Seven and Zen shuffled into the back plane, being late to board and all, most of the front seats were occupied. "Can I have the window seat?" Seven asked, stopping in the middle of the aisle, blocking everyone else. "Sure." Zen slid into an empty row of seats and sat down in the middle seat. Seven awkwardly crept past him, sitting in the window seat and opening the window.
"Wow! Look how pretty it is outside!" Seven said, smiling. "But we haven't taken off yet?" Zen replied. "Just say it's pretty, Zen." Seven said, unamused. Zen sighed. What was he doing here? "It's beautiful, just like you, Seven." Zen said reluctantly. Seven batted his eyelashes, mocking flattery. "Wow, thank you." He said, tapping Zen on the nose.
The two sat in silence as they read the safety precautions, sometimes broken by Seven pointing and laughing at the drowning figures. "Hey Sev." Zen started, "Did you, by any chance, have a plan for this trip?"
"Like, do I have a plan now? Or?" Seven replied, mostly trying to dance around the subject. "What were you going to tell us before you left?" Zen asked, obvious drowsiness in his voice.
"Well, if I'm being honest, I put some stuff in a box for each of you guys and I was just gonna leave without a warning. I logged out of the messenger and deleted the app so you guys couldn't contact me." Seven said bluntly. "So you weren't even going to say goodbye to me?" Zen's heart dropped.
"I did say goodbye to you, when you dropped me off, I gave you a hug and said goodnight." Seven replied, shrugging.
"How can you be so cold right now?" Zen said, tears pricking at the corners of his eyes. "Do you...not care about me as much as I care about you?" He asked, his eyes sparkling in a way that could make the devil cry. "I chased after you. I'm so scared of losing you that I'm throwing away everything I worked for in Korea. I don't understand. I don't even know what I'm going to do in Los Angeles. I don't have anything with me except you." Tears began to stream down Zen's face. "Seven...what are we going to do?" He said, his usual confident tone shaking.
Seven felt a pang of regret for being so harsh, but if he could get Zen to run off the plane before they took off, it would be better for both of them. "I don't know what you're going to do. I'm sorry." Seven said, each word hurting as it came out. Nobody wants to say that to their boyfriend.
Zen just tried to cover his face with his hands, tears dripping off his fingers as Seven resisted the urge to comfort him. He secretly hoped Zen would just stay on the plane, and forgive him for what he had just said. Maybe they could live together in the apartment Vanderwood had covered for their first few months. Perhaps after Seven completed his papers to change his identity, he and Zen could get married, instantly making Zen a citizen of the United States.
Seven looked over at Zen, who had somehow managed to cry himself to sleep in such a short amount of time. Zen's head rested on his hands, which were still kind of dripping from his breakdown. Seven leaned back in his chair. He didn't blame Zen for falling asleep. Too many things had happened today.
Maybe Seven could get the RFA to mail Zen's items to him, so he would at least have some clothes to wear. Seven realized he left his car in the airport parking lot, and Zen had his keys, so it was probably just going to stay there forever. For once, he didn't really care about his car, and leaned against the wall of the plane as they started to take off. What if Zen hated him now and ended up in Los Angeles alone? Where would he go?
Seven closed his eyes as the plane took off, the leveling of the plane making his stomach drop. He glanced over at Zen, who was still sleeping pretty peacefully. Seven lifted the armrest between them, grabbing Zen and holding him close to himself. He played with his hair anxiously. What if he couldn't find a job? What if Zen couldn't find a job? Zen had done this all for him. Running off with him to another country, just because he was in love. He could be so stupid sometimes. But Seven loved him. Seven looked at Zen's face, still sleeping rather angelically. So, he did the only thing that might help. Seven licked Zen's face.
"Seven?" Zen asked, still mostly asleep. Zen's eyes fluttered open, realizing that he was not only trapped in a plane, but a hug. "Zen, I love you so much." Seven said, smothering Zen. "I'm sorry for what I said. We're gonna be okay." He continued. "I don't want to lose you. You're just such a big part of my life that I don't know what I'd do without you." Tears fell into Zen's hair as Seven spoke. "We can do it together."
Zen hugged Seven back, "I love you too. We're going to make it in the city babe." Zen said, crying again, this time in a less hurt way. The words from before still stung, but he was glad Seven came around and believed in them.
"Oh. Why did you say those things to me earlier?" Zen asked, unsure if Seven would take on the cold persona he had before. "I wanted you to get off the plane. So you could, you know, live a normal life." Seven replied.
Zen snickered. "Me? Leave after all of that? I'm sorry to say this, but you're stuck with me." He said, pecking Seven on the cheek. Seven chuckled. "I don't know how we're going to do it. We'll figure something out."
Zen smiled, ruffling Seven's curls with his fingers. "Everything's going to be alright, my treasured wheel of cheese." They both laughed, both uncomfortably unsure of the future, but at least sure that the other would be in it.
