There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)-Chapter 444 - 437. Blue Sky and Amber Sun

Zein felt breathless.

Even though he sucked on air and all the scent, he felt breathless.

The ground beneath him was so soft his feet sunk. His shoes were completely drenched and filled with sand, but he couldn’t care less. He stared down at the small wave washing over his feet, feeling slightly lightheaded as the water drew back and he felt like his body moving backward.

The sky had dimmed, but the foam of the wave was white still. Before he could wake up from the trance of the previous wave, another one already come. It was constantly moving, dynamic, and playful. It was different from the calm lake or the slowly moving river.

It was breathtaking.

Slowly, as he got used to the dizzying sensation of watching the wave, Zein followed the returning water to the sea. The eyes, as blue as the deep sea, traced the light spreading on the horizon to the west side.

"...eyes,"

Bassena heard a mumble, and he leaned down slightly to catch it. "Hmm?"

"It’s like our eyes," Zein repeated as he stared at the sunset without blinking.

The blue of the sky and the amber of the sun looked as if they were melting inside the massive pot of water.

"Ah..." Bassena bit his lips and pressed his forehead on the guide’s shoulder. Gods...he loved this man so much. He mumbled audibly and circled his arms around Zein’s waist.

Only for a few seconds, because he could feel Zein fidgeting wordlessly. He let go of the guide, and like a bird flying off a cage, Zein stepped forward almost dazedly, as if chasing for the violet horizon.

The waves came and went, and Zein soon felt the water reach his calf, and then his knees, and he felt an indescribable feeling of exhilaration; like he wanted to scream and laugh at the vast sky and endless sea. As if something was calling for him, he marched forward and let the water reach into his hip.

"That’s far enough," Bassena clasped his waist to prevent him from going further, pulling Zein by the torso into the esper’s warm chest. "The ground at the sea is uneven. It will suddenly plunge into the depths, and you haven’t finished your swimming lesson yet."

"Oh..." Zein blinked and stopped, nodded.

"Let’s be satisfied by this much today, yes? I’ll take you to that underwater observatory tomorrow and we’ll go to the ship the next day," Bassena smiled at the innocent expression of the guide. "You’ll see plenty of the sea until the end of our vacation, so there’s no need to be imp--"

Zein never heard the end of that sentence because an unexpected wave suddenly hit them in the face. Bassena had been focusing all of his senses on Zein that he didn’t even realize the incoming force.

While Bassena was grumbling from the wave and the fact that they were now drenched from head to toe, Zein was blinking silently, as if frozen.

"The waves are getting stronger. Let’s get back now and come again tomorrow when it’s bright--"

Again, Bassena couldn’t finish his sentence as another wave was crashing on them. Fortunately, this time, he was able to shield the guide’s face from the full force of the water.

"Zein," he urged again, about to drag the guide back anyway, until he heard a crisp sound of laughter.

Loud, free, and joyful. He looked down in amazement as Zein laughed in his embrace. Laughed and wheeze and spitting out seawater. "Ahahahaha! It’s salty--hahahaha!"

Bassena had no idea what was so funny from the salty water, and he might never understand. Not that his brain could emulate any understanding, since all of his senses were being focused on the most beautiful scenery he had ever laid upon.

A pair of crinkling blue eyes, gleaming and sparkling with the amber of sunset shining upon the laughing face; fair cheek blossoming vibrantly, in the shade of coral and violet.

And the sound. Oh, the sound of a heavenly bell ringing. What Bassena would do to hear that sound again and again for the rest of his life?

Anything. Everything.

It was enough for him to let the waves strike them several times more before it got too dangerous with the disappearance of the sun. After some coaxing, he was finally able to pull Zein back to the beach; clothes heavy from the water.

Storing their wet, heavy boots and jacket inside Bassena’s storage ring, they continued to take a stroll along the darkened beach, as Zein was reluctant to leave. But walking on the beach was one of the best date options, so Bassena did not whine. He held Zein’s hand as the guide walked while staring at the sea.

"Does the salt come from the sea?" Zein asked curiously in the tone of a schoolboy discovering knowledge.

"Mainly," Bassena nodded. "There can be mines of rock salt in places that used to be an ancient sea or lake."

"Hmm..."

"It’s one of the main commodities of the Southern Kingdom, other than tourism and seafood."

"I see..."

Zein stopped talking for a while, before muttering softly. "We’ll have it too, right? Sea and salt and seafood..."

Bassena smiled at the tightening hold in his hand. "We will."

It might take a while for the sea to recover its original state, or for the ecosystem to thrive again. It might take years, or even decades, but it would be done. They would make it true with their own hands, and they shall watch over it for as long as they could.

"Should we go back now?" Bassena asked after the beach got darker.

Not far from here, the seaside entertainment area was thriving, and the tall hotels and resorts were giving lively light. But Bassena was taking them to a secluded place because he wanted Zein to enjoy the scenery to the fullest, so this part of the beach was particularly quiet and dark. The sea wasn’t littered with floating lights, and since it was near resorts, there were no passenger ships or fishing vessels nearby.

The sea, thus, had become completely dark.

Obviously, he did not worry about the dark or any danger, but they were wet and sticky and the night wind by the sea was pretty cold even in the tropical zone. He wanted to make sure Zein was warm and comfortable tonight, so he could play to his heart’s content tomorrow.

But Zein just stared at the dark sea silently, unmoving, with a mesmerized gaze.

"I want to see it a bit more," the guide said finally, after a few minutes passed.

"You can see it from--"

"It reminds me of your mana core."

Whatever coaxing Bassena was about to make died down on his tongue.

"Looks nice and peaceful."

At that point, Bassena’s haywire brain could only blurt out the utmost desire in his heart.

"Marry me."

For a whole minute, no one said anything.

Not because Zein didn’t want to answer, but because he was busy watching Bassena’s face turn from blank to panic in slow motion. Slowly, the amber eyes widened and the lips beneath parted, before Bassena let out a sound of lament; crouching down and grabbing his wet hair in frustration.

"No!" he groaned. "No! This is not it! This is not! It! Aaagh!"

How could he be so stupid? This wasn’t the place nor the time! He had planned everything. He had chosen the place, he had chosen the time, somewhere in the future. He had a perfect scenario that would make everything amazing and memorable. Blue sky, tall cliff, the melody of the ocean, the land where they would build their future, and a ring made by a loving mother.

He had imagined it over and over and over again it often appeared in his dreams nowadays.

Not like this!

"Why?" as if reading his mind, Zein replied with an amused smile on his face. "I like it. I think it’s perfect."

"...huh?"

Zein crouched in front of the distressed esper, brushing off the wet fringe fallen over Bassena’s face from the wild frustrated tousling earlier. "It’s spontaneous, it’s unplanned, it’s natural..." he swept the platinum hair back to look clearly at the face of his lover. "Just like the way you fall for me."

In the middle of a life-and-death situation, in a cave no one but passing animals knew, with only an abrupt meeting and swift parting.

"Just like the way I fell for you."

And Zein, a man who grew up in a red-zone and survived with stale bread and barely edible water, did not need fancy things or elaborate settings.

"Ngh..." Bassena bit his lips and lowered his head.

"What is it now?" Zein chuckled amusedly.

"...I want to cry,"

Zein laughed and pulled the platinum head into his chest, embracing the esper warmly. "Aah...this is why you’re so adorable."

Bassena awkwardly held Zein’s waist and mumbled against the steadily beating chest. "Thanks?"

Zein laughed and pulled back--to Bassena’s disappointment--and patted the esper’s cheek. "But well...we can still do what you want to do," he shrugged. "Whatever it is you had planned, you may do it; ask me again," he kissed the scar above the esper’s brow. "I’ll hold my answer until then."

Bassena looked at the man in front of him, who no longer looked like an innocent child witnessing the wonder of the world. He saw firmness inside the blue eyes that still shone brilliantly even on the darkened beach.

Slowly, Bassena pulled the guide closer and hugged the man tightly. The man he wanted to worship for the rest of his life.

Here, within the melody of the ocean, they sealed their unspeakable vow with a kiss as gentle as a summer breeze.