Zack exhales, resting on his couch when his phone goes off. He blinks and glances at it before forcing himself up into a sitting position, grabbing it. "Hey, bro," he says, catching a glimpse of Dolph's name on the screen before answering. "What's up?"
"What're you doing, kid?"
"Just relaxing," Zack shrugs. "What's going on?"
"I have something to show you, wanna come out to the car? It's gonna be a long drive so bring something to drink."
Zack sighs, guessing where Dolph is planning on taking him. He's beyond not feeling like getting ready to go out. His arm is aching after the last rehab but he gets up anyway, walking towards the bedroom. "Alright, bro, just give me a few minutes."
"How's your arm doing?"
"It hasn't fallen off yet," Zack grouses, putting the phone on speaker and laying it on the dresser as he slips on some jeans and a sweater to try to stay warm. He grabs his jacket and is half out of the apartment when...
"KID! Don't leave your phone behind!" In the car, Dolph chortles as he hears Zack curse loudly in the background and come running back to scoop the phone up.
-x
The drive takes a couple of hours, Zack dozing in the passenger's seat. By the time he wakes up, they're almost to Dolph's summer house and Zack's arm is feeling better, thankfully. He yawns and wipes at his face before turning to look at Dolph. "You know it's not a summer house if we spend the winter there, bro."
Dolph smirks at him. "It's a year around house, kid. I never intended on it being just a summer house, anyway. I wouldn't abandon you for half the year."
"That's nice," Zack mumbles, still sleepy and warm as he rests his head against the seat and stares at Dolph. He yawns until Dolph reaches over at a red light and strokes his knuckles, distracting him. "Hmmm." When they arrive, Zack is a little more awake which is good because it's a little slick around. Even with him steady enough on his feet, Dolph stays close just in case, not wanting him to fall and re-injure himself.
It's clear from the moment they enter the house that Dolph's been there recently, the living room nice and warm and some lights on, waiting for them. Zack looks around appreciatively, shedding his jacket and handing it over to Dolph as he goes to hang it up with his own. He's just sat down when he spots something across the room and stares at it until Dolph returns, his lips twitching up into a smile. "Nice tree, bro. Went all out for the holidays, huh?"
Dolph smirks back at him and walks over, plugging it in. Zack exhales sharply as the lights gleam around the room and glitters off of the bulbs scattered in the branches. "What do you think, kid?"
"You did it all on your own?" Zack asks, looking a little wistful. "I haven't gotten to decorate a full sized tree since I moved out of my parents'. My apartment is too small for much."
"Maybe if you didn't have so many toys," Dolph teases, leaning over and kissing him when Zack glares up at him. Zack huffs but eventually melts, kissing him back almost roughly. "How about this, next time I'll make sure to leave the tree until you're here to help me. With one exception, there'll be a limit on orange and purple ornaments." Dolph laughs and taps his nose before standing up to turn back towards the tree.
Zack gets up and wraps his good arm around Dolph, resting his jaw against Dolph's shoulder as he too looks at the tree. "Fine, no purple and orange ornaments this year... but what about this?" He dangles a couple of turtle dove ornaments in front of Dolph's face and Dolph blinks at them, surprised.
"You and your Home Alone movies, kid," Dolph murmurs, his eyes fixed as they lightly rotate left to right.
Zack chuckles and nuzzles into him, reciting like he has it memorized, which Dolph figures he probably does. "Turtle doves are a symbol of friendship and love. Keep one, and give the other to a very special person. As long as each of you has your turtle dove, you will be friends forever."
"Just friends, huh?" Dolph laughs when Zack scoffs, tilting his head and kissing him on the side of the mouth until Zack shifts to allow a more full kiss, eyes fluttering. "C'mon, let's put them on the tree together." He grips Zack's good hand and tugs him over, lightly pulling one of the turtle doves out of his grip before looking the tree over. There's an empty spot towards the top and he reaches up, fitting it carefully on the branch before stepping back, watching as Zack tries to find another free spot.
"You've filled pretty much everything else up, bro," Zack pouts, unable to find a good spot that would be somewhat visible.
He looks over as Dolph reclaims his hand and moves it up to put the turtle dove on the empty branch next to his own. "How about here? That way, they can be together."
Zack's eyes light up and he nods. "Alright, that looks good, bro." Zack carefully eases the ornament onto the branch and steps back, taking the whole tree in with a growing smile.
Dolph stands next to him and chuckles, taking in the youthful look on his face. "Merry Christmas, kid."
Christmas is still a couple of weeks away but it's clear neither of them care as Zack leans against Dolph and grins. "Merry Christmas, bro."
