Zane was out smoking on the balcony when Elena approached him. There was a rifle slung to his chest, and he was in full combat gear. After all, one could never be too careful. The man exhaled a large puff of smoke as he commented on the unusual lack of activity within the suburban neighborhood.
"It's quite… Too quiet…"
Regardless of his paranoia, there really was a lack of undead and marauders in this neighborhood. For the time being, naturally as the echoes of gunfire and artillery in the background faded away, the undead would be less concentrated in the cities, and begin to spread back into the suburbs, which they had previously done, as was evident of this neighborhood being a ghost town at the moment.
Elena ignored Zane's comments and instead approached him with an awkward expression on her pretty face. She did not really know how to apologize to the man for what she did to him the night before, and because of this, there was a slight stutter in her words.
"I…. I'm… Here… This is for your face…. I'm sorry…. I shouldn't have done that…"
Zane was indeed surprised that Elena was apologizing to him, and shifted around, looking at the young woman, who could not even look him in his swollen eyes after what she had done to him. But she was handing him an ice pack with both hands. And thus, Zane accepted her apology as he pressed it against his face without saying a word.
Elean stared at Zane's two black eyes and asked a question which she knew was foolish.
"Does it hurt?"
Zane did not say anything immediately, and instead took another drag on his cigarette before finally answering the girl in a way that spared her any excess guilt.
"I'll survive…."
After hearing this, Elena sighed in relief. Though it wasn't exactly the answer she was hoping for, at least Zane wasn't in any serious pain. After standing there in silence, awkwardly fidgeting with her fingers for several minutes, Elena finally came out and said what she intended to say the moment she approached Zane's brooding figure.
"Zane… I know that what you did was necessary. And I'm still really angry about what happened… But I'm no longer angry at you… If you didn't do what you did, then I…. I would have had to…"
Zane put out his cigarette and placed a finger on Elena's shoulder. There was almost an expression of empathy in his cold black eyes as he shook his head, silently conveying to Elena that she needn't think of such things. And thus she didn't say a word. Instead, she hugged the man and cried into his shoulder.
It was an awkward thing for Zane to deal with. After all, he had few emotions which he could express, and because of this he was extremely awkward with dealing with his own emotions, let alone someone else's.
Regardless, he held onto the girl and allowed her to cry into his shoulder in peace. All the while, she lamented her tragic loss.
"It hurts so much…. I don't know what to do. Everything seems so hopeless! All my friends are dead, my family is buried in the backyard. I have nothing left. Nobody!"
Zane honestly didn't know if he should speak or not, but it was clear that the girl was looking for something to latch onto in her time of need, some reason to keep moving forward, and thus Zane decided to give her one. His voice was cold, as per usual, but his words meant more to Elena than he realized.
"You have us…"
Elena's deep blue eyes opened wide as she looked up at Zane's indifferent expression. She did not know why she expected him to have a face full of empathy and kindness. In fact, when she imagined such a look on Zane's face she laughed at how out of character it would have been.
It was a laughter that went on for some time. Something that should not have been so funny somehow brought Elena a brief glimpse of happiness in her otherwise dark and dreary world. Zane's face scrunched up, not understanding what she was laughing at. And was quick to ask why her mood had shifted so suddenly.
"What's so funny?"
Elena wiped a tear from her eye as she shook her head, insisting that Zane would not understand why she was laughing.
"It's nothing… You wouldn't understand, but thank you, I really needed that… Though I have to ask, did you really mean what you said? Can I really rely on you?"
Zane scoffed when he heard this. Wasn't it obvious? Had she not been relying on him from the start? Still, there was not a hint of smugness, or disdain in his voice, instead of brutal honesty as he nodded his head and confirmed.
"Of course… Though I expect you to return the favor. I have neither the strength nor the care to carry you…"
Elena giggled once more, as she confirmed this was the way it should be. If Zane was actually to say something kind like "I will look after you until the day I die" Elena might believe he had suddenly been replaced by aliens. After all, if zombies were a real thing, then why not aliens as well? Or bigfoot, for that matter?
The world had suddenly been turned upside down, and at this point, Elena truly believed anything was possible. Thus Elena wore a confident smile as she returned Zane's words back to him.
"I wouldn't have it any other way… You let me know how I can help, and I'll do it!"
Upon hearing this, Zane nodded his head. Though his face was expressionless, there was a warm and fuzzy feeling in his heart. Something he did not understand. And though he didn't realize it, Zane was happy for the first time in a long time.
Why was he happy? Because Elena didn't hate him like, she said she did the night before. And because he had helped her, in some small way, overcome her grief. At least to the point where she could continue moving forward in life. And that was all that really mattered.