to turn on viewers like me, but his relentless flirtation has inspired numerous Randy/Cody Fan Fics. A Fan Fiction is where an amateur writer spins a tale involving famous characters from shows or movies and pop culture icons — often melodramatic stories about love affairs, secret relationships, homo-sexual attraction, unrequited love, etc.
I don’t often read Fan Fics — I guess I get off quicker on visual stimulation rather than mental — but in honor of all this Randy/Cody lovin’, touchin’, and squeeeeezin’ posted on Tumblr, I went and found a relatively tame and G-Rated Fan Fic called “Everytime We Touch” (sic) to accompany the scenes that inspired it. The author of this Fan Fic also apparently noticed how often Randy puts his hands on Cody and used all that touching (and Cody’s reaction to it) as the basis of the story. See below…
Everytime We Touch
The lights shone, bright and dazzling. The crowds jeered, as was the expectation. The Legacy had once again picked up a victory, albeit through rather questionable methods (as was their style).
Cody Rhodes had been on edge all night, waiting for this moment.
He knew in a split second that he would not be able to go through with what came next. All of a sudden, there in the ring, something inside him seemed to snap. He saw the hand rise, knew it was meant for him. Heart pounding, the noise of the crowd drowned out, his breath racing.
With a short glance into the grey eyes, his face pleading for forgiveness, he took the smallest of steps backward. The hand meant for his neck, the touch he craved more than anything, missed its mark and instead held nothing but air.
Even before he heard the muffled curse of anger, he knew he had done it this time.
The Viper stalked into the locker room, letting the door slam shut behind him. He was angry. He didn’t know why, but he was fuming. The crowd suspected nothing, thank goodness. Stephanie would have torn him a whole new ass if they had noticed that sudden lapse in continuity.
What went wrong? Why had Cody cringed away?
Sure, he was acting a little weird lately but Randy put that down to the break up with Beth. He wanted answers, and he wasn’t prepared to wait for them.
“What the hell was that, Cody?” he demanded, trying hard not to lose his cool.
Sitting on a bench near his locker, his head held in his hands, the younger man took a deep breath and fought with all his might to avoid looking into Randy’s eyes. He hadn’t planned it, it was an unintended move, but he had no choice. He couldn’t take it anymore. Each touch was torture, a false hope that would never become anything else.
This man was his best friend. His hero.
Cody could clearly remember the day his world began to revolve around Randy Orton…
He had been wandering around, against his father’s wishes, and had gotten lost in the now nameless arena. Alone and scared in the vast emptiness, he had curled into a corner, sobbing quietly.
He could clearly remember the fear coursing through him when he heard hurried foot falls in the dark hallway ahead of him, and the relief that had flowed through him when Randy, then only 11 years old, had emerged from the darkness. Cody had rushed into his arms and held on with all his 6 year old strength.
“There you are baby boy. Damn near scared me to death.” Randy had said softly, stroking the shaking boy’s hair. “What were you doing?”
“Was…I… was looking for you.” He had sniffled. “Then I got lost in the dark and I… don’t have my… my Wolverine. It was scary.”
“Well ya don’t have to be scared now, I’m here, Codes.”
Randy had led him back to his anxious father. When he was back safely in his arms, Dusty had thanked Randy profusely. Young Cody had proudly proclaimed, “He found me, Dad, like a hero.”
Dusty and the older wrestlers had chuckled at this adoration. “Your own hero, huh boy?”
“Yup, even better than Wolverine.” Cody had beamed, much to the delight of the older men.
Of course, as they grew, Randy became more than a hero to Cody, he became the one thing Cody knew he would never have.
Randy knew nothing of these feelings, he couldn’t know, it would ruin their friendship, something Cody could not live with. So he did what he always did, covered it up. And once again, in reply to Randy’s question, covering up was what he tried to do, except he had a feeling this was a doomed effort.
“It.. it was nothing, dude.” he said quietly, “I just lost it a lil, ya know?”
“No. No, I don’t know Cody. You almost ruined it out there…again!” Randy snapped back.
That last part made Cody flinch. It meant that Randy had noticed he was acting differently. He couldn’t blame his behavior on the break with Beth for much longer. He had broken it off with her, unable to continue a lie for the sake of his public image. It wasn’t fair to either of them, especially not to her. He wanted nothing more than to be free, but the fear of Randy’s reaction was what kept him from not being able to come clean to the man he loved. This helplessness was killing Cody inside.
“I’m sorry, Randy. It won’t happen again.”
“Damn straight it won’t. What’s the matter with you? This shit just isn’t like you, man.”
“Look, I don’t need another lecture, please.”
“I’m not lecturing you, dammit. I just wanna know where the hell my best friend has disappeared to.”
That response hit Cody hard, breaking the last of his already feeble defenses. Pain in his eyes, he almost whispered, “I…I’m right here. Randy, please.”
Something in the younger man’s voice startled Randy, made him think for a second.
It wasn’t like Cody to admit he could not handle something. Whatever was bugging him had to be serious.
Out of instinct he reached out, running a hand over Cody’s short hair, and then it happened again. Cody scrambled backward so fast he tripped over his bag and almost fell, had the wall not caught his back.
Randy stood frozen, his arm still outstretched, hand in mid-air where Cody’s hair had been a second ago. Cody’s eyes darted between Randy and the closed door. His heart racing in panic.
“What the hell was that? What did I do wrong?” Randy asked, anger building once again.
In that instant, Cody realized that he couldn’t do this anymore, no man could stay so torn between worlds. “I… its not… shit! Randy, I can’t.. you did nothing wrong, but..”
“But what?! Huh?” Randy interjected, “You’ve been shying away from me for weeks now. If you dislike me for some reason Cody, if I’ve done something wrong then…”
“No. No its not that.” Cody burst out. “You did nothing wrong and…” he faltered.
He knew the second those words left his mouth that he was not going to be able to keep it hidden any longer. There wasn’t any going back.
“Then why are you acting this way?” Randy asked.
Cody took a deep breath, “Because… because I like you, Randy.” He whispered, his eyes fixed on the floor.
“Yea, yea I like you too Codes, which is why I don’t get why….” Randy’s voice faded away as realization hit him and he understood what Cody had said.
“Oh. You mean…”
Clenching his trembling hands, Cody willed himself to look up, to meet Randy’s eyes.
He nodded slowly. “Yea, Randy… like that.”
This concludes Chapter 1 of the “Everyime We Touch” Fan Fic. If you want to know how the story ends, you can go read Chapter 2, and Chapter 3.