A/N: Special thanks to SWChica2005 for 1) the awesome reviews and 2) the idea for this chapter. I hope it's what you expected!
It was late in their Senior year when Addison and Zed found themselves alone at his house. A rare occasion, indeed. They were quite happily watching a movie in Zed's room, but when it ended, Addison took that moment to steal a kiss.
She sat up and ran her hands through his hair as she deepened the kiss. When she received an appreciative moan from that, she grinned a bit. She loved these moments, especially since they were so few and far between. It was as if no one trusted a teenage girl and her teenage Zombie boyfriend.
Zed felt her smile and pulled back just a bit. "Rather pleased with yourself, eh?" he asked.
Addison nodded. "I like it when we get to do this. Now shut up and get back to it."
"Yes, ma'am."
He returned to kissing her and felt a bit shocked when he felt her pulling him down. He obliged, but slowly.
She felt his hesitation, but it wasn't anything new. She already knew that he was scared of his Z-band overheating or something going wrong. So they always took things very slowly. She liked that he was a gentleman and always thought of her first. Today, though, she was hoping for perhaps a little more.
Addison gave a slight tug again until he was more on top of her. She definitely felt his resistance that time, but he eventually acquiesced. She returned her hands to his hair and he groaned again. This time, she refrained from smiling, for fear he'd stop to tease her again.
She let her fingers roam to the back of his neck and he tensed a bit at that. Feeling a bit bold now, she scratched him slightly. When she heard him almost growl at that, she knew she had him where she wanted him.
His hands started to roam a little further down from her face. Addison tried to remain calm for fear of scaring him off. But when he reached her chest, she couldn't help but smile. They rarely got this far. Suddenly, she felt his hand sneak lower and then back up under her cheer top. This time when he touched her, she gasped.
"Addison, I'm sorry!" he exclaimed as he pulled his hand back and sat up.
"What?" she replied, still a bit hazy. "I'm fine! That was a good sound!"
He was breathing heavy with panic. "Ok, yeah, that's good to know. But I'm sorry I let things get that far."
"Zed? That was barely far at all."
"But there are things we don't know, Addison. I don't know if it's safe. I have to keep you safe." His voice was strained with the emotions he was feeling.
"Zed, there's no one on earth that would keep me safer than you. You could never hurt me. We've had this talk."
He sighed. "You always say that, Addy, and I love that you mean it. But there are still things that are so new! You and I are uncharted territory. What if we get too far and my band shorts out and I go full Zom on you?"
"You won't."
Zed ran a frustrated hand through his hair. Why wouldn't she listen?
"You don't know that. Not for certain." He paused. "Besides, there's more to it than that."
Addison raised an eyebrow. "What else?"
Zed sat back against the headboard and invited her to sit next to him. "Ok, so there's this thing called the Zombie Honor."
"Yeah, you've mentioned it. And Eliza says it all the time to us. I've never felt dishonored by you, though. And this definitely wouldn't be—"
"No," he interrupted. "That's not all of it. Yes, the Zombie Honor is absolutely about respect for your partner, but there's so much more."
Addison placed her hand in his. "Tell me then. I want to know everything about you and your life."
Zed smiled. He loved that she felt that way. And also that she didn't seem too upset that he ended what was arguably their best make out session to date.
"Well, there's a bit of a history lesson in here too. After the outbreak, Zombie kind were feared and contained. You know that much. But once the Z-bands were developed, the ones from the initial accident developed a need to change things. They were thinking with clear heads again and hoped to show the humans that Zombies weren't the danger they perceived us to be.
"The elders got together and saw all the progress that Zombies were making. The language developed more clearly (though, we could speak and understand English again too). Music was something that was heard everywhere! Art became a foundation to the culture. And Zombies felt strong emotions now too. Even stronger than before the outbreak. Somehow, and I believe that perhaps the Moonstone had something to do with this, Zombies began to love very, very deeply. Our relationships were stronger than ever.
"And because of that, the Zombie Honor was put in place. Many couples began dating in high school and were married and lived really happy lives. And it was very important to the culture and our love that we remained faithful to our spouses. From then on, Zombies began to follow the Zombie Honor. We would be faithful and wait to be completely… um, physical in our relationships until after we were married."
Addison nodded. "So that's why it's so important to you that we take things slow?"
"Well," Zed began. "The Zombie Honor is part of it. A big part of it. But probably more than anything is just keeping you safe."
Addison smiled. "Well, I'd say that's a big part of the Zombie Honor right there. You care enough about me to make sure we're taking things slow."
He grinned. "Yeah, I suppose it does all work together. I know you'd like things to move a little bit faster. Trust me, so would I! But it's more important to me that you're respected and, most of all, safe."
"I guess I don't need to give you my stock answer?"
Zed chuckled. "No, I know what you're going to say." He raised the pitch of his voice to sound like her. "'I trust you, Zed. I feel safe with you. You'd never hurt me no matter what.'"
She smacked his arm lightly. "I don't sound like that!"
"Well, regardless, I guess I should have explained all that earlier. It was kinda uncomfortable for me, though."
"I get it. Eliza just told me that it was about respect. And I see now that it really is. Though, now I'm seeing why she says it so much. She's definitely being a brat with it."
Zed shrugged. "Eliza."
"Still though. I wish that Seabrook would have seen that about the Zombies sooner. You're way of life is so fascinating and so… so…"
"So not Seabrook?" he offered.
"Yes! You've got art and music and love and color and fun! And you're the furthest thing from the monsters that you were painted as. It's a shame."
She hung her head a bit. He hated when she got down about the misconception of Zombies. She certainly wasn't to blame!
He raised her face with a finger. "Addy, we've talked about this. It was in the past. Things are continually getting better. You and I are going to Seabrook University in the fall. This is a huge step for Zombies! And all that really matters to me is you and how you see me. You see the goofy football player and not the Zombie. That means the world to me! I'm really glad I explained the Honor to you too."
"It's important to you, so it's important to me. And yeah, maybe I'm a little frustrated with the slowness, but I respect it and the reasoning. It's really a beautiful sentiment and I'm grateful that you're including me in it. Your culture means a lot to you."
"It does. Thanks, Addy. You really are the best."
"I am, aren't I?"
"And modest too!" he added with a laugh.
She kissed his nose and smiled at him. "I'm glad we talked about this. Sometimes you holding back made me a little self-conscious."
"Self-conscious? God, Addy, never go there! Trust me, every fiber of me wants to do all sorts of things with you. Constantly."
She blushed and it remained firm as his favorite color.
"But I love you even more than I want to do things with you. Which is saying something. So, we just take it one step at a time. Yeah?"
"Of course." She paused. "I wonder if Bree and Bonzo are going through this too."
"Oh yeah," Zed answered. "But he's extra worried because he's a giant and she's just tiny. He's afraid of tripping and falling on her and crushing her, let alone anything else."
"That does sound like a Bonzo concern."
"Yeah. But we're gonna be fine, right?"
"Of course, handsome. We're perfect."
"And you're amazing."
"You aren't so bad yourself," she replied with a giggle.
"Wanna get ice cream?" he asked. Partially because he wanted to distance himself from the awkwardness of their conversation, but mostly because he felt like they earned it.
"Absolutely!" she said as she sprung off the bed.
He grabbed her hand and pulled her back, kissing her soundly. He liked it when he was seated and she was standing… made the height difference so much easier.
"Thank you for being so understanding," he murmured as he held her closer.
"Always."
"Gar-gargiza, belegral."
"Gar-gargiza, grenbrim. Now let's get that ice cream!"
