There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL) novel Chapter 264

Chapter 264: Chapter 257. Thousand Words

"He said we can take the day off," Bassena said, throwing Zein’s commlink to the couch before crawling back to the bed, kissing the guide’s nape.

"Good, I have no mood to get up today," Zein groaned against the pillow.

It was such a rare situation; Zein being lazy and opted to just lie in bed. But he was exhausted, and he felt like he had just gone through a dungeon marathon from the way his muscles protested.

And he hadn’t gotten any sleep for the past few days, so he was catching up on it.

Bassena watched the man lying on his stomach, sinking deeper into the mattress. Zein didn’t even bother to put on any clothes after Bassena cleaned him up last night, claiming that he was too lazy. Again, it was such a rare occasion for someone who was always adamant about covering his whole body. But it told him that the guide was getting more comfortable and more secure around him, and Bassena couldn’t be more thankful about that.

Also, it gave Bassena the full view of Zein’s naked back, painted with bitemarks and hickeys.

Tracing those marks that looked like a medal to him, Bassena grinned delightfully to himself. It didn’t matter even though Zein didn’t reply to his profession of love--Bassena knew it was still a hard concept for the guide--but knowing Zein felt jealous was...euphoric. He really couldn’t hold back much last night, and Zein’s sudden submission didn’t help his self-restraint.

"You know I can’t go anymore, don’t you?" Zein said as Bassena trailed kisses above all of those marks.

"I’m not trying to," the esper laughed, rubbing the guide’s arm gently.

Zein turned his head to look at the bright expression and mirthful gaze, not at all like the ferocious beast last night. Now, the man looked just like his usual adorable self, and this gap made Zein’s heart feel soft and warm. He reached out to stroke the slightly colored cheek with the back of his fingers, before pulling the esper for a light kiss.

"You said we can’t do it again..." the esper whined, and Zein flicked his forehead hard.

"Control yourself," he hissed for the sake of his groaning muscle. "Where’s my link?"

"Ugh--why do you need it again?" Bassena pursed his lips. Now that they had a day off, he wanted to spend the day fully with Zein without any disturbance, replacing the past few days when they couldn’t see each other.

Zein shifted around so he could lie on his back and dragged his body up to lean on the pile of pillows. "Don’t you want to see what my hometown looked like?"

That got Bassena scampering to the couch where he threw the commlink earlier. "Grab me some clothes while you’re at it."

Obediently, the esper came back with the black commlink and a pair of pajamas--clearly telling the guide that Bassena didn’t want him to go anywhere today. Not that Zein wanted to with his bones creaking and muscles screaming.

"Go through the video archive," he told the esper while putting on the pajamas he didn’t remember having--when did Bassena buy this for him? After Zein asked him to live together?

"There’s a video?" Bassena gasped, swiftly opening the archive. He didn’t even expect many pictures since it was Zein, but...video recording?

And there were even several of them?!

[Is this right?] he heard the melodious voice of the guide the moment he pressed play on the first recording. The camera panned out to a construction site, which told Bassena it was the orphanage.

[Yes, just press this one if you want to stop the recording] the bodyguard’s voice came next, but there was no more voices after that, except for the natural sounds of people’s activity.

And then the recording ended abruptly.

"Huh?"

"That one’s just a test," Zein told the esper as he took his position again after finishing wearing the brand new comfortable pajamas, half-lying against the pile of pillows. "It’s not like you want to look at an ongoing construction, right"

Bassena chuckled and pressed the next video. This time, he didn’t hear any more voice, just the sound of footsteps. The screen hovering in the air showed him a patch of dried field and a few contraptions. The field was surrounded by a low fence, just as tall as a small child.

"Zein--"

"I’m fine," Zein turned his head to face Bassena and told the esper with a smile on his lips, caressing the platinum strands strewn on his shoulder. "I have another home now,"

The blue eyes that looked at him were soft and gleaming in brilliance, so beautiful and stunning. Bassena had to wonder what kind of good deed had he done before to grant him this kind of blessing, to bask in this kind of strength and beauty.

Pressing his lips hard, Bassena shifted and buried his face in the guide’s chest, hugging the guide’s torso and curling like a child on the guide’s side. Zein raised his brow, but ended up laughing at the adorable display. He caressed the platinum hair and pressed his lips on the esper’s crown.

"Thank you," Bassena muttered, "for sharing it with me."

Zein leaned his head back on the pillow, still caressing the esper’s hair. Looking at the ceiling, he called out for the younger man softly. "Bas,"

"Mm?"

Zein stroked the esper’s nape, recalling the whisper of devotion he received last night. He couldn’t make any reply, not only because he was so dazed, but also because he never said it to anyone before. Just like the feeling of jealousy, he had no idea what exactly the feeling of ’love’ entailed. And speaking of it without understanding the word would just taint the meaning itself.

And he didn’t want to demean the meaning of that word for Bassena by speaking it lightly. That would be a disservice to the man who poured all his heart into saying those words.

That being said, he still wanted Bassena to know his feelings. "You know that you’re the most important person to me, don’t you?"

"Yeah," the esper replied without hesitation now. After all, why else would Zein ask Radia to smuggle him inside the Temple just because he felt jealous? Bassena stretches his lips in delight. "I know,"

Zein put his arms around the younger man’s shoulder--his esper, his lover. He whispered tenderly. "Good. You should never forget that."