There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 569 - 563. A Moment of Peace

Chapter 569: Chapter 563. A Moment of Peace

"Should we sleep here tonight?" Bassena asked abruptly, looking at the black veil above him in disappointment. It would be perfect if they could see the night sky. Winter was perfect for stargazing.

Zein looked back at the esper with an arched brow. "You mean...in the open?"

"If you want," Bassena shrugged and took a seat on the hard ground, leaning his back against the boulder where the dungeon gate was before they destroyed it.

There had never been a need to spend the night in the open since they had a perfectly good compressed camp and perfectly sinister-looking scenery surrounding them. But this time, the scenery was considerably nice, and the air was clean from the purification of two shards.

Looking at the nonchalant answer that somehow felt like a challenge, Zein raised his brow even more. But he smirked in the next second and got up, before plopping down between Bassena’s legs, leaning against the esper’s sturdy chest. It was a rather awkward position since Zein was eighty-five percent of Bassena’s size, but their bodies adjusted quickly as if programmed automatically to provide comfort for each other.

"Whoa..." Bassena parted his lips in surprise. He was thinking about spreading a blanket and lying side by side, never expecting Zein to do this.

The guide responded with a smirk. "What?"

"Feels like it’s been a long time since we did something like this," Bassena replied in a daze.

"Because it is," Zein shrugged, propping his elbow against the esper’s thigh, comfortably leaning back while gazing at the dark horizon. "It’s been a long time."

What kind of date and peaceful intimate time they could get in the Deathzone anyway? Sure, they still had sex sometimes--provided they had the chance--but these kinds of calm, tender moments were almost nonexistent. Even during the rare moments when they came up to the safer zone, they were working instead of cuddling.

It was funny to think they got the chance in the Deathzone instead. The scenery might not look like much, but after spending time in the Deathzone, even a dark sea with a void-like horizon seemed beautiful.

Again, it was weird, but the moment reminded Zein of laying on the dock in his lakeside house, gazing at the stars with Bassena.

He glanced at the esper, who was staring into the horizon. Sneaking his fingers on the platinum strands, Zein pushed down the esper’s head gently for a kiss.

The kiss was warm despite their slightly cold lips; as warm as Bassena’s chest beating against Zein’s back. It was gentle and brief, and Bassena blinked his widened eyes when they parted.

"Huh?"

Zein smirked at the baffled expression and tilted his head slightly. "What?"

"Mm...no, just--" Bassena licked his lips as if tasting the leftover sensation of the kiss. "Didn’t think you’d do that."

"Isn’t it normal to do it on a date?"

"A date?" the amber eyes widened even more.

Zein leaned his head relaxedly against Bassena’s shoulder and smiled. "Isn’t this?"

It was a pretty smile with a relaxed face and soft eyes that looked brighter than the shards in Bassena’s eyes. He took a deep breath and grasped the guide’s nape, covering the smile with his lips.

The kiss was longer this time; slower, but packed more passion than before. It contained Bassena’s silent confession and determination, one which he kept in his mind and locked at the back of his tongue until it was ready to be unleashed on one bright and beautiful day.

While the two people drowned in their own world, two people with somewhat different but also similar faces looked at them from the edge of the camp.

"Wow, damn these lovebirds..." Han Shin bit his nail enviously. Now that he was in the dungeon-hopping operation, he couldn’t even communicate with the outside.

Meaning; no weekly calls with his fiancee!

"Doing it right in front of people with a long-distance relationship," Han Joon remarked while shaking his head. "How cruel."

"Right?" Han Shin perked up when his brother seemed to agree. "That’s what I’m talking about!"

He glanced at the two again and mischievous thoughts flashed like a habit. "Should we--"

"No," Han Joon grabbed his brother’s collar, who was about to creep toward the boulder and make some disturbance. He chuckled and shook his head again as he dragged the whining manchild away. "Being envious and commenting on it is alright, but don’t disturb their precious time."

The black eyes looked back and stared at the couple, who were now obscured by the boulder. As his gaze cast into the horizon that seemed to be as dark as their future final battle, he let out a forlorn smile.

"Because we don’t know how many of those we can have."

"Oh..."

Han Shin caught his brother’s gaze and looked down. Right; his brother and Radia had such a long relationship, but how many happy ’moments’ did they have after they were adults? He bit his lips as shame washed over him.

Did he...unknowingly disturb his brother and Radia too in the past?

Han Joon glanced at his brother’s expression and smiled. "Don’t you hate it if your date with Reina gets disturbed?"

"Well..." Han Shin fiddled with his shirt and looked up with lowered brows. "I’m sorry, I won’t do it again..."

"Good boy," Han Joon ruffled the black hair...although he didn’t know how long that promise would last.

* * *

"Hey, Ash..." Han Shin stared at the newly returned esper, offering warm cocoa but also an inquiry.

Ashur still took the warm drink gratefully, though. "What?"

"Are you not jealous?"

"Of what?" Ashur tilted his head. Coincidentally, he sat in a place that had a rather clear view of the boulder, and while most of them were obscured by the rock, he could still see the couple’s head. "Oh..."

Han Joon glanced at his little brother, who seemed to forget about his promise already. But then again...Shin only said he wouldn’t disturb a couple’s moments anymore, not that he wouldn’t tease someone about their love life.

However, this time, Joon could see a genuine curiosity in his brother’s round eyes. Seemed like it wasn’t a teasing, but pure curiosity.

Whether Ashur could see it or not, he replied simply after taking a sip of his cocoa. "No."

"No?" Han Shin blinked.

Leaning back on his chair, Ashur narrowed his eyes as he spoke. "People made fun of me for crushing at Zein, but..." the corner of his lips curled up. "Do you ever see Commander getting angry or telling me to stay away?"

"Huh," Han Shin straightened his back as he tried to remember. "Now that I thought about it..."

Granted, Bassena and Ashur were part of different squads, but they were still executives who met each other a lot. But they communicated normally, and still worked well with each other. Bassena was a jealous and possessive lover, but there was no sight of confrontation.

Unless they did it somewhere people didn’t see.

"I mean, he did glare at me at the start, but...we did talk about it," Ashur shrugged.

"Huh?"

"I told him it’s never about love," Ashur chuckled at Han Shin’s surprise face and explained further. "It’s just an attachment to my favorite guide; well, naturally, I wanted to get close too--I mean, won’t you want to get close to the people who work well with you? But that’s all there is to it."

"Really? You can discern that?" Han Shin stroked his chin in wonder. "I’ve never felt attached to a guide before, so I don’t know."

He wondered if it had something to do with him already having a fiancee, but he never felt anything special from guiding. Zein’s guiding was really nice and relaxing, like a short vacation, but nothing earth-shattering for him.

"Attachment between guide and esper is not like chocolate in a store, Shin. You can’t get it just because the two interacted," Han Joon chuckled.

"Right," Ashur nodded. "In my case, it’s because I’m extremely sensitive. It’s like...being a picky eater and suddenly meeting a chef capable of making a perfect dish for me," he made an analogy. "Wouldn’t you want that chef to keep cooking for you?"

"Oh!"

"But you don’t necessarily want to date the chef, do you?"

"Ooh!"

Han Shin hit his palm with his fist, and nodded swiftly as he finally understood the difference...kind of.

"It’s not like I was never in love, so I know the distinction between this and that," Ashur added before drinking his cocoa again, which had started to turn lukewarm.

"But you were like...flustered and everything near Zein at the start," Han Shin narrowed his eyes and tilted his head, making Ashur choke on his cocoa and cough before replying.

"What can I do if I always recall the guiding sensation when I was near the guide?" Ashur muttered with pursed lips.

"Huh..."

"Also, he’s very good-looking, no matter what your preference is," the now flustered man defended himself further. "Aren’t people getting flustered near beautiful celebrities?"

Han Shin tilted his head the other way. "That’s...make sense?"

Han Joon smiled in amusement at this conversation and asked Ashur. "So you’re fine now?"

Ashur wiped his slightly wet clothes and shrugged. "When you eat delicious food for months and years, you become used to it and don’t get excited much anymore."

"...you’re good at explaining, huh?" Han Shin stroked his chin and nodded like an appraiser making a judgment.

"Hey, I was in charge of training if the Commander wasn’t there."

The healer giggled and patted Ashur’s back. "Well, at any rate, Rina will be glad."

"Huh?" Ashur blinked, staring at Han Shin who gradually shifted from grinning playfully to rolling his eyes exasperatedly. "Huh?"