There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 194

Chapter 194: Chapter 188. Boyfriend

Birthday??

It was his birthday?!

Just after he managed to start the day with a tranquil mind, Zein was having a tiny session of meltdown in the living room. Sitting on the couch and staring blankly at the black television screen, a thought occurred in his mind:

Was the movie date supposed to be for his birthday?

Zein leaned back and covered his eyes with his forearm, feeling like a complete jerk. It was easy to see that Bassena had wanted to spend the weekend with him, with a movie and dinner and maybe some conversation. And then he ruined it by having a massive outburst.

Well, they did have a nice conversation afterward, and spent a whole evening entangling in each other’s limbs, so...maybe it wasn’t that bad?

Still, Zein felt rather guilty, and that included not knowing Bassena’s birthday.

If he was to spend a bit more time just looking beneath the esper’s profile--which could easily be found everywhere including the guild’s directory--or casually look at any social media platform, he would be able to see it easily.

Just like now, as he turned on his commlink and surfed the net.

But he was getting too wrapped up in his bad mind lately that he couldn’t see others. Too busy getting drowned in self-loathing that he couldn’t see the affection other people gave. Drawn himself inside his wall again, pushing everyone out, including Bassena.

He watched the congratulatory messages across the board; from his fans, from the people in the guild, from other colleagues...and as he spent his time like that, the bedroom door suddenly opened, revealing a disoriented, half-asleep man.

The esper turned his head here and there, eyes squinted, brows furrowed, hair like a bird’s nest. He pouted, seemingly annoyed, until he caught the guide’s presence on the couch. Wordlessly, he wobbled there, walking like a zombie, and just dove onto the couch where Zein was. As if he just sleepwalked for not finding Zein in the bed, he whined and squirmed, laying his head on the guide’s thigh, and hugged the man’s waist. After pressing his face on Zein’s abdomen, taking a deep breath as if inhaling the guide’s scent, he sighed contentedly and closed his eyes again.

Zein blinked repeatedly, poking the esper’s cheek a few times without receiving any reaction, and then chuckled. "You’re back to sleep?"

There was a deep rumble, a mumble, and then a steady breath that got Zein smiling softly. "Cute," he muttered, running his fingers through the messy platinum hair.

The esper let out another contented sigh, and Zein ended up spending the time stroking Bassena’s hair while reading Alice’s reports and informed her that he would be late today. Sometimes his fingers would scratch on Bassena’s scalp and he would hear the esper purr.

"Are you a snake or a puppy?" Zein commented, caressing the bronze temple with his thumb, and rubbing the leftover scar across the handsome brow.

It was peaceful. He couldn’t believe that just the day before yesterday, he was screaming and sobbing and a total mess; face decorated with a frown as if he had forgotten how to make a smile. But now, he spent a lazy morning with a giant puppy in his lap, while the smell of delicious cooking wafted from the kitchen below.

And it felt good. Now that he was no longer plagued with the thought of punishing himself, he allowed his heart to enjoy the feeling of other’s company, of a calm morning, of not worrying about whether or not he deserved such bliss.

Especially because he knew that it was only a short one; a short moment of peace.

Things would get chaotic soon, or at least filled with tension. From the annual meeting to the reclamation project, and the whole thing with the Templar and Setnath. If they won the bid--and they had to--they would spend the next five years, probably, struggling in the Deathzone with their lives on the line.

So, now he realized that he had to savor it; this bliss, this peace.

And Zein savored it until his commlink vibrated and his screen getting interfered with by a call. When he accepted it, he was greeted by Han Shin that didn’t bother with greeting and getting straight to the point.

[Hey, can you call Bas?]

Zein raised his brow at the frantic sound of the healer’s voice and asked curiously. "Why?"

[He didn’t answer any of his calls yesterday, and I think the link is dead this morning? I don’t know, I can’t reach him at all]

Zein observed Trinity’s lounge in the healer’s background, and glanced a bit at the clock. They weren’t that late.

"Something happened?"

[Well...there’s a sudden conference with the military for early assessment regarding the reclamation act, so we need him here right now. It’ll begin in the afternoon, but there’s a briefing and everything and I have no idea where he is!]

Still stroking the platinum hair across his lap, Zein asked nonchalantly. "You need him for that? Today?"

Han Shin paused for a bit before sighing. [Yeah, I know it’s his birthday today, but what can I do? If Radia presiding this conference, he’d just end up cursing them]