AN: This chapter is rated slight M.
The next morning, Zed woke up first, he opened his eyes and smiled seeing Addison resting with her head on the pillow right next to him, his arm was draped over her back, so there was barely any space between them beneath their blankets, which was exactly how Zed liked it.
Zed glanced down, Addison had her hand resting on his chest directly over his heart, and he smiled even brighter seeing the glint of the ring on her finger. He never doubted for a second that she would ever say no to him, but he was still surprised in himself that he had finally done it, and he couldn't be happier. He laughed at the memory, last night Addison had promised she would never take the ring off because it would forever be a constant reminder that they would be together forever.
As Zed grew more awake, he reached out instinctively to Addison's mind and was surprised when his head was filled with a montage of all of Addison's favorite memories of the two of them together. It was actually pretty similar to what Zed had done yesterday, and… Zed thought back for a moment. He was pretty sure he had been having pretty similar dreams before he woke up, did that mean they shared their dreams too even when they were sleeping?
Zed wondered if they would be able to talk to one another in their dreams. Or maybe even they could figure out how to control their dreams and then they really could do anything together. That would be awesome.
Zed focused back in on Addison's dreams when he heard himself say. Will you make today our someday? Will you marry me? And Addison's enthusiastic YES! Shouted in his head. Zed chuckled a little seeing the real Addison's still-sleeping face break into a small smile. She was just so adorable, he could watch and listen to her all day, just like this and he would never want anything more.
But eventually, Addison's dreams faded for a few minutes and she gradually woke up too. She opened her eyes and smiled up at Zed. "Hey there handsome, what are you thinking about?"
"You mean you don't know?" Zed joked and leaned closer to give her a good morning kiss.
"Oh I do, I could get used to waking up to a constant alarm call of OMZ she's so cute, she's so adorable, she's so beautiful, and I love yous." Addison laughed at him.
"Guilty." Zed smiled.
Addison smiled even brighter when she noticed her hand. "And yesterday wasn't just a dream. We're really engaged."
"It's true, but yesterday was a dream, a dream come true."
"I couldn't agree more Zed. Thank you again, for making my life amazing."
"I could say the same, right from the start you caught my eye, and something inside me came to life." Zed sang.
"Ooh I've got a feeling, now you really know me." Addison sang back. "But related to that…"
"Addison, I know what you're thinking, and I know I could never hurt you, but I don't want to hurt anyone else, and what will everyone say when we get back home?"
"What happened to letting them talk if they wanna, we're gonna do what we wanna? I want you to be safe, and happy. Zed, please can we at least try? And if it doesn't work, I promise I'll never ask you again." Addison looked deep into his eyes and at the same time tried to send all her love, confidence, and feelings of safety whenever she was with him.
"OK," Zed sighed, "for you, I will do anything. We can try it."
"Thank you so much, Zed." Addison hugged him tightly and kissed his cheek. "All I want is for you to be safe, and I really think you finally can be everything you were always supposed to be. Just like how I'm getting more and more me every day."
"I know. So, should we get ready for the day, grab breakfast, and then talk to A-Spen and the others?"
"Sounds like a plan, Handsome."
So that's what they did, about an hour later, they once again found A-Spen, A-Li, and A-Lan working in the command bridge.
"Oh good morning you two. I'm assuming you had a good night's rest after your party concluded?" A-Spen asked them.
"Yeah, last night was great, thank you so much again for everything you guys did to help Zed and I celebrate."
"It was our pleasure, we could all feel your happiness was so high, we would have been foolish to not join in to the best of our ability," A-Spen said.
"Yeah, so there's something else we want your help with…" Addison started.
"Certainly, what do you need?" A-Lan asked.
"You guys aren't too busy or anything? We don't want to trouble you." Zed asked, carefully, but Addison shot him a look and told him, You're not getting out of this, Buster.
"No, we are simply once again trying to decode the coordinates. Mothership will be working for the next few hours to see if she can crack it. So we are free to assist you." A-Lan answered.
"Alright then, so since two days ago when I started reading Addison's mind too, which has been amazing. I've also noticed that some of my powers seemed to be stronger. Like I can hear Addison's heartbeat constantly, and before I had to be full zom to do that. Also, I can hear all the aliens' heartbeats now too, plus I think my hearing and sense of smell are stronger in general, everything has been a bit more intense the last few days."
"Sorry, I am not following. What do you need our help with?" A-Spen asked with a confused smile.
"Well, Addison is thinking that maybe our connection has done something to my zombie powers, and if it has, then maybe I no longer need my Z-band to stay in control of myself."
"So do you think that's possible?" Addison asked, Zed could sense all the hope she had riding on the aliens' answer.
The three aliens shared a look, and Addison could catch snippets of their conversation, even though she wasn't directly connected to them at the moment.
A-Lan reported their conversation after a minute or so, "It's possible Addison may be right, but we know very little about how zombie biology works, much less with a soulmate connection. Right now your guess is as good as ours. But if it's testing you need help with, we will be happy to assist."
"Great!" Addison smiled brightly.
"Yeah, great," Zed said, with much less enthusiasm.
Addison turned her attention to Zed. "Zed, I know everything's gonna be fine. You know and I know you are not a monster. You'll never hurt anyone, least of all me."
"OK. I know but…" Zed's thoughts started racing. Addie, I'm scared. Using my zombie side for football or to fight for you is one thing, I'll do that without question to protect you, and it's only partially for football anyway. But I don't want to be the monster that attacked the wolves when I was angry. Even if this works, and I get angry or lose control at some point, what's going to stop me? The aliens don't have any Z-Patrol tech that can stop me. And if you can't get to wherever my Z-band ends up what if…
Addison answered him and also thought about herself running to him at the homecoming game, and watching him lift the wall so they could save the Moonstone. It's just like always, you protect me, and I protect you. We love and trust each other too much to ever let anything bad happen, it might take some learning, but Zed, I believe in you, you're exceptional, and I know you can do this.
I can do this.
You can do this.
I can do this.
You can do this. Addison smiled at him.
"OK let's do this." Zed squeezed her hand and smiled, "cause I'm a zombie, not a zom-can't be."
After some more discussion with the aliens and coming up with a plan, all of them went back to the same room Addison had been training her powers in.
"So, Zed, how would you like to begin?" A-Lan asked.
"Well, can you guys hack my Z-band so I can take it off? Otherwise, I could just bang it against the wall until the clasp breaks open, but I'd prefer to take a less risky approach."
"Certainly." A-Lan pulled out his Luma Lens and held it close to Zed's wrist for a moment and pressed a few buttons. "Operation complete," A-Lan reported and moments later, Zed's Z-band flashed OFFLINE, and then the clasp released.
Zed studied his arm closely for a moment, the soothing dose of electromagnetic pulses that were so familiar to him he hardly even noticed them anymore was indeed gone. He could tell that much, but he didn't feel the rush of anger and fear that he would expect from being without a Z-band.
"OK, so far so good." Zed slowly removed the Z-band from his wrist, tensed to feel the rush of strength and intense emotions he normally felt on the football field, but still, nothing happened, so he placed the Z-band in the pocket of his jeans.
"Zed? How do you feel?" A-Li asked.
Zed shrugged his shoulders, "I feel fine, I guess."
"See, I told you it would work." Addison beamed and Zed could feel her own happiness rising through the roof, which in turn was making him impossibly happy too.
"Yeah, I really do feel fine, no monster zombie anger or hunger." Zed smiled. "I'm just me. Addie, you were right." Zed stepped closer to pull her into a hug. "Thank you for believing in me."
"Of course I did. If you ever think I don't you have another thing coming, Buster."
"I know, I know nothing is more deadly than your low kick." Zed teased her happily. "But there aren't any humans here besides you so who really knows if it works or not? Cause I don't feel any hunger towards the aliens at least."
"Zed, if you don't mind, could you explain how your zombie hunger works, and why it might be different since we're aliens?" A-Spen asked.
"Sure thing, so just like you guys have powers, we zombies have our own powers too, usually the Z-bands keep them tamped down and we're more like humans. But our powers include better senses of smell and hearing, and in particular, we can sense other people's heartbeats, and that's kind of the main driver of our hunger."
"So see without Z-bands, zombies don't really have higher reasoning, we run purely on instinct. Unfortunately one of our strongest instincts is the search for food and the main way we found it was by hearing. To a rogue zombie, the sound of human heartbeats is basically irresistible, because we need a high source of calories to survive. While zombies are known for the zombie tilt, that's because our brains have no inhibitions. Our only instinct is to go as hard as possible the entire time. Because of that anytime we move we use every last ounce of our strength and speed, and we are so strong that our muscles can create microfractures on our bones, so that eventually, even with our enhanced zombie healing and pain tolerance, we're forced to shuffle along because our bodies can barely hold together after so long."
"But anyway, the main thing is that human heartbeats sound like dinner time to us, except when I'm with Addison. Her heartbeat keeps me calm and in control, like nothing else can, as long as I can hear her nearby when I'm full zom, I can focus enough to not hurt anyone, well to be driven by hunger at least. And thanks to Eliza hacking my Z-band so I only go about halfway, I can access some of my full-zom strength to play football but still stay in control."
"Interesting, and our heartbeats don't elicit this reaction in you?"
Zed stopped and listened for a minute. "Honestly no, I feel no hunger right now. Of course that could just be because Addison's here but also your heartbeats sound kind of weird. No offense"
"Really?" Addison looked up at him, "Weird how? And does my heartbeat sound different?"
"No, your heart is music to my ears just like always," Zed promised her. "How do I explain this? Um…human heartbeats are like. Ba dum, ba dum, ba dum, ba dum. And something about them just flips a switch in us, zombies. Werewolves are a bit different, like I instinctively know I should be wary of them, but there's still a pull there too. Their heartbeats are usually deeper and stronger, like ba boom, ba boom, ba boom. Zombie's hearts are of course slower, and we know instinctively that other zombies are friends and not food. Usually, zombie's hearts sound like ba…dum…ba…dum…ba…dum."
"Now you aliens though, seriously this is different. For one I can tell all your hearts are in perfect sync too, and it's like doo, doo, doo, doo, doo. It's not bad or anything, just different."
"Interesting, and yes, all our technology is designed to keep us in perfect health, and with our group thinking keeping us at a constant emotionally neutral level, our heart rates do tend to sync up whenever we are in a group. While you two have very different biology, I wouldn't be surprised if you could do so as well." A-Lan said.
"That's interesting, at least. But all I care about is that Zed is fine without his Z-band!" Addison cheered. "But since we know your senses are stronger, I know you want to see if your zombie strength is still here."
"You know me so well." Zed smiled at her. But don't think I don't know what you're thinking, you like watching me working out, especially when I go a little zom.
Addison smiled coyly at him. So won't you do it? For me?
For you I'll do anything, and who knows, maybe I'll finally take back my record from A-Lan. Zed joked silently and gave her a wink.
"Yeah, A-Lan set me up with your max. I want to try this."
"Are you sure Zed? While you have impressed me, I highly doubt you can beat me, since I am so very good at winning, especially at weightlifting."
"Well, I have a fiancée to impress," and he felt a tingle of happiness travel up his spine when Addison heard his words, which made him even more determined to impress her.
"If you say so."
Zed stepped up to the platform and watched as a wall of energy surrounded him with A-Lan standing just behind him. Over the past month, Zed and A-Lan had worked together to make the machine more like Earth workout gear.
Basically, the machine created a solid, hologram of a barbell that Zed could sling across his shoulders or hold in his hands however he wanted and then the machine would increase gravity until it felt like whatever weight Zed set it to and then he would perform the exercises just like he normally would.
Zed grabbed the bar out of the air and set it across his shoulders. "Ready A-Lan."
"OK, I will slowly increase the gravity after we pass your current max. But don't you need to warm up first like normal?"
"If my zombie powers are fully activated, I'll be fine. Let's do this."
Zed could feel the bar's weight gradually increasing more and more. He tightened his grip and tensed the muscles in his legs and back focused on staying strong and steady. He could tell when he passed his normal max though, and holding that position started getting more and more difficult, but he kept his focus on his goal, and hearing all the encouraging cheers Addison was silently sending him from a few feet away.
"And this is my current max," A-Lan reported after another minute. "Are you doing ok Zed?"
"Oh yeah, I'm fine," Zed grunted, he was still standing, but it was difficult. I can do this. Zed slowly started to relax his legs to start squatting down, but after a few seconds his muscles collapsed and he fell to the ground. Thankfully the machine had plenty of safety features so it couldn't crush him completely.
"Are you OK Zed?" Addison called out.
"Yeah, I'm good." Zed closed his eyes and drew himself in, searching for that spark of power he felt whenever he used a zomboost on the football field, normally all it took was a swipe of his Z-band, but now he sought it out, and at the same time, he slowly used all his strength to rise up against the bar, it was slow at first, only an inch at a time. Come on, I know I can do this. Who's the zombie? I'm the zombie, and this zombie's going to pump some iron.
I know you can do this Zed.
Finally, something seemed to click within him, and he felt a new rush of energy like a surge of adrenaline. His senses were still strong, but they became even stronger, Addison's beautiful heart singing even louder in his head. In fact, he could hear his own heartbeat starting to speed up until it matched in perfect rhythm with her own. He could feel his grip grow stronger, and in a vision in his head, he could suddenly see himself, including the black veins that were crawling up his arms, face, and neck.
"Roar!" Zed roared loudly and at once his legs extended, filled with newfound power until he was standing upright once more. He could hear his breathing was heavier, but he felt no fear or anger, or hunger, only happiness, and excitement, both coming from within himself and beaming out from Addison.
He quickly squatted up and down again, and again in quick succession until he knocked out 10 reps in a row.
Boy you look delicious. He could hear Addison thinking appreciatively.
"Alright, take it off A-Lan," Zed growled out, his voice deeper than usual.
A-Lan obliged and the weight on Zed's back quickly disappeared, and the energy field surrounding them disappeared too.
Addison ran up to him. "Zed do you feel ok?"
Zed glanced down at himself, his arms were still covered in dark veins, but he still felt like just the same old Zed. "I'm me." He growled, his voice still deep, "so did you like that Addizka? "
"Oh yeah," Addison said. You're my zombie, all of you. I very much enjoyed it. I'll show you how much, later. Addison promised him silently. "But how are you doing this? You look…amazing and you're still you."
"I have no idea. I think just like you I've unlocked the best of both worlds. Just like that one movie, the brains, and the brawn." Zed grinned. "Or more importantly, the heart."
"I love you so much." Addison finally couldn't hold herself back from hugging him, and maybe not so secretly running her hands all over his still-taught muscles.
"I love you too," Zed growled. And I can tell you really enjoyed yourself.
When you look like that, I'm happily guilty. But, while I love you, can you go back to being your lovable handsome self? Just to see if you can, Handsome."
"Um." Zed focused inward for a minute, he could the extra energy coursing through his body, and his emotions were higher, mostly feeding off Addison's happiness, excitement, and attraction to him that was coming off of her in waves. But he just relaxed into the feelings and then he felt the extra energy leave him, just like when he reactivated his Z-band after football games and the dark veins sank back into his gray skin until they disappeared. Although he didn't feel anywhere near as fatigued as usual, there was a lot of difference between one amazing set of squats and an entire football game.
"I'm me again."
"And I love you." Addison declared and hugged him even tighter.
"So Zed, did that follow what normally happens when you go full zom as you put it?" A-Lan asked him.
"Well, mostly but I'm somehow in control without needing a Z-band which is cool. And usually, I'm completely exhausted after playing a game at full zom, but while that was impressive, I don't think it compares to a whole game. Plus Addison is just as distracting to me as always."
"Do you feel especially overprotective of me like usual too?"
"No, I know logically that I can trust all of you guys and that both of us are safe, so that's good. I know now that there's nothing I need to worry about. But let's play it safe and not try to bring that part of me out, 'cause I know I will always protect you no matter what."
"I know, just like I will always keep you safe too. And Zed, I know you always talk about your zom side like another half of your brain, but I only feel you. I know you are in total control. And I also know that you will never hurt anyone."
"Thank you, Addie, for giving me this gift, but I guess we could see what else I can do. Let's have some fun with this."
"You got it Zed. Just tell us how we can be of assistance." A-Spen smiled at them.
So that's what they did. They spent the next few hours trying out different aspects of Zed's powers, from more strength tests to races to test his agility, flexibility, and all of his senses, it really seemed like Zed had all the powers of a rogue zombie, but the entire time, he was still just himself. Zed tested everything he could think of, other than his pain tolerance and zombie healing abilities, but everything else seemed to be more than fine. Zed felt great the entire time, and even though his breathing sounded a little rough, and his voice was deeper when he called on his powers, he still felt the greatest he ever had."
It was only once they stopped for the day that Zed realized that he still felt exhausted after using his powers for a long time, and he was also absolutely starving. He was so tired and so hungry that Addison had to use her powers to float him down to the cafeteria where he absolutely demolished several bowls of froyo.
When they finally made it to their room Zed just collapsed on their bed and waited for Addison to cuddle up and join him.
Addison sat down on the bed and let him snake his arms around her. "Still tired Zed?"
"Yeah, I feel like I just played a football game. All I want to do right now is sleep." Zed's eyes were already half closed, but, he could still hear Addison's mind turning beside him.
Oh really? Is sleep all you want to do?
Zed opened his eyes again to meet Addison's eyes filled with a dark, lustful look. Just what are you thinking about Beautiful?
"What I said earlier, you've given me quite the show today." Addison reached over and placed her hand over Zed's heart. "I know you've heard all my thoughts but I really want to show you just what I was thinking about all day. I'm so proud of you Zed, but also…you are the sexiest guy in the entire universe." Addison pulled herself closer to him, so her lips were just an inch away from his. "I just want to return the favor, but if you want to sleep…"
"Oh no, sleep is out of the question, but are you sure? Cause I know I'm crazy about you, and with no Z-band…you know what Z-band checks are like whenever you come with."
Addison whispered in his ear. "And every time, I know I'm safe with you. And again, just in case I've kept this secret better than I thought. I love full zom Zed, you're always sexy, but seeing all your muscles at full strength gets me fired up like nothing else. So what do you say?"
"I say, how can I ever tell you no? And you know what? I think I'm catching my second wind, but if I fall asleep on you it's my fault."
"Well, if this is what it takes to keep you awake, challenge accepted. You're not getting away from me now." Addison grinned devilishly at him.
"Are you sure about that? You're the one about to make out with a tired, but still quite hungry zombie." Zed warned her playfully.
"And you are about to make out with an alien who knows your every thought and feeling. You can't scare me away, just like I know I can't scare you away. But enough talking." Addison closed the distance between them and pressed her lips to his hungrily. I only want you.
I only want you too. Zed thought back, and he pulled her even closer. Their limbs seemed to tangle together as both hungrily reached out to hold each other close and brush their hands over everywhere they could reach. Addison was quick to feel all the toned muscles of Zed's back. While Zed's hands were reaching out to run his hands lightly over her waist.
And just like before everywhere they touched, sending sparks of happiness and pleasure through them. Addison could feel phantoms of her own hands running over her own arms, and at the same time, Zed could feel his own touch along his sides. All this did was to get them more and more lost in each other, only breaking contact with the other's lips to breathe when necessary, before joining together once again.
Addison's hands eventually moved beneath Zed's shirt to feel all the taught muscles from his abs to his chest, and the contact she made their sent even more sparks of ecstasy letting loose through both of them.
Oh my Z Addison! Zed shouted silently in his head since his lips were still very much occupied. I love you so much.
I love you too Zed. Addison thought back at him. As her hands continued to roam over him, he could hear all of her thoughts swirling around her head. OMZ I wish you would take your shirt off.
Without a second thought, Zed pulled from Addison's lips for a few seconds to pull his t-shirt up and over his head. He then bent down to rejoin Addison once again. Happy now gorgeous?
Yeah, but Zed, I didn't mean for you to hear that! Zed could feel her embarrassment, even though she was quickly getting lost in his kisses once again.
As long as you're happy.
And seeing my sexy fiancé will always make me happy. Addison then pulled away too for a few seconds and with a smile, reached back to unzip her top.
"Wait, are you?" Zed asked in shock.
"Do you want me to?"
"Absolutely, but only if you want to."
"I want to share everything with you Zed." Addison shrugged off her top and threw it to the floor. She looked up at Zed again and smiled, seeing his eyes the size of saucers. She smiled at him, his mouth was silent but she could hear his thoughts loud and clear.
Girl you look delicious, oh I mean gorgeous. Addie…sexy, and Addison could see a vision of her in Zed's mind, and feel how he was already even more entranced seeing her in her baby blue bra.
Zed swallowed loudly, "ok, and any boundaries?"
"I belong with you Zed. How about we keep it above the belt? Is that good with you?"
"Yes, that is good with me, and you know our safe word?"
"Yes, of course I do, just like always. I trust you Zed."
"I know."
Addison pulled herself close to him once more to lock lips, and her hands started trailing all over his muscular back and shoulders as she did so. And as the same time Zed held her tightly around the waist, and as they continued making out, his hands slowly started traveling farther and farther up her stomach.
Until he paused right below her breasts, and while they were still making out intensely, Zed opened his eyes, and Addison opened hers. May I…?
Yes you can. Addison told him.
Zed slowly moved his hands up further and cupped each of her breasts in his hands, and then gave them a gentle squeeze.
That simple move made Addison melt on the inside and then she was kissing Zed even more intensely and driven completely by instinct. She opened her mouth and moaned into his lips, and she heard a low growl pass his and then their tongues started dancing together.
Nothing could stop them now, their passion for each other was now a frenzy. Zed kept gently massaging her chest and every squeeze felt like lightning traveling through her. Her hands kept traveling too and everywhere she could reach, she could feel how much Zed was being turned on both from her own touches and him touching her, and feeling his feelings was doing the exact same thing to her own body.
I want you!
I want you!
They were so connected, Addison could barely tell which thoughts and feelings were hers and which were Zed's. They were in perfect sync and completely surrounded, physically, mentally, and emotionally by each other.
Addison opened her eyes at one point and was momentarily surprised, Zed's eyes were dark, as were the veins crawling across his face, arms and chest. She was so surprised that Zed even stopped kissing her for a moment.
He opened his eyes, and just stared at her, and then glanced down at himself in shock. "Addie I'm sorr-" Zed growled.
No! Addison thought and launched herself back at his lips before he could finish that sentence. As she kept kissing him with as much heat and passion as she could muster she was telling him. I am not scared of you, I love you more than anything, and seeing you like that is the hottest thing ever. So don't you dare apologize and keep showing me how much you love me.
Zed thankfully after a moment's hesitation seemed to accept her words and sunk back into her. I know. I love you too. Addiska. I also know you like my zombie side don't you. Zed growled loudly and Addison responded by moaning into her kisses. Both sounds sent shivers through both of them and nothing could stop them now.
Addison could feel the change in Zed now. She could feel the extra strength he had flowing through his muscles, but his every touch against her skin was just as gentle and love-filled as before, and his thoughts felt even more intense, and there were moments he even slipped into zombietongue phrases, but Addison always knew she was safe, loved, and perfectly understood.
They lost all track of time, instead being completely lost in each other, but finally, with one last searing kiss shared between them, they both relaxed and fell side by side onto the mattress beneath them. Addison felt breathless and watched as Zed's dark veins slowly disappeared back into his gray skin once more.
Gar Gar Gaza.
Gar Gar Gaza. Zed thought back at her with a smile on his face.
That felt amazing.
Yes, it did.
Zed…I know we've talked about it before, but next time…I think I'm ready for us to take things to the next level.
"Wait, say that again, and verbally?" Zed spoke in shock. "I just want to make sure you really mean that."
"Of course I do, I love you, and we're obviously going to be together forever. There is no one I will ever want besides you. How do you feel about that?"
"I want that too. Honestly during that whole thing, which was amazing, once I started I don't know if you could tell, but I was holding myself back to not go too far."
"I know, and I love you for it, but I'm serious, and I felt everything you were feeling, and I want it too, just like I know you do."
"OK, next time when we get the chance and we both agree we're ready. We can do it. And by now that's probably the only way we can possibly get any closer." Zed grinned at her.
"I know, I know I'm ready."
"And I'm ready for it too."
"Can we make it special though?"
"It will be special as long as I'm with you. I don't need a fancy production." Addison smiled, "but whatever you don't ask the aliens for help. I love them, but I don't want to explain that part of Earth relationships to them."
"OK, I promise, this will only ever be something between you and me. And yeah, I do not want to have that conversation either. It was bad enough with Pops the first time we got caught having a sleepover." Zed joked.
"Yeah." Addison laughed at Zed's embarrassed memories. "I love you Zed."
"I love you too."
They both just leaned closer into each other and quickly fell into a peaceful sleep with their dreams unknowingly tangling together as they relived today.