It was a strange affair being back at the old resort house, Zelo reflected quietly to himself as he lay back on the clay tiles of the roof a week after they had initially arrived, because everything was almost exactly as he remembered it. Sure, there were a few extra wild animals and some rather unpleasant dead things that had to be chased out of the basement else they be eaten in their sleep but overall, everything was the same. It was nice to be able to relax and just pretend that the complications of the world did not apply here. In a way, they didn’t because very few walkers managed to stumble this way down and there were plenty of supplies to keep them going for the better part of a year, without having to worry about running low.

Zelo smiled to himself, it was good to know that he would not have to worry about his brothers being able to survive once he was...well...gone seemed to be the most appropriate word because it wasn’t like he was really going to die. There would be millions of pieces of himself all over the world so that wasn’t really death in itself, it was giving life to other people and that was a far more pleasing way of saying that. Lightly he hummed staring up at the stars in the clear sky above him and began to idly wonder if Minho had found his place to keep his brothers in.

More than likely, Minho was already leading them to that place without much conscious thought, just like he had been all of this time. It gave him a headache to think about the complicated stuff that had been drilled practically into his head so he pretended not to know as it just made life a little easier. The only thing that he had to worry about now was to give each of his brothers enough good memories to keep going, something to make them smile and not give into the clawing darkness that would inevitably try to constantly swallow them up after it was all over.

It would have been easier if there was still the luxury of stores or a constant power supply but Zelo smiled to himself, those sorts of dreams belonged to age old times that would take years to rebuild. Though at least all of his brothers would get a chance to see the world rebuilt and maybe even they could have a hand in making sure that something like this never happened again. That would be a good dream to rest with, Zelo thought as he extended his hand up to the stars once again in a vain attempt to try and catch them.

Time was beginning to run short, but he had just enough to make sure his brothers were happy and he’d start tomorrow with a bright smile because that’s what they all needed right now. “Hoi, Zelo kitty,” Youngjae’s voice came from the hatchway which lead up onto the roof, “Come down from there before you fall and break your neck, suppers up.”

Giggling a little at the old nickname, Zelo hurried back into the hatchway as safely as he could and hugged Youngjae once he was back on the landing. If Youngjae was perturbed by the action he showed no signs of it as he quickly laced his arms back around the youngster to hug him back and then promptly drag him downstairs for the delicious smelling food coming from the kitchen. Not that Zelo needed much dragging of course but it was fun to just continue to pretend that for once in their lives, everything was perfectly fine.

The family of six went to bed that night with full bellies as Jongup had managed to haul in a huge net of fresh water carp and Daehyun had returned from one of the other houses with a selection of sauces and even some vacuum-packed cream which had allowed him to make a hearty fish stew. There were even a couple of bottles of wine which was shared around, Zelo being allowed to drink a small section even though he completely despised the taste of it but it all added to the memories and that was what was more important.

The sunlight streamed through the windows the next morning, waking Zelo up with a slight start as he couldn’t remember going to bed in the slightest before he groaned aloud and attempted to reach across to the window with his freakishly long arm to pull the curtain closed. Only to smack Jongup firmly around the back of the head which caused the elder to let out a slight shout and then groan, “Zelo! What was that for?”

“Hyung?” Zelo blinked, his half-asleep brain still not quite able to process all that was going on around him, “What are you...”

“Oh god, don’t talk so loud,” Jongup complained, batting Zelo’s hand which was still in the sort of process of trying to reach the curtain to pull it closed. “Bloody hangovers, I forgot how terrible they can be.”

“Hyung, what are you doing in my bed?” Zelo asked, blinking, after blearily scanning around the room to make sure that he was actually in his bedroom and not Jongup’s, though really when the two rooms were compared it was hard to tell the difference. Except for a badly drawn series of Pokémon on Jongup’s bedside wall from when he had been obsessed but not allowed to purchase the stickers so had taken a bunch of sharpies to his wall much to their mother’s horror which later became a source of amusement and embarrassment because Jongup had never been allowed to remove or paint over his childish drawings in the slightest.

Jongup sighed, rubbing at his eyes, “Because you become a great big clingy monster when you’ve had a drink and you decided that I was to be your teddy bear last night so I was kinda stuck here.”

Zelo blinked and looked completely lost which made Jongup chuckle, “Oh you lucky little b*****! Typical of you not to have a hangover or any memories of what happened.”

“Is that a bad thing?” Zelo asked, blinking once again and looking every last bit like a little lost child which just made Jongup want to pinch his cheeks and coo at him. Which he did because hell, opportunities like that did not come up very often and he’d take them whenever he could.

“No, well the no hangover is a good thing for you because they’re bloody horrible,” Jongup grinned back, “But the fact you don’t remember anything gives me plenty to tease you with.”

Immediately Zelo pouted towards Jongup, “Aww, no teasing.”

“I’ll tease you as much as I want, Jello!” Jongup giggled before suddenly groaning and twisting slightly to the side, “Though...oh god, not right now.” Suddenly the blond haired man paled and let out a guttural sound from his throat that sent a spike of panic through Zelo which had the youngest off the bed and running hell for leather down the stairs in desperate search of anyone with a panicked yell.

Himchan was naturally the first to respond, having fallen asleep in the living room which was very convenient for him as it meant he had an easier access to the kitchen to brew some really strong coffee after waking up with a mouth that felt like he had been eating mothballs and some dubious stains down the front of his trousers. He could only mentally pray that he had not done something completely stupid and embarrassing in front of his brothers or if he had then that they had all had more than enough to completely wipe their memories of the night before.

He was glad that there was some proper coffee in the pantry, so he could mix it up good and thick before attempting to make it up the stairs to get washed even though such a commodity was a high luxury. But he could always just heat up some water and fill the bath tub instead of using the shower cause that would be a sensible option.

So, to have their tall little brother come clattering down the stairs, yelling in a panicked babble and looking as pale as a ghost was not exactly the most endearing option right at this moment in time but he pushed aside his complaints right now because if Zelo was upset about something then it was pretty certain that something was not as it was supposed to be.

“What’s wrong?” Himchan asked, setting his coffee down and wishing the world would stop swaying for a second when movement became a bit too much.

“I don’t know!” Zelo panicked, hurrying to Himchan to make a grab for his arm, “Jongup just started making gargling noises and he’s gone all pale and...” panic made Zelo’s eyes tear up, “I don’t want to lose him!”

It took far longer than it should have for the words to process into Himchan’s mind and when they did he was as sober as a judge within two seconds flat. Making a grab for a medical first aid kit that didn’t have what he needed in it but it was best to take whatever he could, Himchan tore towards the stairs at a frightening speed, “Where is he?”

“My room!” Zelo called as he hurried to catch up but once Himchan was running there was next to no one who could catch him in the slightest.

Himchan reached the youngsters bedroom in less than thirty seconds and paused at the door only long enough to check, with a heavy heart beat, that there was a gun on the counter just in case. Not even one of them wanted to be faced with the notion that they would have to kill one of their own should they become infected and turn into a walker, but it was a reality that they all agreed had to be done. They couldn’t compromise their safety with Zelo around, but it didn’t mean that they had to be happy about it.

Pushing open the door, Himchan mentally prepared himself for the worse and instinctively threw out his arm to stop Zelo from coming any closer only for the next second to let out a startled sound which quickly turned into a laugh. It was quickly accompanied by the sounds of Jongup throwing up into a bin and Himchan couldn’t stop laughing as he made his way towards his younger brother with a huge grin plastered on his face, “Oh boy, I’m not letting you drink alcohol again.”

“Agreed,” Jongup managed to stammer out before throwing up once again, coughing violently once he was finished and then groaning, “Why did you come running up the stairs like a madman?”

“Zelo thought you were turning,” Himchan giggled, gently combing some of Jongup’s hair out of his face, “I forgot he’s never seen the effects of a hangover.”

“Big brat doesn’t even have one himself,” Jongup complained before starting to throw up once again and closing his eyes.

Chuckling, Himchan looked up at the still worried looking youngster by the door and grinned happily, “He’s fine. This is a hangover from the wine last night, technically you should be the same.”

Zelo blinked innocently, “He’s not turning?”

“Hell no, or if he did he’d be the only zombie with a hangover,” Himchan chuckled brightly, “You best go and fetch a towel and some cold water in a bowl as well as a glass, Zelo, Jongup is not going to be out playing today at all.”

“I’m not five!” Jongup complained, even though he was leaning against Himchan like a child and groaning, “I can go out and...”

“Yeah,” Himchan said, moving back just in time to avoid getting splattered and shooing Zelo away from himself, “Keep telling yourself that kiddo.”

Once he was along the corridor, Zelo paused to glance back over his shoulder and smiled, there were two good memories created and that made him feel good. He was quick to get the items requested and helped Jongup back into bed, not really minding the fact that it was his own, before heading back downstairs to attempt to make breakfast.

Or as Himchan shouted at him later, trying to burn the house down when he accidentally set fire to the frying pan.

There were some things that Zelo really shouldn’t attempt and cooking was definitely one of them.