Addison wakes up under a fuzzy throw blanket in Zed's giant king bed, with Zed nowhere to be found. Despite the thinness of the blanket, and the fact that she's now dressed in only one of Zed's baggy tee-shirts, she's sweating. She internally groans as it dawns on her that, great, she had a fever now too. As if the body aches, head-pounding, congestion, and nasty cough weren't enough, now she's burning up!
She curls up under the blanket as a wave of chills overcomes her sweating body. She hates this, she really, really hates this. Being sick sucks in the worst way. This is almost worse than the last time she was left recovering in Zed's bed…
The bedroom door opens across the room, Zed quiet footfalls grazing quietly across the floor. "Addy? You up yet?" he whispers.
She groans in response. She even goes as far as to pull the blanket up over her head, cold sweats be damned.
He chuckles lightly, walking over to her side of the bed. He pokes her head through the blanket and she peeks out from beneath the covers. In the time since they've been at his place (probably a few hours), he's changed out of his designer suit and into a pair of sweatpants - no shirt. Clearly taunting her.
She stares at him for a moment, at the mass of tattoos covering his tan skin, spanning across his pecs and shoulders. Under normal circumstances, she'd want nothing more than to trace every line and curve with her fingers while they cuddle in his massively comfy bed. Ask him questions, really dig into his life. After all she only knows the story behind the tattoos on his right arm, and a few on his back. She plans on getting through all of them before the year ends.
But she can't do any of that today. She's sick, which means no cuddling, so instead she glared at him. "Where's your shirt?"
"You love it when I'm shirtless," he counters.
Addison groans and rolls onto her back. She throws an arm over her eyes and grumbles, "Not when I'm sick."
Zed chuckles again. He must really think this is hilarious.
The bed dips on the side opposite her; she turns her head and opens her eyes, watching him climb in beside her. "What're you doing? I'm sick," she complains.
"Yeah, I know. And super whiny too." He pokes her side, ignoring her pout. "For someone who was so adamant they weren't sick this morning, you've done nothing but complain. Not that I mind, though, this side of you is cute too."
"Zed…"
Despite her protests, he scoots closer, but stops there. He doesn't pull her in or wrap his arms around her like he usually would, just leans back against the headboard. "We're gonna watch a movie, and I'm gonna heal you with a million stupid jokes. And in ten minutes soup will be ready to heal you."
He smiles at her. She tries to keep up her pout, but ends up with a small smile on her face. She can't help it, aside from being so cute, he really does care about her. Which makes him even cuter.
She leans over, her head falling on his arm. Zed shifts, wrapping his arm around her while she leans on his chest.
"You're so warm," he comments as he flips on the television.
Addison sniffs indignantly. "I'm sick."
Zed grins down at her. "You'll be better before you know it, Addy. Aside from the bomb homemade soup you're about to have —" She giggles, shaking her head, "you do always say my cuddles are magic. And magical cuddles are recipe for healing."
Addison holds back a giggle. For a tough, powerful mob boss, Zed always knew how to make her laugh and smile with the silliest, goofiest things. The best part is she's usually one of the only people that gets to see this side of him.
"If you keep cuddling me you'll get sick," she points out.
"Unlike you, I take my Flinstone gummies everyday."
She laughs, right along with him. He puts on her favorite older cartoon, keeping the volume on low because he knows she loves to talk about it. Even though she's sick, and they've watched this particular movie at least twice already, she has something new to tell him — how one of the voice actresses went into labor in the studio but didn't tell anyone until she finished for the day, how they almost lost half the movie due to a system glitch but luckily, one of the interns had backed it all up to a random hard drive that took them three whole weeks to find.
And like every time she launches into every little behind the scenes detail, she pauses, her face suddenly overcome with worry. "I'm not boring you, am I?"
Zed grins and shakes his head. "Never. Although I do need to go get your soup, but when I get back you have to finish telling me about the drama between the director and male lead."
She looks at him, the tip of her nose red and her skin just a little green and pale, but with those big blue eyes that he loves so much. "Really?" she asks.
"Yeah of course! I love all your stories, especially all the juicy ones." He kisses the top of her head and she giggles. Then he climbs out of bed, rushing out of the bedroom.
He returns not long later, carrying a wood tray with a steaming bowl of soup on top. He carries the tray over to her, but before he sets it down he does a faux bow, proclaiming, "For you, my love!"
Addison giggles, watching as he sets the tray down over her lap. In addition to his 'magical healing soup,' he brought her a cup of tea in a short but wide, white mug with flower engravings. All the times she's spent at his home and this is the first time she's seeing this cup.
It probably belonged to his mom, which only made her heart swell at the thought of Zed allowing her to use something so sentimental to him. Everything his mother owned or did was sacred in his home. And, curious as she was, she knew not to ask about it. It wasn't something he was ready to share yet, which she respected.
Zed climbs back into bed on the other side. He looks at her with a wide, mischievous grin. "Try the soup, then tell me if it's the same as the one at the diner."
She rolls her eyes with a smile. She knows it'll be a little different, but his mom came up with almost every recipe at the diner. Of course they're going to be similar!
But, she'll humor him a bit. He's so excited, anyway.
Addison picks up her spoon, gathering a spoonful and bringing it to her lips and slowly sipping it. And — he's right! Whatever it is he did to the soup, the same soup she and Wyatt have made hundreds of times, it's just ten times better! And that's with her impaired sense of taste and smell! She can't even imagine how good it would be if she wasn't sick.
"Ohmygod," she practically moans.
Zed cackles, his whole body shaking with laughter. Meanwhile, Addison shovels another spoonful in her mouth. "I told you!" he exclaims.
She nods, having been thoroughly bested by her boyfriend and honestly loving it. "How is this better?! I mean, everything at the diner is amazing, don't get me wrong, but —"
"When a Necrodopolis makes it, it's just better," Zed says.
"What did you do differently?"
Zed grins. "That's a Necrodopolis secret," he says with a wink. "But I'm sure one day, I'll be showing it to you."
Addison giggles, heat quickly spreading up her neck. The thought of one day being his wife…wow.
"I can't wait!" she can't help but squeal.
Zed leans over, smothering her cheek with a wet kiss. Addison giggles, squirming under his embrace. "Zed! I'm sick!"
"Yeah, yeah, eat your soup and tell me how great I am at making soup."
Addison giggles. "This is truly great, though. What else can you make from the diner?"
Zed shrugs. "Just about everything. I worked there growing up — on and off."
"Really?"
"Oh yeah. Mom loved free labor!" He laughs to himself. "Me and Zoe, Eliza whenever she was free."
"And Bonzo?"
"Nah, he was always doing marching band and cheer, he was really busy, like all the time." Zed shrugs. "But he was always around. Mom used to pretend to be annoyed when we would just hang out at the diner, but, I mean, she loved all my friends."
Addison looks at him with a raised eyebrow. She can't respond, though, already reinvested in her soup. Zed settles into the silence for a moment, neither hitting play on the program nor saying much else on the matter. It happens all the time, though. She knows he loves his mom, and it must hurt thinking about her, so Addison never pushes.
But then, much to her surprise, he says, "She would've loved you, Addy."
She nearly chokes on her soup, managing to get out, "Huh?"
Zed raises an eyebrow at her, mildly surprised by her reaction. "What? Have I never told you that?" Addison shakes her head. "Me and Zoe talk about it sometimes. I mean, you guys are practically cut from the same cloth. Super sweet but also super silly. She would've liked you way more than she likes me."
"Zed…"
"Nah, it's true. I mean, you're kind, sweet, smart as hell. Plus, I love you." He sits up and smiles at her. "I mean, you're the perfect woman, and the only woman for me. So, as Zynthia Necrodopolis's favorite son, she would've loved you because I love you."
Addison smiles at the sentiment, one that quickly turns to giggles. "Aren't you her only son?" she asks.
Zed smiles and rolls his eyes. "That's besides the point."
Addison giggles. She leans toward him, pecking his lips on instinct. Zed hums, wrapping a hand around her neck to keep her there for just a moment longer.
It slips both their minds just how sick she is. At least, it does, until her nose twitches, and the next second she's sneezing. Directly in his face.
"Oh my god!"
Zed sits for a moment, his face scrunched up. Slowly, he nods, then says, "Yeah I had that coming."
Addison looks at him in horror, her hands covering her mouth as she realizes what just happened. "I am so sorry."
Zed slides out of bed, carefully making his way around it and toward the bathroom. "It's all good, Addy. I'm just gonna…wash my face really quick."
"Okay," she says meekly. She turns and watches him head into the bathroom. "I'm sorry, baby."
Zed disappears into the bathroom. Addison looks at the closed door for a minute, her guilt over sneezing all over him growing with each passing second. He's seen her at a lot of lows, but sneezing in his face? That's a whole different territory of low! And just plain gross! She grabs a tissue from the nightstand, aggressively blowing her nose, then sadly picks up her soup spoon and shoved another spoonful into her mouth.
After a few minutes, Zed returns to their bedroom, this time wearing a shirt. Now she knew she definitely upset him. He scrubs his face with a washcloth as he walks back over, stopping at her side and dropping a kiss to the top of her head. "See? It's all good, Addy," he assures her.
He walks around the bed, heading back to climb in beside her. "It was gross," she complains.
Zed shrugs. "Zoey once threw up in my lap."
She pulls a face. "Oh, gross."
Zed nods. "She was thirteen, too. Way too old for that shit." Addison giggles. Zed turns to her, grinning. "Now, eat your soup and watch your show. I'm still waiting to hear about that beef."
Okay, maybe he wasn't upset after all. He hits play on the TV, and they watch in comfortable almost-silence, Addison happily slurping the rest of her soup. When she finishes, she sets the tray down on the floor and snuggles into her boyfriend's side.
"I'm really sorry about sneezing on you," she says.
"It's okay, Addison. All it means is we're already in the 'being gross around each other' stage."
"We've already been in that stage. You fart in your sleep."
Zed looks at her, his mouth hanging open in shock. "There's no way."
Addison giggles. "It happened once, but still!"
"You're so mean. You had me worried!"
Addison shrugs. "It's not like it scared me off!"
Zed laughs. "That's true."
They sit for a moment, watching the movie. Then; "Also, I basically live here! We're way past the gross stage."
"Addy, love, you sneezed on my face."
"I'm never gonna live that one down, am I?"
Zed smiles sweetly. He kisses her nose, quickly backing up, and says, "I'll never mention it again. Mob boss's honor."