There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 270 - 263. Coffee Machine and Candy Jar

Chapter 270: Chapter 263. Coffee Machine and Candy Jar

"I haven’t seen you for a while and then you suddenly move out?" Old man Dan greeted Zein with a grumble when the guide came to the dorm after lunch.

"What--I’ve told you about it last week, though?" Zein shrugged.

"You said it’s for later," the old man argued before repeating fiercely. "Later."

Zein chuckled and leaned onto the counter, watching the moving agents carrying the last of the potted plants and the gardening tools along with the shelf Zein used to put them in. He had no idea where they would go in Bassena’s apartment, but he trusted the esper’s nanny to arrange it. The place was big enough anyway.

"It’s ’later’ enough," Zein muttered to the old man, who grunted in response.

"This must be that rascal’s idea," the old man continued his grumble. Just by the fact that it was Bassena who managed the move, he knew Zein wasn’t just moving out of the dorm, but also moving in with the esper.

Zein chuckled at that, and told the old man honestly. "It’s actually my idea," he said, and Old Man Dan widened his eyes in disbelief, looking at Zein as if the guide was a stranger.

"You?"

"It’s weird, isn’t it?" Zein smirked, drumming on the front desk counter. "But it feels like a natural thing to do."

The old man scoffed again, but he said nothing more after knowing it was Zein who wanted to move in together with Bassena. He got it; once you lose someone, you want to keep being around the one that was still there. It was still hard for him to let go of his daughter when she got married and moved to Neyta.

"I’ll keep your room so you can go back if you don’t like living with that brat anymore," the old man mumbled, and Zein couldn’t help but laugh at that.

"That’s not for you to decide, though?"

"I’m in charge of this building. I can do what I want."

"Bold of you to assume I will ever let Zein move out of my place, old man," Bassena walked to the counter with a smirk, twirling the physical key they had to give back to the old man.

Fearlessly, Old Man Dan glared at the esper like neighboring grandpa would to naughty boys stealing his stuff. "Imma hit you if you don’t treat him right!"

Bassena laughed at that, but not out of mockery. "Sure, I’ll let you if that happens," he said confidently. But there was a firm belief there, that there was no way he would ever let himself do less for Zein, or treat the guide wrongly. It was enough to make the old man grumble an acceptance.

"Have you eaten?" Zein asked the esper while hiding his smile.

"No, I want to get this done first," Bassena put the physical key to the counter, which the old man retrieved begrudgingly.

"Should we go have some?"

Bassena tilted his head confusedly, which Zein thought was adorable. "I thought you were already having lunch with your kids?"

"I can still eat," Zein patted the esper’s cheek, before looking back at the old man. "See you around, old man. I’ll look in every now and then."

"Just do your own business," the old man grumbled and shooed the couple away, before mumbling to himself. "I just lost a free coffee delivery, is all..."

He could hear the guide chuckle on the way out, and got back to his book again behind the counter. That evening, just before he was about to head out to his own residence, a package came to him. It was a box of an expensive coffee machine, one even better than those in the high-floor rooms. Came with the package was a card;

[make your own coffee from now on, old man]

It was unsigned, but the old man didn’t have to be a genius to know who sent him this. With a slight curl on his lips, he let out a grumble. "Rascal."

* * *

When they arrived at the apartment that evening, Zein found everything was already neatly arranged. The huge two-story place was decorated with more potted plants, and his big aquascape adorned the living room on the second floor.

They also came just when Bassena’s nanny, Nayla, finished making them dinner, so they ended up eating together with the nanny and her daughter who helped her take care of Bassena’s apartment.

Well...Zein’s apartment too, now.

It wasn’t the first time Bassena watched Zein in his bedroom, or watched the guide changing clothes in his closet. Or walking around the kitchen and lounging on the balcony. But it felt different knowing that it would be a part of his future. Their future. He was almost in a daze as Zein changed into a big comfortable shirt he usually used to sleep on.

He would continue to be in a daze if not for what the guide said.

"I called Askan Bellum earlier,"

The dazed look turned into agitation in a split second. The amber eyes turned sharp and the brows above them furrowed. Before Bassena could say anything, though, Zein already stroked the esper’s hair, as if trying to appease the younger man.

"I asked him to put Nora in Celestia," Zein explained, rubbing the frown between the esper’s brows.

Bassena widened his eyes slightly. The annoyed face morphed into curiosity, and the amber eyes turned left and right in ponder. "Are you...making him a spy?"

"We’ll see," Zein shrugged. "I don’t know what might come of this. He might not get anything, or he might betray me once again,"

"So," Bassena wrapped his arms around the guide’s waist. "It’s a gamble?"

"It’s a test," Zein smirked. "If he does it well, I’ll try to put him somewhere better."

Bassena looked up at the blue eyes that gazed into the distance. Truly, his boyfriend was just too kind. Zein certainly didn’t need to do that, or even think about that. It kind of pissed him off too that Zein kept on thinking about other people rather than putting more attention to himself.

Or, well, his esper.

"Don’t get too upset, mm?" Zein stroked the esper’s cheek, giving the man his rare, soft smile. "It’s just business."

Zein knew what jealousy felt like now, so he did his best to not make Bassena, this adorable esper of his who seemed to be made of insecurity despite everything great about him, get jealous too much.

"Did he ask for something in return?" the amber eyes narrowed suspiciously.

Zein chuckled at the arms tightening around his waist. "No, he still owes me for that first scandal back then."

"Hmm..."

Again, the guide laughed and climbed the bed to straddle the esper, kissing the pursing lips. "Stop being silly and go to bed,"

Bassena grinned and Zein flicked the cheeky forehead lightly, before tilting his head inquisitively. "Why do you taste like my candy?"

"Ah...I think I ate about five of them these past few hours," Bassena laughed, and they glanced at the jar of candy sitting on the nightstand.

"I thought you don’t like sweet?"

"It tastes like you," Bassena smiled. "It reminds me of you."

"Is that so," Zein raised his brow and pushed the esper’s shoulder to the mattress. "So you would rather taste that than me directly?"

Bassena smirked and ran his hands beneath the oversized shirt. "I thought you told me to go to bed?"

"I told you to go to bed," Zein lowered his face and licked his lips. "Never told you about sleeping."

* * *

Things got back to normal quickly. Whatever Radia did to resolve the matter of Zein’s background, identity, and the matter with the Temple was done behind the scenes, and behind anyone’s eyes.

Zein did hear that Radia sued some of the news media for defamation against the guide, and the rest of the Temple’s fiasco was being thrown to the Temple’s side. So far, they just told the public that the Saintess acted on her own, and her title was being withheld as she was sent to seclusion.

But Zein no longer wanted to care about these things, and he had told the PR Department that he wouldn’t take any interviews--the usual thing. For now, he had better things to think about.

The new members were here.

The Guide Division took eight people in the end, because they had to replace Nora and Arden. Of course, because of the recent event, the intelligence department took a more thorough background check on all of them before the call was made to inform the passing candidates.

Zein and Abel decided to take four each, and delegated the welcoming and orientation to Nadine and Aerin--the deputy Abel finally appointed after years of working alone. Still, he had to be there for the first time they arrived, and try to know them personally to build a fitting physical exercise, because they clearly weren’t at the other guides’ level.

And just like Abel had predicted, the new guides practically worshipped him--at least the one who stated they registered to be in the strike guide division. Even while Nadine was talking, they were staring at Zein with googly, glittering eyes. It was only when Zein pointed toward his deputy with a stern gaze that the four new chicks shifted their attention.

The old members were giggling secretly at this. They knew the Captain was so going to grill these new kids into shape.

What they didn’t know was that Zein also going to grill all of them into shape to make sure they were ready for the Deathzone in a few months. Sure, the announcement was yet to be made, but he had no doubt about it. He trusted Radia would make sure they got it.

But well, these kids didn’t have to know about the hell they would receive later.

Zein smiled behind his mask; the same kind of smile that sometimes adorned Alice’s face when she gave the guides their monthly written test. He would let them have their fun for now.

And speaking about fun...

"Zein! You’re coming to the welcoming party, right?" Han Shin jumped at him one beautiful lunchtime.

Ah...right--Zein groaned inwardly. There was that thing too.

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