There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 232 - 225. Night of Suspended Time

Chapter 232: Chapter 225. Night of Suspended Time

"Happy birthday,"

Zein closed his eyes, leaning back completely to the strong and warm chest as his lips stretched into a contended smile. He reached out to stroke the platinum hair, tilting his head to look into the curling ambers.

Technically, it wasn’t his birthday. They knew now that, unless he was severely premature, Zein would have been born around spring. But all his life, Zein had always ’celebrated’ his birthday in the new year, along with the twins.

Celebrated the fact that they had survived another year.

For the past four years, he had doing it alone, staring blankly into the Deathzone. This was his fifth year without the twins, but he was no longer alone.

That too, needed to be celebrated.

"You’re late," Zein muttered, although the slight chuckle in his voice made it clear that he wasn’t annoyed.

"I’m right on time," Bassena argued.

Actually, he was there for quite some time already. He was there when Zein was still looking at the sky with a stunned expression, clutching the necklace. He watched as pain and regret flashed inside the blue eyes.

But when he was about to hold the guide, he saw Zein close his eyes, and opened them a moment later with a peaceful gaze. Bassena knew that gaze; it was one that Zein had when the guide was smiling.

And it made the esper stood there, stunned. He couldn’t bring himself over, fearing that he would break that peaceful moment. His heart was squeezed, beating fast. He wanted to embrace his most loved one, but he also wanted to feast on that beautiful sight.

At that moment, Bassena felt his eyes heating up. Gods--how much had he prayed and wished this time would come? That Zein would smile at the memory of his family, rather than drowning in darkness and guilt.

So he stood there, watching, until the countdown began.

"Shouldn’t you be the one to help me hide?" Zein rolled his eyes.

"I think they’d chase you more if we’re together. Don’t you know I barely escape them?"

Zein laughed softly. "So, even the mighty Bassena Vaski can’t win against the press, huh?"

"The world is not that easy,"

The laughter became slightly louder, and Bassena widened his smile, feeling the sound warmed his heart even more. Looking at the warm eyes and the tender smile, Zein whispered. "Kiss me."

Bassena raised his brow. "Here?"

In the middle of the crowd?

"Hurry, before anyone notices,"

There was a twinkle inside the blue eyes, a mix of mischievousness and excitement--something Bassena had never seen before. He took a second to blink and second-guess himself, before his hand moved to push the mask button and grasped the guide’s jaw.

Beneath the colorful blooming sparks, the kiss tasted wonderfully sweet. Sweeter than any candies or chocolate that Zein liked so much.

There was a feeling of tingle that spread into their skin, and drove their heart beating faster. Was it because they did it in the middle of a crowd? In public where anyone could see and take pictures of them? For Bassena, it felt like Zein’s willingness to risk being exposed was a proof that the guide didn’t mind letting the world know about them.

It was Zein’s birthday, but Bassena felt he received the gift instead.

"I think the one in Althrea is still better," Dheera muttered in the railing. That being said, she still looked like she enjoyed it very much. "Oh, where’s Captain? I want to say happy birthday to him!"

She looked around excitedly. She had forgotten about him because of the fireworks, despite they were being there to ’hide’ him from the media. But as she was about to turn around, Nadine pulled her back toward the railing.

"Do it tomorrow--I mean, later," she said with a subtle smile, and Dheera glanced back secretly.

There, she saw her Captain and the Serpent Lord, standing close to each other. A fleeting sheet of dark mist was obscuring the view around them, but it was clear to her what they were doing behind that fog.

She turned back to the front, and with a grin on her face, nodded as she looked into the sky again. "Okay, let’s do it later."

As the fireworks continued to fill the sky, a pair of crimson eyes stared at the various blooming colors from across the building. Sitting on the ledge of the window, he swirled the mana stone-infused spirit in his hand, before sipping it while shifting his gaze toward the rooftop, where he knew his kids were.

His lips curled slightly, imagining the chaos that would definitely happen tomorrow--later--in the couple’s suite. He had to attend another conference in the afternoon, but he’d let the others have their party.

Speaking about party...

"You come to the wrong place if you want to have a party," Radia said. His voice was soft, but cold. The subtle smile had vanished from his face with the appearance of silent footsteps.

There was no answer, and Radia sighed. He was tired, he had too much on his head. He had no energy to control his heart after pouring it yesterday.

Let’s just let him do what he wants and--

His train of thought stopped when his waist was snatched, rather harshly. Another hand, cold on his skin yet blazing in his heart, grasped his face and he was kissed hard as the glass came tumbling on the ground.

Or it was hard at first. He grasped the man’s clothes and gasped into the kiss.

It wasn’t the Mobius uniform. It was just a simple plain shirt, just like what Han Joon always wore before he joined the military. The moment it registered in Radia’s mind, he was so stunned that the strength of his grip faltered. He almost didn’t realize it when the kiss turned softer, slower, and everything...just felt like it used to be.

When their lips parted, Radia almost couldn’t stand straight, just staring at the black eyes with a flurry of emotions that he couldn’t articulate. Because inside those black eyes, he saw softness and vulnerability.

"Tonight," the grasping hand on his face turned into a sweet caress. "Let’s forget everything."

The crimson eyes widened and shook, and the deep voice continued. It was dripped with pain and loneliness, something that Radia was familiar with, but never expected to come from Joon.

"Tonight, love me the way you were," Han Joon whispered, caressing the quivering lips with his thumb. "The way I have always been."

Something heavy was pressing on Radia’s chest, and it became difficult to breathe. His chest heaved, and he let out a choked gasp.

He wanted to slap the older man--because what did he mean by loving him the way he was?

Because it had never lessened, no matter how much Radia told himself that he hated what Han Joon did. He had always, always love this man.

Wasn’t that why he persistently waited for Joon? Wasn’t that why he had never been in any other relationship ever since?

Wasn’t that why he was in this much pain?

So he grasped the sharp jaw and pulled the man into him. Fine. Let’s forget everything. Let’s pretend that Joon never left him. Let’s pretend the eerie scar on the man’s neck did not exist.

Let’s pretend the time had stopped eleven years ago; the last New Year’s Eve they spent together.

It was a kiss that was filled with longing and nostalgia as they dove into their memories. It was a kiss that was due for years; a harshness that wasn’t filled with egos, and a tenderness that overcame their differences. There was desire there, and then there was innocence, naivety, and hopefulness.

In a fluid motion, Han Joon lifted the younger man, who clung to him the way he did during their teenage years. The kiss and the touch were relentless, and neither of them was willing to let go of that connection until they arrived on the bed. Even then, they only paused to get rid of their clothes, a nuisance that prevented them from feeling each other’s skin.

As the flowers bloom in the sky, Han Joon only looked at his flower, drinking the crimson gaze and caressing the red hair with the gentleness he had never shown before. And Radia could feel that--because Joon had always been harsh and wild. This gentleness was almost foreign, and felt so much like a bad premonition.

It scared him.

"Joon..." Radia breathed heavily, stroking the pale cheek beneath the black eyes; the faint dark circle that he almost missed.

For the first time since they met again, he could see that the man was struggling.

"Joon..."

It wasn’t uttered with anger, or with the dryness of someone constantly in doubt. He called the name with a short breath and adoration, the way he always did so many years ago. He called the name like the way he did when he was still believing in their future. He called the name like they were back in the time when nothing else mattered in the whole world.

Nothing else but them.

It was the night that felt like their first night. Where they just looked into each other’s eyes and felt their desire. A desire that could not be contained with mere words of promises.

By the end of it, the crimson eyes were filled with blurry vision, obstructed by falling tears.

"Joon," Radia stroked the pale cheeks and the stiff black hair, feeling his heart broken and mended and broken again, repeatedly, at the same time. "God, Joon..."

"Sush," the deep voice caressed him, the thumb rubbing gently across his lips. "Don’t think about anything now, Dee."

And he did. He did not think about anything; not his guild, not his company, not even the future. Just now, just them, just the small time when they were together.

"Just a bit more,"

Later, when the crimson eyes closed and Radia breathed calmly in his sleep, Joon stared at the summoner’s face fondly. Caressing the dark red hair, he whispered. "Be patient for just a bit more, darling," he leaned down and kissed the slightly furrowed brows, biting down on the pain he felt in his heart and core.

He fixed the blanket covering Radia, before standing up and whispering one last time with a determined gaze. "I promise."

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