The next morning Zed woke up bright and early, he was so excited to spend an entire week with Addison, just themselves, and Missy and Dale of course. He had packed everything the night before and could hardly sleep. Right when he finished putting his clothes on his phone started ringing.
"Hello?"
"Good Morning Handsome, are you almost ready?"
"Yeah, I packed everything last night I just need to eat breakfast."
"Don't worry about that we'll stop somewhere along the way. We're gonna jump in the car in a few minutes if you're ready to go with everything else."
"Alright then see you in a few."
"Bye Zed."
"Bye Addison."
Zed hung up, grabbed his bags, and walked downstairs where Zevon was waiting in the kitchen.
"Are you ready to go?"
"Yep."
"Are you sure you didn't forget anything?"
"Yep, Zoey helped me pack last night."
"Are they going to be here soon? Do you need anything for breakfast?"
"Nah, Addison said they'll be here in a few minutes and we'll grab something on the way, it sounded like we're gonna spend most of today driving."
"Well then, it sounds like my work here is done and I can go back to bed soon." Zevon laughed.
They heard a car pull up outside and a few moments later a light knock on the door.
Zed opened it to reveal a smiling Addison standing in the doorway.
"Hey, Handsome are you ready to go?"
"You bet. Goodbye Pops."
"Bye Zed." Zevon waved. "Have fun you two!"
Addison helped Zed put his stuff in the trunk and they both hopped in the backseat.
"Good Morning, Zed." Missy said.
"Morning Missy, Morning Dale."
"Are you ready for an adventure? Dale asked.
"You bet, this is going to be the best New Year's ever! So, about breakfast?"
"Here you go Zed." Addison said, holding up a box of donuts, "Take your pick and as many as you want. We've already had some."
"Girl this looks delicious." Zed said, before choosing one and eating it in three bites and then quickly taking the next one. Before putting the box away for later.
Soon they were on the road and Zed and Addison naturally took the opportunity to cuddle up with each other in the backseat. After a few hours of driving both nodded off, Addison's head resting against Zed's shoulder, with his arm wrapped protectively around her. Missy and Dale noticed but didn't say anything as there wasn't anything they could really do about it at that moment.
After a few hours they stopped at a restaurant to grab lunch and stretch their legs at about the halfway mark and then there were on the road again. While Missy was now driving, she turned up the radio, and Zed and Addison happily sang along to the holiday songs that were playing. When they took a break from that they were finally into the mountains and Zed stared in awe out the window, he had never seen anything like them in person. After about one more hour of driving, they finally arrived at the ski resort. Everyone took their bags out and entered the lobby. Zed and Addison sat down on one of the couches to wait for Dale and Missy to check-in.
"Wow, this place looks amazing." Zed gushed.
"Yeah, I actually have a lot of good memories here."
"Really, so you've been here before?"
"Yeah, we usually come here every year so my parents can get a break from their jobs in a place that happens to have spotty cell service so no one can contact them if they don't want to be, and they can have a few days of total relaxation and zero work stress."
"That sounds nice, so is it always just you three?"
"No it's a bit different every year, but usually at least some of my cousins come with. Bucky's the one who's been here the most besides me I think. Oh, wait, not to scare you but are you OK with that?" Addison motioned towards the fireplace cheerfully burning a few yards away, instinctively circling the back of his hand with her thumb in comfort.
"Don't worry, I'll admit fire isn't my favorite thing, but I won't freak out about it. I bet after spending all day tomorrow falling on my butt and rolling down the mountain I'll be sitting right in front of it to warm myself up again."
"Good, I'm sorry, I know most zombies don't like fire."
"It's alright, I think our more primal instincts are more sensitive to it than most people. But don't worry, if no one's waving a torch or a spirit stick in my face I'll be fine. Speaking of being warm though, what exactly are the sleeping arrangements? I do not want to ask your parents that question."
"That was the second thing they laid out when they told me you were coming. We'll have two adjoining rooms with two beds each, Mom and I will be in one, and you'll be with my dad.
"Alright, I knew it was too good that all my dreams would come true."
"Don't worry, maybe someday it will be too cold to go outside, and we'll just stay in the room all day."
"I like where this is going."
"Trust me, I'm full of ideas."
"I can't wait to hear them." Zed said.
Missy and Dale walked back with slightly annoyed looks on their faces, and they were looking between the two of them suspiciously.
Zed and Addison hopped up, and seeing the strange looks on their faces Addison asked, "What's wrong?"
"We'll explain when we get to the room." Dale said with a sigh, leading them towards the elevator.
They traveled up a few floors in the elevator before Dale led them to their room.
"So is this the guys' or girls' room?" Addison asked as they walked in.
Dale started, "About that, apparently there was a mix-up somewhere and they were overbooked. So instead of two rooms, we only have this one. So, and this is a one-time only situation." Dale started, giving them a stern look.
"Because we trust you to be responsible, you two can sleep in the same room together if you want. But this is a one-time thing and if there are any issues it won't be happening again." Missy finished.
"And the door has to be open at all times. Clear?"
"Yes Mom and Dad"
"Yes Missy and Dale." Zed and Addison said at the same time, both trying to keep their voices neutral and not looking at each other, even though they were bursting with excitement at this new turn of events.
'Don't worry I'll be fine sleeping on the floor." Zed offered.
"Yeah, I think we all know how long that will last. But we trust you two not to do anything when we're ten feet away. That's all we're saying." Dale said.
"And Zed it wouldn't be right of us to invite you on this trip and make you sleep on the floor. So just count yourselves lucky that this is happening. Unless you would rather sleep in separate rooms?" Missy asked.
"No, we'll be fine. Thank you." Addison told them, taking her bag and dragging Zed by the hand into their room.
"OK what just happened?" Zed whispered to her. Pulling her close and snaking his arms around her waist. "Pinch me because I must be dreaming."
"I don't think so because otherwise, I'm having the exact same dream. It must be a Christmas miracle." Addison whispered back. Raising her hands up to his shoulders.
"I'll say, not only do I get to spend every day with you I get to spend every night with you in my arms. Or at least until they catch us and they make me sleep on the floor."
"I feel the exact same way, but I have no clue what my parents are thinking."
"I think it's just like they said, they don't want to make me sleep on the floor. And they're probably right that I wouldn't stay down there for very long."
"I wouldn't have allowed it either. Besides, they caught us once and we weren't doing anything bad then and we obviously won't be doing anything here."
"Totally just getting the best nights' sleep of my life for an entire week, I'm gonna have so much energy I won't even need the ski lift to climb the mountain."
"I can't wait to teach you tomorrow, but I have a feeling I'll have to stop you from rolling down the mountain much less climb it."
"Please, I've got zombie skills I bet I'll be soaring down black diamonds in no time."
"Trust me, we won't do anything more than bunny slopes until I think you're ready."
"OK Miss Teacher, I will be your perfect student and follow your every direction I am ready to learn."
"Well, you definitely get an A+ for enthusiasm and an A+ for cuteness."
"Wow I haven't even started yet and I already have better grades than my finals will probably be."
"So do you have any experience with anything remotely related to skiing?"
"I've built snow-zoms and shoveled snow before."
"So we really will have to go from the basics, you aren't allowed out of my sight while we're on the slopes."
"Whatever you say. I know you'll keep me safe, but I will do at least one black diamond before we go."
"Why?"
"Because I have to, this may be my one chance to do something like this."
"Fine, but only when I say you're ready."
"Deal. But only because you are such a cute teacher. So what are the plans tonight?"
"I'm sure my parents are tired out from driving all day so we'll probably go get dinner and then we can watch a movie or something."
"Hmm, that reminds me of something. Dinner, a movie, spending the night with you."
"Shut up, you don't want them to change their minds do you?"
"You're right we better go back out there so they don't get suspicious or anything. Oh, should I expect skiing lessons from them too?"
"I bet they'll leave us alone, the past few years, they've let me and Bucky do our own thing. And don't worry, this place has a ton of fun things to do besides just skiing."
"What kind of things?"
"You'll have to wait and see."
"More surprises? I don't know how much more good news my heart I can take."
"Just be patient and you'll be rewarded."
"Given what my rewards have been so far, how can I say no?"
Pretty soon they all made the trek downstairs to eat a delicious meal, and they thankfully had plenty of vegetarian options, and Zed was surprised at all the choices available, absolutely everything looked delicious. Everyone had a wonderful evening to end the first long day of the trip and soon they all went back upstairs for the night.
After both changed into their pajamas, both were wearing matching Zed Football T-shirts. After Addison took a picture of them twinning that Zed was dreading Eliza would no doubt see and tease him mercilessly for. They happily crawled into bed and snuggled up together, they flipped through the movies to find something to watch.
"Oh, they have the new Thor movie! Let's watch that." Addison said excitedly.
"Really?" Zed said with a knowing pout on his face.
"What?"
"And just why do you want to watch that hmm?"
"Because it's funny, has a good story, it's Marvel so it's great, I'm sure you'll like it."
"And?"
"And what?"
"It has Thor in it, my biggest competition for your affection."
"Well duh, look at him what am I supposed to say to that?"
"I think I should be jealous that you'd rather stare at Thor than spend time with me."
"Oh really? So let me guess you want to watch Wizards of Waverly Place then?"
"If you're offering I am all for that."
"And why is that?" It was Addison's turn to smirk at Zed's reaction.
"I don't know you picked that out of nowhere but I'd still watch it."
"And that's because of Alex isn't it?"
"Maybe but I'm just following your suggestion."
"So if we did watch it should I be jealous?"
"Of course not, you are much more magical, plus you have much better taste in monsters. I bet I could take on a werewolf."
"I'm sure you could, and fine we'll watch something else. I can watch the new Thor with Bree when we get back home then, so I don't hurt your manly pride. Even though you have nothing to worry about. Besides you're the one in bed with me."
"Thanks for the consideration, and again how can I argue with logic like that?"
They did eventually find a movie they both agreed on, and spent the next few hours enjoying each other's company. Eventually, the movie ended and they turned off the lights and snuggled further into the bed and into each other.
Goodnight Addison. I love you.
Goodnight Zed. I love you too.
They shared one last long tender kiss goodnight before Zed snaked his arms around Addison's waist, pulling her close so he was spooning her. While Addison rested her head on his arm and reached her hands up to pull his loving hands even closer to her. Within a few minutes, each lulled by the sound of the other's heartbeats they drifted off to sleep with smiles gracing their faces.
The next day they got up bright and early, Addison set an alarm so that they could spend all day on the mountain, and because both thought it would be better if they woke themselves up rather than to give Addison's parents any need to walk in on them in the morning before they were awake. Dale gave them their passes and everything else they would need for the day. They went downstairs for a quick and healthy breakfast before returning to the room to change into their snow gear.
Addison led Zed to rent their skis and boots, and Zed, always the gentleman, insisted on carrying everything. They stowed their normal shoes in a locker and walked slowly outside. Zed was a bit wobbly even walking in the stiff boots, having done literally nothing like that before. Addison tried to make him hand over some stuff, but he insisted that he could handle it.
They eventually made it outside and after several minutes of Zed trying to attach his skis to his boots he finally got it and was ready to go, but Addison still spent nearly an hour trying to teach Zed everything on flat ground. It took Zed some time but soon he felt like he got the hang of it. His confidence high, Addison finally let them ski over to the lift and they took the ride up the first slope.
They of course didn't want to waste any space, pressing against each other and Zed's arm wrapped securely around her shoulder, his other glove firmly gripping the edge of the seat. Zed may have been slightly freaked out by the heights, he did not think the lift would be this high, and he almost jumped out of his skin the first time the lift had to pause for a few moments.
Addison could sense his nervousness, so she wordlessly leaned in closer, and gently rubbed up and down his arm to help him feel safe.
Zed shot her a grateful smile in return, and soon they were moving again.
Finally, after what felt like forever to Zed, they finally got off the lift at the top of a small mountain. Addison had chosen the one that only had bunny slopes for Zed to take his first run on.
"Do you remember what I taught you?"
"Yep. Keep my knees bent, try to keep my weight centered unless I want to turn, don't lift my legs, and keep my skis open in a triangle shape."
"OK I think you'll be good, but be careful. And its OK if you fall a bunch at first. Let's go!"
They both slowly shuffled down to the edge of the slop and soon they were off. Zed made it about 20 feet before falling over. Addison stopped a little further and waited for him, so Zed tried again and made it a bit further before he crossed his skis one over the other, making him fall on his butt again. On his next attempt, he made it about 100 feet before he leaned back too far and lost his balance again. Each time he got up laughing and told Addison not to worry. After a few more tumbles they finally made it to the bottom before heading back up again. Zed gradually got better and better and on his tenth run down he made it without falling once. Plus he also grew more comfortable on the ski lift, but still gladly took advantage of the opportunity to hold Addison close to him.
"Great job Zed! I can't believe you made it."
"Well, I do have a great teacher. You know though, I'm getting kind of hungry how about we find something to eat and then can we try the next level?"
"I suppose, but we're still going to take it slow OK."
"You got it."
They got something hot to eat from a building near the ski rentals and filled themselves up with some good food and delicious hot chocolate.
"Zed I know you said that zombies don't like the cold, are you doing OK?"
"Yeah I'm fine, I'm all bundled up so I'm OK, plus this is way more physically demanding than I thought it would be, I've been sweating under my coat all day. I'll probably need a really long, hot, shower tonight but I'll be totally fine. Really the only thing that really feels cold is my face, and that's just what's open to the wind."
"Good, I honestly forgot you told me that until I saw you rolling in the snow today."
"Don't worry I'm totally fine. Now let's go back out there. I'm ready for round two."
They rode up a different lift to the more moderate slopes, and they spent most of the afternoon the same as before. Zed spent lots of time falling into the snow, but gradually getting better and better, currently, his biggest challenge was making turns without running into anything or anybody or leaning too far and falling on his face. Addison was having plenty of fun too. She was far from a professional skier, so she had her share of spills as well, but mostly just tried to watch out for Zed and have fun. Her parents did fly by them at one point, but that was the only time they saw them all day.
Soon it was almost sunset and as they were riding up an announcement went out that it would be the final runs.
"Hey Addison, I have an idea."
"What is it?"
"Let's do a black diamond, then we can call it a night."
"I don't know Zed, I'm not sure you're ready."
"I'll be fine, on the last three runs I didn't fall once."
"Yes but Zed, the black diamond is exponentially more difficult."
"I'll be fine, and if I'm not you can say I told you so."
"What happened to listening to the teacher?"
"I think I'm ready. And nothing bad will happen, if anything I'll fall twenty times like when I started but I'll get up twenty times and keep going."
"Fine. Let's go, but for the record, I declare this is a bad idea."
"Noted, but everything's gonna be fine."
They skied to the edge and Zed shouted, "See you at the bottom!" before launching off.
Addison watched him in nervous anticipation, thankfully this slope wasn't too steep, it was mostly difficult for the three turns that had to be made. After a few seconds, Addison followed, always keeping Zed in her sights. They both made the first two turns with relative ease.
But then at the very end of this slope were two options. One was a gentle decline continuing down the mountain, the other was a large ramp made out of snow that ended about five feet in the air, designed for more experienced skiers and snowboarders.
Zed, obviously filled with adrenaline and excitement, chose the ramp over the decline he probably should have. He made it up without a problem, but when Addison, rolling her eyes at his antics went around the decline, she could see him coming in for a landing but miss timing it so that he lost his balance immediately and ended up rolling a dozen yards in the snow. Addison could see something silver fly off further down the mountain. But she was more worried about Zed, she slowed to a stop as she neared him and called out.
"Zed? Are you OK?"
Zed slowly picked himself up and it was hard to tell in the rapidly fading sunlight, but something wasn't quite right. Zed was groaning loudly, and he didn't have the slightly embarrassed but laughter-filled smile he had worn all day whenever he had picked himself up before.
Addison slowly moved closer until she could get a good look at his face, but her blood ran cold seeing that his eyes were darker, and he had a few dark veins from what she could see of his face. "Zed you idiot." She hissed to herself. "Zed can you hear me?" She asked sweetly.
"Addiska grr ag colggrr."
"Zed, is your Z-band on your wrist?"
Zed held up his arm, and while it was still completely covered by his coat, he felt along it with the other hand. "Zo."
"OK Zed, just stay calm." Addison broke eye contact for a moment to search the hillside for the Z-band. Unfortunately, the growing dusk and sparkling snow didn't make it easy, she tried to hurriedly scan every inch of the mountainside but…there! She saw a flash of red. Her eyes locked on her target before turning back to Zed. "Zed, look at me."
Zed didn't need to be told twice his eyes hadn't left her for a moment.
"Just stay right there OK. I'll be right back."
"Gra."
Addison carefully skied down the dozen or so yards and picked up the Z-band, it still looked like it was working fine, the clasp had just opened and it flew off. But then she realized that now Zed had quite a lot of elevation above her. Too much for her to easily ski back up.
She detached her skis and tried to hike up the mountain toward him, but it was still pretty slow going, her legs were noodles after their long day.
"Zed!" She called, "Can you come down here by me?"
"Gra." Zed said, Addison watched his movements, but while Zed had gradually picked up skiing skills throughout the day, Zombie Zed did not. He fell again every other step, and it took him quite a while each time to untangle his limbs and stand back up.
Unfortunately, two more skiers came flying by, but they swerved around both of them before continuing down. Zed let out a roar and tried to chase them, but he fell on his face again before taking more than three steps.
"Zed!" Addison shouted. "No, look at me."
As Zed picked himself up his eyes locked on hers again and Addison let out a breath of relief that he was still listening.
Addison was about ten feet away from Zed when one final skier came down and was able to slow enough to stop. "Hey!" He called out, "You two need some help?"
Zed turned towards him with a snarl, and Addison, using all the remaining strength in her legs sprinted up to Zed, grabbed his arm, and snapped the Z-band back on his wrist in one fluid motion.
"Oh no, we're good, just had a little trouble with the ramp." Addison tried to look calm, and out of the corner of her eye, she could see Zed's eyes returning to normal. Zed turned towards her looking slightly confused and still a bit out of breath. "We're totally fine."
"OK if you two are sure?"
"Definitely we'll head right on down."
The guy continued his way and Addison turned her attention to Zed. "Are you OK?"
"Yeah, I think so, what exactly just happened?"
"You were stupid, I told you you weren't ready. You fell and your Z-band was knocked off your wrist. So you went full-Zom and I had to keep you calm and find your Z-band in the snow and keep you from hurting anyone. And make sure no one was scared by you. Thankfully no one knows what a zombie looks like so you should be safe too. Not that you were safe. That was so dangerous and so stupid." Addison said to him, her voice hardening from worry to anger.
"OK Addison, I'm sorry, you were right, I won't do it again, I promise."
"I know you won't because you aren't leaving my sight when we do any more skiing the rest of the week, and you won't do anything without my permission. Understood." Addison was full-on glaring at him now.
"Crystal clear." Zed could tell the serious look in her eyes and knew now was not the time to argue.
"Let's go back we are definitely done for today. Addison marched back to her skis, and she and Zed carefully made it to the bottom of the mountain with no further mishaps. They returned their rented gear and walked back to the hotel."
Zed reached for Addison's hand but she ignored it, walking a bit faster to avoid him.
"Addison, what's wrong?"
"I'm still mad at you. You could have seriously hurt yourself or made someone hurt you. There's no Z-patrol here, who knows what people would have done if they thought you were too dangerous. Or what if I couldn't find your Z-band, or it broke completely? Or you could have broken your neck or anything. I don't even want to ever think about it."
"Addie I'm sorry."
"I know, but I'm still mad, just give me some space."
They made it back to the hotel room and Addison showered first. She was still so scared by what could have happened and it made her even angrier at Zed. When she finished and swapped places with Zed she didn't say anything, just went to their room and sat on top of the covers as he took his clothes to change into.
Zed did of course feel guilty, and he understood where Addison was coming from, he knew he deserved it, but he had no idea how to make it up to her, and that was what scared him the most, especially the silent treatment she seemed to be devoted to giving him.
Missy and Dale were pretty wiped out by their day too, so they decided to just order in a pizza from room service. Over dinner they asked Zed and Addison about their day, they could tell something was off, they talked about all the fun they had, but their smiles weren't meeting their eyes. For the first time ever, Zed's eyes constantly flashed over to try to meet Addison's but this seemed more out of nervousness and fear than the usual heartfelt glances. Strangest of all Addison wasn't looking at Zed at all, just staring down at her plate for most of the meal. Both knew something must have happened that they weren't sharing but they had no idea what it could possibly be.
After they ate, Dale turned on a football game, so Zed used that as an excuse to sit in their room while Addison returned to the second room, and just sat on the bed thinking everything over.
Missy started to get worried, this was the first time ever those two acted like they were avoiding each other. Missy walked into the other room and closed the door.
"Addison is there a problem between you and Zed?"
"Yes, while we had a lot of fun today, Zed did something really dumb and it scared me and now I'm mad at him and I don't want to say something I'll regret so I think its best if I don't say anything to him right now."
"Do you want my advice?"
"Maybe a little, I know we'll be OK because I know I'm only mad at him because I love him but right now I feel like anything I say risks making it worse."
"Well in my experience that's part of dating someone. Everyone acts stupid some of the time, especially when that person is someone you're dating and spending the majority of your time with? I hate to ask, but did it have something to do with sharing this room?"
"No Mom that was great, it wasn't related to that. Besides, Zed was a gentleman and stayed on the floor all night.
"I'm sure he did. I wasn't born yesterday you know. While this wasn't planned we wouldn't have given you two this opportunity if we didn't know what would and wouldn't happen. Plus you really think your father wouldn't check on you two in the middle of the night?"
"Oh OK," Addison said with a blush. "Zed tried to do a difficult thing skiing today even though I told him it was a bad idea, and he almost got hurt really bad, he's fine now but he still scared me, and all I could think about was how stupid he was to not listen to me. And what could have happened and getting angry was better than being scared."
"Well, I know you two will get through this, you both care way too much for this to be a long-term problem for you two. I encourage you to talk whenever you're ready. But if we need to change the sleeping arrangements for tonight just let us know."
"Thank you Mom." Addison said. "Goodnight."
"Goodnight."
Soon it got late and after the game finished. Zed nervously entered their room, and without a word, he grabbed a pillow and a blanket from the bed and laid them down on the floor.
"Zed what are you doing?"
"Addie, I'm sorry for not listening to you today and it won't happen again. I understand why you're mad because if anything bad happened to you, I would blame whoever's responsible too. And me being an idiot is all my fault no one else's. I assumed the last thing you would want is for me to sleep with you."
"No Zed come here. Addison said, patting the bed beside her, which Zed nervously followed. "You did scare me, and that made me angry, and it was easier to be angry than scared. But then I didn't want to risk hurting us by saying something rash. I'm sorry, but as long as you do everything I say the rest of the time we're here and stay safe, I know we'll be alright."
"You don't need to apologize for anything. I'm sorry from the bottom of my heart for scaring you."
"Thank you, I accept your apology. But remember, I will never be scared of you. I was terrified of what could have happened to you."
"I know. And while the memories are a bit fuzzy, my zombie knows that too."
"Good, as long as you're always my zombie."
"Never have any doubt about that."
"So are you still gonna spend the night on the floor, and waste our limited time together?"
"Absolutely not." Zed said, hopping up on the bed with enthusiasm. They pulled the blankets around themselves and curled up together the same as last night.
"So out of curiosity, what exactly do you remember from when you were full-zom?"
"Mostly that I was cold, it was dark, you were there, I think some guys were coming at us pretty fast and I didn't like that so I wanted to protect you. Zed thought back for a moment. Let me guess I fell on my face every other step?"
"Yeah, Zombie Zed is nowhere near as graceful as you are." Addison let out a giggle.
"Why are you interested in my darker side?"
"Because I know you Zed, and I want to know all of you. The good and the bad. I know you still aren't completely comfortable with yourself, just like I am. But when you do have a situation where he shows up, I think you should learn from it, so that you don't have to be as scared the next time. You should always be proud of who you are. Do you know who taught me that?"
"I did. Thank you Addison." Zed said, revealing a small smile.
"You're welcome. By the way, Mom basically said point blank that they knew we would end up like this if we had our own room, and my dad will probably check on us in the middle of the night. But they're really OK with it, for this week."
"I honestly don't know if that's a positive or a negative, but I won't complain. And seriously are you sure we aren't in an alternate universe?"
Addison giggled, "Maybe, but it's better this way, we can keep each other nice and toasty to recover from the ice and snow."
All I can say is that it's officially Christmas, and I'm officially yours. All night, as long as you'll have me.
Always. Goodnight Zed. Addison laughed and sealed it with a kiss.
Goodnight Addison. Zed returned and stole one more quick kiss. Soon they were both fast asleep.
Missy later checked in on them after they were out and smiled to herself that they seemed to have made up if their wrapped-up position was anything to go by.