Zen carried the small backpack he had brought to the spare bedroom. The spare room was pretty cozy to Zen, he had slept there so many times that he left spare clothes in one of the drawers. Usually when Zen slept over, it was because he and Seven got incredibly drunk. Zen had much more alcohol tolerance, so he usually ended up being sane, but slightly disoriented. Either way, Seven really wasn't the best at holding alcohol, so the fun usually ended around the time Seven started throwing up.
Zen lied down on the guest bed. He kind of felt like he had been sent to his room, but it's not like he was really ready to go back down to talk to Seven. Zen had hesitated, for good reason of course, he and Seven were best friends, and the confession just came as a shock. He rolled over to face the wall, trying to decide whether or not he liked Seven or not. It's true, they were compatible, but that's why they were friends, right? He remembered when he had first met Seven. Seven was practically connected to Yoosung at the hip. They had been high school friends, and Zen couldn't help but feel excluded from the inside jokes and memories they shared. It changed once Seven graduated college early. He became more likable, friendlier, and he talked to Zen more in the chatrooms.
While Seven joked most of the time, but they used to talk through the RFA phone line frequently. They talked about their problems, puns, and sometimes about life's mysteries. Zen had jokingly called Seven his psychologist; Seven was full of answers, Seven knew everything about Zen. Zen knew some of Seven's information, and it made him feel special when nobody else in the RFA knew the personal information he knew. Zen knew Seven's dreams. Seven wanted to never have to sleep, and be a working robot. But most of all, he wanted to quit his job and be secure. He wanted adventure, he was just tired of putting his life on the line for it.
Seven wanted to get married in a space station. It would be a small wedding, only the RFA and Vanderwood would be invited. Despite this constant daydream, Seven thought he'd never find anyone because of his job and that "nobody would like the real me."
Seven was single-handedly the most important person in Zen's life, he was the one who stayed by his side during the RFA's tension, while the rest sparsely kept in contact. Isn't that just what good friends do?
Even after the RFA had lessened activity, chatrooms decreasing to about three a day, Seven still contacted Zen through the app and made phone calls as usual. Seven started to come over more often, rearrange Zen's silverware, and just generally keep Zen physical company.
Maybe Seven really was joking about being in love with him, especially since he brought up the fake novel. Zen decided to call Seven, even though they were in the same house, one room away.
"Hello?" Zen said, looking into the white walls of the guest room. "Oh. Zen. Look I'm sorry, it was inappropriate." Seven replied.
Seven paced around his room, wondering if what he had said possibly angered Zen. Maybe it ruined their friendship?
Zen squinted, he decided to dodge the subject for the time being. "How do you know if you're in love with someone?" He asked.
"Oh. Aren't you "Zen the love master,"? I thought you would know." Seven laughed, trying to lighten the mood, but was greeted with silence. "Well. I think it just feels nice, when you're near them. Like when you're outside at night and someone gives you a blanket, it's like that, but just inside. I find myself forgetting things I'm worried about, just because they make things feel like everything will be okay." Seven paused.
"Seven," Zen said.
"Sometimes I just want to grab them and hug them so tightly, because I just feel safe in their arms. Or I want to spend all of my time with them, I want to know more about them, I want to be able to call them pretty pet names and go on adventures together. I want to be closer, I want to make them breakfast, watch movies together, hold them close, I want them to..trust me. I just want everything from them. But I can't. I feel so selfish. When they let me down a little, I feel more disappointed than I would with anyone else." Seven rambled on.
"....Sev." Zen said, face heating up to the point where Zen's smile kept growing on his face. Seven thought about him like this? Zen couldn't control his giant grin.
"I wish we could go out for ice cream or drive up to a cliff and watch the stars. Maybe in one of my convertibles, and I could tell them about space. Then after we'd both get in the backseat," Seven couldn't control what he was saying at this point, his daydreams made him delirious; he could talk about this all day. "I'd tell them how much I loved them, I'd keep telling them until I was sure that they'd never forget how much I love them," Seven breathed into the receiver.
"I'd love them so much that they'd forget what it's like to feel to be alone, I'd make sure they'd never forget me."
Zen nearly fell off of the bed listening to Seven talk. He felt hot, and he felt so..important. Zen didn't know what to think, or what to do.
"Zen?" Seven said, taking off his glasses and rubbing his eyes. "Yeah?" Zen responded slowly, like a student who didn't know the right answer.
"Did I talk too much?" Seven asked, he basically rambled to Zen about how much he loved him, yet Seven didn't even know if Zen reciprocated. He had just word vomited through the phone.
"No." Zen said, as nonchalantly as he possibly could. Everything Seven had said jumbled around in Zen's head, his mind was cluttered with the compliments, dreams, and fantasies of Seven.
"Seven?" Zen asked.
"Yeah?" Seven hesitated, Zen was going think this was all too weird, he was going to end the friendship.
Zen was straight. Only into chicks, only ever dated girls. Lots of his fans lusted over him, wanting to watch him shower, writing stories about their fantasy relationships with him. He appreciated every one of his fans, even though they were a little weird. Zen constantly complained about not having a girlfriend, he craved female attention, he wanted a woman to love. Seven was the comic relief in Zen's romance movie, so to speak. Soon, the director would kill off Seven, the gay best friend, for the leading man to get his lady.
Seven tapped his phone in anticipation, biting his lip and waiting for the crash and burn of the friendship he had spent so long building up.
Zen took a deep breath. He couldn't believe he was saying this to his best friend.
"Seven," he said, "I think I'm in love with you."
