There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 271 - 264. Safe Space

Chapter 271: Chapter 264. Safe Space

To that day, Zein still didn’t like parties.

Crowds and noises were just something he avoided, typically. Harder to protect himself. But...did he need to protect himself in this place? He would be in the guild compound, surrounded by people who defended him when his reputation was getting dragged to the ground. He would be among...well, friends.

And Bassena would be there.

So, to Han Shin’s glee, Zein walked to the party. Before, in the summer, he remembered being rather cautious because he was new and the environment was still unfamiliar. Now, as he walked to the venue, he just felt like walking to his hometown; somewhere so familiar that even if he ended up blind drunk, he was sure he would be able to find a way out.

And unlike the last time, Bassena could just shadow him every time because everyone in the guild knew they were in an official relationship anyway.

Still, he told the esper to split up because the guides--except for the cheeky Dheera and the calm Nadine--were getting too antsy when Bassena was around, especially the new ones. And Bassena behaved well that night, letting Zein mingle with the other guild members without acting like a bodyguard. Seemed like living together put him more at ease with their relationship, so he was less insecure now.

In the midst of the party, Zein also spotted Arlo among the newcomers, and he beckoned the esper to come closer. He hadn’t had the chance to speak to the young man again after the test, and he was busy focusing on the new guides during the welcoming ceremony.

The young esper came to him almost scampering like a kid being called by the elders of their family. Well, to be fair, Zein was technically the Patriarch of a family that Arlo was supposed to serve.

"Are you adjusting well?"

"Yes!" the young man answered energetically. It was apparent from his expression that he was full of excitement. How couldn’t he; he got a high score in his examination, and was the top scorer in his rank, so the seniors would have treated him well.

Zein smiled subtly at the youthful response. "Talk casually,"

"I can’t do that, Young Master--I mean...Sir."

Arlo grinned. Even if Zein had dissolved the ’clan’ and his family didn’t have to serve House Ishtera anymore, it was hard to shed the habit of seeing Zein as their master. Since everyone in the family called Zein that, Arlo couldn’t help but pick it up.

And then, now, Zein was the executive in his workplace, so even the cheeky and rebellious Arlo couldn’t bring himself to talk casually to the other man.

"Haa..." Zein sighed and shook his head, before shooing Arlo back to the group of espers that had been looking at them from afar. "Just go drink and have fun."

"Yessir!" Arlo saluted with a grin and skipped back to the group of espers that welcomed him with a series of envious punches for being able to talk to the prettiest person in the guild.

Just as Arlo received his ’punishment’, Zein was being pounced on by the Chief Researcher who seemed to think a party was the perfect place for his cocktail experiment.

"Zein, Zein--try this!" he shoved a glass of liquid with a very suspicious murky purple color that looked like a cartoonish poison. But he convinced the guide by telling Zein he was a healer, so Zein ended up drinking it.

"Huh," the guide tilted his head curiously at the sweet and tangy flavor, with a hint of spiciness to it. "It’s actually pretty good..."

"Yes!" the healer grinned for his success. "Come on, it’s a party! Just let loose for tonight!" he squeezed Zein’s cheeks before scampering to the bar again.

Watching the energetic healer, Zein shrugged and donned the rest of the glass. That would be one of the many glasses he ended up having that night. Just like before, people were eager to talk to him, and every time he was surrounded by people, his hand would end up with a glass of whatever people were bringing him.

"You can’t have this," at one point, his hand was caught by Bassena, who finally came to check up on his boyfriend.

The amber eyes glared at the group of tipsy guides who gave Zein the rather strong concoction, and they ran away while giggling, saying that the Captain’s bodyguard had come.

Innocently, Zein looked up and asked dazedly. "I can’t?"

Bassena narrowed his eyes and stroked the flushed cheek. "How many have you drunk?"

"...a lot?" Zein tilted his head, and Bassena sighed in response.

"Don’t drink anything Shin gives you," the esper said.

"You should have told me that sooner," Zein chuckled and raised his hand to touch the sturdy chest in front of him, fiddling with the small pendant peeking behind the shirt. "You’re not smoking, you only drink moderately, you’re good at house chores...why are you such a good boy, Bassena Vaski?"

Bassena raised his brow at the display in front of him; at the lidded eyes and flushed cheek that reminded him of a dark corner in Radia’s mansion. He caught the guide’s arms and peeled them off his chest. "What is this loose behavior, Guide Luzein?"

Zein’s brow arched as he looked up. "Pfft--you’re mimicking Radia?"

Bassena laughed and gently pulled Zein away from the party to rest so the guide could get a bit sober. Staring at their hands and the wide, reliable back in front of him, Zein suddenly chuckled. "I feel like this also happened the last time?"

The esper just smiled in response. This time, they didn’t go as far as the outside, just to the fountain in the lobby that was still active. The soft water spray was cooling the guide a bit, although he was still pretty much tipsy.

"No, seriously, you are usually so careful," Bassena said while rubbing the guide’s hands.

Zein, who was closing his eyes to feel the stray splash of the fountain, muttered a reply. "I guess...I just feel safe?"

Bassena paused and looked at the guide. The blue eyes opened slowly, with a soft gaze and a gentle smile beneath. "They are the people who won’t hurt me, aren’t they? Friends...colleagues..." Zein looked at the esper, stroking the bronze cheek. "And there’s you," he leaned forward to plant a chaste kiss, and pulled back while whispering against Bassena’s lips. "My esper,"

"I see..."

Zein tilted his head. "What do you see?"

"You’re the type who gets flirty when they’re drunk," Bassena laughed softly.

"I did?"

Leaning closer, Bassena was the one who whispered this time. "You called me cutie when you were drunk before."

"You are cute," Zein shrugged and wrapped his arms around the esper’s neck, smiling sweetly. "The cutest,"

Bassena stretched his lips amusedly. "Hmm...I’m liking this," he grabbed the guide’s waist and pulled the man closer.

"Yeah?" Zein tilted his head. "Liking it enough to let me have another glass?"

"No," Bassena smirked and whispered in the guide’s ear. "Liking it enough to bring this to bed,"

"...oh," Zein raised his brow. "That’s even better."

* * *

A loud, blaring sound sent Zein’s already compromised head to another level of miserable thumping. He groaned and stirred slightly, wincing at the light coming out between the bedroom’s curtain.

"What is it?" he grunted, shifting to his back and watching Bassena pick up their screaming commlink. "An alarm?"

Bassena narrowed his eyes at the display on the device. "Emergency summons for all nearby guilds," he muttered.

"Meaning?"

"A high-rank gate in the middle of the city."

Zein widened his eyes. "What--ugh!" he tried to get up, but the base of his skull felt like it got pounded by a hammer.

Bassena grimaced and stroked the guide’s back. "You okay?"

"Not really," Zein muttered honestly. Not only did his head feel like a mess, but his body also felt like a sludge. He made a mental note to refrain from having wild sex while drunk in the future.

Especially in a cramped space like a car.

"Wait, I’ll get you a hangover cure and--"

"No, just go over now," Zein took a deep breath and laid back on the mattress. "I’ll get those myself and follow you,"

The esper frowned, looking at Zein worriedly. "Are you sure? They call everyone, so I don’t really have to be there,"

"It’s an emergency, Bas," Zein patted the younger’s cheek and spoke firmly. "It’s in the city. Go now."

"Okay," the esper smiled and gave Zein a kiss before moving to the bathroom to get ready, while Zein was laying there trying to get bearing around his hangover and sore muscles.

When Bassena came back, the esper was already in his draconic leather coat and put a bottle of hangover cure on the nightstand before leaning down to kiss the guide. "Call Jock to pick you up."

Zein glanced at the esper. "You said I could use your vehicle whenever I want."

"Well, if you can," Bassena shrugged, raising his brow at the man who couldn’t even sit up without feeling like throwing up.

"Yeah, you’re right," Zein chuckled, waving his hand to shoo the esper away. "Go,"

Bassena smiled and kissed the groaning lips again.

"Alright, alright, go!" Zein patted the smiling cheek and laughed before his head pounded again from the vibration.

After a hearty laugh, the esper finally got on his way. It took Zein a few minutes of breathing exercises to finally manage to get up and drink the hangover cure as well as a stamina potion. After feeling like he was fine enough to move around without feeling queasy, Zein took a shower to help soothe his body further, and he came out of the shower to find a few missed calls and a text in his commlink--all from Bassena.

[It’s a red. I’m going first to accompany the scout]

"Ah..." Zein hummed and opened the net to find out more about this gate.

It seemed like it happened in the middle of the commercial district, and it also wasn’t too far from the residential area. It was good that he told Bassena to go immediately. Before an official raid team was appointed, the government would typically assess the inside of this kind of gate that needed immediate attention. With Bassena coming along, the scouting shouldn’t take too long.

"Do you have any updates regarding the dungeon?" he asked Jock when the bodyguard picked him up not long after.

"Not much," the man said. "It seems to be a regular lower red. Sir Vaski was there first, so they asked him to accompany the government’s scout to scour the dungeon."

"Mm," Zein called Radia then, and as expected, the guildmaster was already on standby. "Hey, I can just go to that gate, right?"

[Sure, I’ll tell them to give you clearance]

Lower red gate wasn’t such a rare dungeon, and although it was dangerous, it was still doable by a normal strike squad with at least one five-star in it. Theoretically, even Bassena could clear the dungeon by himself. It was only deemed an emergency because it appeared in the middle of the city.

"Scouting a lower red gate shouldn’t take too long, right?" Zein asked.

"Yes. Typically, it should only be one or two hours at the mo--"

Before Jock could finish his words, the car was suddenly filled with blaring alarm sounds. It came from their commlink and the navigation system of the car. The screens around the street had turned glaringly red with a caution sign flashing.

"What?" Zein tapped on the commlink hurriedly. "What happe--"

There, on the screen, was an announcement that made his heart drop. The red dungeon had turned into a locked, black gate.