There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)
Chapter 314 - 306. Friends

Chapter 314: Chapter 306. Friends

As Zein had thought, the guest from Azure wasn’t supposed to come to the seventh floor.

They were supposed to meet Radia in the executive lounge, but the young guide overheard some staff talking about Zein, and, although they had told him Zein would also be there in the executive lounge, Ren wanted to see Zein right away.

So the elevator made a stop on the seventh floor instead.

"I was so worried yesterday," the young guide let out a long sigh as they rode the elevator to the executive lounge, still holding Zein’s hand even after he stopped hugging the older guide.

"You can just call me,"

"But I can’t get through?" Ren tilted his head, and Zein remembered his commlink was dead yesterday.

"Ah, right..."

"Excuse me, but why do you keep latching to my guide?"

The young guide blinked at the sharp tone coming from the Saint-class esper standing behind Zein, who had been looking at him with rather piercing eyes since earlier. Innocently, Ren tilted his head in confusion. "Latching? But I’m just holding his hand?"

"And why are you holding his hand?"

"Bas," Zein glanced at his esper in warning.

He was as surprised as everyone else that Ren was here and clinging to him. But for Zein, it was more of a surprise that the sheltered guide, who couldn’t face other people before, was going as far as to go to another city, going into a building with a lot of people, and even replying to Bassena, who was notorious of being scary.

So he didn’t want this delicate young guide to revert back to his old condition just because he got afraid of Bassena’s sharp objection to a little bit of skinship.

Thankfully, Ren didn’t look scared, although he did clutch Zein’s hand tighter—probably to gain more courage to talk back. "Because he’s my friend? Can’t I hold my friend’s hand?"

Oh-ho? Even the twins looked surprised at their guide’s firm answer. It almost sounded like the young guide was challenging Bassena, and for them, it was beyond fascinating.

"Friend..." Zein muttered absentmindedly, and Xue Ren turned his head to look at the older guide in worry.

"Oh...am I not?"

The young voice grew quieter, the hesitation cleared in the downturned eyes. A little smile formed on Zein’s lips as he patted the younger’s hair. "Mm, you’re my friend."

Immediately, the slightly saddened face turned bright with a beautiful, vibrant smile. He laughed and swung the hand he had been holding. "Hehe! I’m glad; you’re my only friend, so..."

The espers were looking at Bassena, who now felt like his conscience was getting stabbed left and right. "Ugh—"

"Just accept your loss," Radia patted the magician’s shoulder as the elevator stopped and the door opened.

Inside the lounge, the Director of external affairs had been waiting, as well as Lex and Radia’s secretary. They too, couldn’t help but look at the sight of those two guides getting out of the elevator with an astonished gaze. Not just because of the combined assault of beauty, but also because Zein was casually letting someone hold his hand outside of guiding activity.

Lex, as someone who was present during the annual gathering, was less surprised than the other, however. He immediately approached the two guides and took the role of escorting them to the room they had been preparing for Azure.

"But Zein...does your esper not like it when I hold your hand?" Ren whispered to the guide when they had walked further from the group of espers who were talking among themselves in the back.

Zein turned his head to glance at Bassena, who was still looking in his direction from time to time. "It’s fine, he’s just a bit jealous," he replied with a chuckle. "I don’t know why he still feels jealous, though..."

He thought Bassena would be less insecure after he told the man his feelings, after saying that hard-to-understand ’I love you’. But it seemed like the jealousy was just inherent in Bassena’s trait, perhaps because his first love was someone so enticing for the whole world.

"But..." Ren tilted his head to look at Zein keenly, "you look happy when he’s jealous."

Zein curled his lips, the blue eyes gleaming mischievously. "Because he’s cute while doing it."

"Is that so?" Ren clutched the older’s arms and giggled, feeling happy to find that Zein had a playful side to him.

He was also happy that the older guide truly looked healthy, the concerns he felt on the way already vanished at the sight of Zein’s smile. The sounds of delight that he made, of course, brought smiles to his espers’ lips.

"I didn’t know your guide would come," Radia remarked while the twins joyfully watched their beloved guide stepping into the outside world.

"Ah, sorry about that," Mizar smiled apologetically. "I didn’t know he’d overheard us."

While Xue Ren was a surprising factor, the twins—or at least one of them—were supposed to meet Radia. Only, the original plan was for Radia to come meet them, because it was he who needed their help this time. But they suddenly changed the meeting place to be in Althrea instead.

Well, he knew the reason now. "What exactly did he hear?" Radia asked.

"He heard when I told my brother ’Zein might be in danger’ after you called me," Mizar sighed. He was telling Alcor about the plan to have a meeting with Radia without realizing Ren was already in the room, waiting for them to go for a walk in the garden. It was good that he didn’t say anything about ’abduction’, or Ren might get triggered by his trauma. "Well, we can cover it by saying Zein was sick, fortunately."

"He really was sick," Bassena muttered.

"But he also demanded he wanted to visit Zein, so here we are," Alcor shrugged.

Bassena frowned a little bit, not because of his jealousy, but because they were supposed to talk about something sensitive for the young guide. Of course, they would not disclose the details of what happened during that abduction even to the twins, but the manner of the crime itself shouldn’t be heard by a former victim like Xue Ren.

"And you can’t refuse?"

"Well, what could I do? Can you resist it if your guide asks you with teary eyes that he wants to visit his one and only friend?" Alcor tilted his head toward Bassena.

Imagining Zein with teary, demanding eyes was something Bassena couldn’t do before, but after seeing Zein during his fever...

If that Zein asked him for something, anything at all, Bassena knew he would dedicate himself to fulfill it, even if he had to scour the hell, scorched the heaven, and flatten the earth.

So all he could do was click his tongue in agreement.

"Right?" Alcor grinned at Bassena’s annoyed but defeated expression.

"So that’s why you suddenly tell me you’ll come here on your own," Radia chuckled.

"Well, it’s fine, isn’t it?" Alcor looked at the two guides walking hand in hand while conversing, although it was Ren who did most of the talking.

Just looking at his guide able to converse with someone else aside from them already made the twins’ hearts swell in pride and joy. Their visions were simply filled with rainbow and sunshine right now, flowers blooming as if spring had already come.

"Don’t you see how beautiful they look together? Just like a painting,"

The older twin nodded in agreement. "Mm, quite adorable."

Looking at them from afar, the two guides with extraordinary beauty conversing cordially did look like a scene out of a painting, or perhaps a commercial photoshoot. Such a treat to the eyes.

"Well..." even Bassena couldn’t help but agree. Perhaps because Zein was no longer with a mask, his countenance truly softened up. With Ren by his side, Zein also retracted his sharp edges to make the young guide more comfortable, which made him slightly more delicate than usual.

"It’s fine, it’s fine," Alcor patted Bassena’s shoulder while laughing relaxedly. "They’re both guides anyway."

With their age gap, and how Zein was taller and buffer than other guides, he had always looked like big brothers. Especially beside someone as delicate as Xue Ren, he looked like a protective older sibling, which was quite cute in the eyes of the onlooker.

And of course, normally, they didn’t think guides would date each other.

Normally.

"Hmm...so you don’t know?"

"Huh? Know what?" the other espers turned to look at Radia, whose red eyes had curled into a pair of half-moons.

"That Zein mainly used to sleep with guides before,"

...

They were silent for a few seconds, just blinking dumbly as their brain digested the information.

"Damnit—I forgot!" Bassena immediately walked faster. So there was really a reason why he felt antsy about it—because Ren was totally adorable in Zein’s eyes too.

And this time, the twins shared the same sentiment.

"I think that’s enough for the skinship,"

"Not cute, not cute—abort!"

With a satisfied smile on his face, Radia watched the younger espers run toward their guides and gently try to separate their lovers from each other.

Mm, yes—he shouldn’t be suffering alone.