There's No Love In the Deathzone (BL)

"Yo, good job, Cap!" Esther patted the berserker’s shoulder with a wide grin. "The pay this time is extra nice! I heard you were going the extra mile to make sure it was safe safe. Thanks!"

Agni, however, ignored her as he walked past with a blank expression. His eyes were so dazed and unfocused that Esther wondered how he could still reach his quarters in that state.

"Did something happen there?" she tilted her head, but when she turned toward the other espers who came in that mission, they just shrugged. So she turned toward the only one who had become the source of Agni’s concern these past few months. "You know something?"

Ron stopped beside the senior esper, watching Agni’s dazed back with a small smile. "Maybe?"

Esther narrowed her eyes and arched her brow. As someone who had been teasing both of them for fun, it didn’t take long for her to have a guess. She smirked and flicked the young esper’s forehead. "What a brave soul."

"Help me then," Ron quipped. "Don’t let him kick me out of this place."

Esther couldn’t hold her laugh--Agni was right; this kid was a sly one. "Well, aren’t you glad we don’t have a personal connection?" she chuckled. "Personally, I welcomed free sla--I mean, personnel."

Ron rolled his eyes as he walked away, ignoring the older scout’s laugh. But his steps were lighter than before, and his expression had a sense of ease. Of course, Agni was dumbfounded earlier, and the berserker immediately told him ’no’ and ’what the fuck are you thinking?!’.

Yep. It was a clear rejection. But it was also clear that the berserker was against the idea because he didn’t want Ron to stay in the Deathzone, not necessarily because he didn’t want to have any relationship or because he disliked the young esper. Most of it was probably because he was Nolan Hertz’s son, and the idea of accepting the advance of his former boss’s son was generally uncomfortable.

So yeah--for Ron, it wasn’t a rejection at all. His young heart would only give up if the berserker threw him out for real and said he hated Ron. Otherwise, it was a fair chasing game.

Nothing changed much then; Agni was still trying to send Ron away, and Ron was still stubbornly sticking around. But the motivation behind it was different this time, and Agni was the one being bothered instead of Ron. Before, the berserker would come every few days to ask Ron when he would leave, and Ron would say ’never’ before running away.