Chapter 31 - 30. Where Line Is Breached
"What about a kiss?"
Zein didn't avoid the stare, nor he pulled away. He gazed right back at the amber orbs; they looked pretty, like a dim fire, a passion crystalline. They looked like ignition stones, and he felt like he might get caught in the blaze they created.
He looked at the scale marks beneath the eye, and found out it wasn't a mark, but real scales, glistening in their blackness. A slight scar above the seemingly perfect brow, reminded him of the blood he saw on this face four years ago.
It made him realize that this was the first time he looked at the esper's face clearly.
A line was waiting to be breached, but Zein didn't let himself cross it. "No,"
"Tsk—" Bassena clicked his tongue, but there was no apparent disappointment on his face. Clearly, he had expected this answer. A playful smile danced on his lips instead. "Shouldn't you humor the vibe?"
"What vibe?" Zein titled his head, no acknowledgment of fluster to be made.
The esper chuckled, the fire in his eyes dispersing into warmth. "Like me being naked, and we being alone, and everything being pretty..."
Zein sighed, and muttered curtly, "So persistent..."
It was his cue to step back, so Bassena shrugged and shifted sideways, leaning his body into the side of the lake and propped his head with his elbow on the grass. "Isn't it normal to be persistent in chasing someone you're courting?"
Courting...Zein scoffed. Honestly, he was a little confused about this esper. He had thought that the esper's flirtation was a trick he pulled to entice Zein into his guild. But there were moments when he saw the sincerity in Bassena's words and actions.