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“How is your sister doing in your fleet so far, sweetheart?”
Hercules asked while he and Zorran were having dinner at Hercules’ place.
“She’s doing well.” Zorran told his partner with satisfaction, “Exceptionally well even. She learns fast and has even impressed the captain.” he took a bite of a potato, “Zoa also seems to get along with the others. No wonder after finding out how infectious her joyous demeanor is. Zebedee and Zip like her. Zug is annoyed with her as she very visually treats him like the runt he is but it’s Zug so it doesn’t matter, and with Zak…” Zorran rolled his eyes, “I don’t really know what their dynamic is supposed to be but it annoys me.”
“Care to elaborate, m’dear?” Hercules asked before eating from his salad.
“Sure thing.” Zorran cleared his throat and put aside his cutlery, “As I told you before, Zoa is a massive tease. She likes to take harmless jabs at me and the others, including Zak. But Zak’s reactions are neither annoyance like Zug and sometimes me or just laughing it off like Zeb, Zip and me, he outright plays into them and it all seems like they play some sort of improv-skit.”
Hercules raised an eyebrow in confusion, “I fail to see the issue here. Isn’t it a good thing that she can have playful banter with one of her colleagues?”
“That’s not the point, Herc!” Zorran objected, “It’s the fact that whenever Zak banters with someone, he wants to offend and provoke them, he’s a natural asshole. But he doesn’t do that with Zoa because he’s obviously into her and I’m not having it! She had been mistreated by a piece of shit for far too long, she doesn’t deserve another one!”
Zorran almost spilled their drinks when he slammed his fist on the table to emphasize his point. His enthusiasm made Hercules chuckle, “Oh, darling, you’re really putting your all into your protective big brother role. But I get it, I am the same.”
“So you can see my standpoint?”
“I do. I am an older brother as well. Keep a close eye on Zak and teach him a lesson if he ever dares to hurt Zoa. You can even request my assistance if you so desire, darling.”
Hercules' response had something sinister about it. Zorran got really good at spotting Hercules’ hidden unhinged tendencies and he was more than thankful that Hercules was on his side.
“Thanks, Herc, I will keep that in mind.”
After they finished their dinner and Hercules took care of the dishes, Zorran asked if he could stay overnight and Hercules agreed in delight.
At nighttime the two spend some time cuddling in bed before going to sleep. Hercules had wrapped his arms around Zorran and held him close to his chest, while gently stroking his dark hair. Zorran hummed in satisfaction, enjoying the loving treatment he received from his partner.
Listening to Hercules' slow and steady heartbeat was almost like a lullaby to him, he could fall asleep like that at any moment.
“Hey, Zorran…” Hercules said unprompted.
“Yes?”
“When are you going to introduce me to your sister?”
“Why do you ask?” Zorran was taken aback by his question.
“I would really like to meet Zoa in person sooner or later. I think I should as her brother's boyfriend.”
“Can we maybe wait for it for a bit longer?” Zorran sounded concerned,
“It’s been over a month since she joined Zero Marine, I think enough time has passed.”
“Yes…but…”
“What’s the matter? Does Zoa need protection from me as well, sweetheart?”
“That’s not it. It’s just…” Zorran became even more nervous, “I also requested from my fleetmates and the captain to not tell her anything about our relationship. That’s because I need to find out first about her views on two men being lovers…”
Hercules sighed and gently grabbed Zorran’s chin, making him look him in the eyes, “I see, you fear she might not approve of us, right?”
Zorran looked away sadly and nodded.
“Listen, m’dear, we were able to convince the other Stars and Zeds to support or at least tolerate our relationship, even Star, Zero and Ten Cents, who disapproved the most.”
“But with them it was never our gender but our allegiance. It was possible to convince them because we promised that us being together would have no negative impact on business. Their initial disapproval was based on logic…prejudices on the other hand are not and it is difficult making someone with said prejudice be accepting…”
“Does Zoa have a prejudice against same-sex couples?”
“I don’t know if she does or not. Nothing in her behavior indicated either way. But it’s the popular belief so I unfortunately have to assume it by default. I could not bear the thought of her being disgusted by me and thinking I might be a sexual deviant after we finally made up.”
Noticing Zorran’s concern turn into anxiety, Hercules instinctively started to caress Zorran’s cheek and gave him a look that was stern yet also caring, “Listen, darling, your concerns make sense and I am not here to invalidate them. But it is only a matter of time until Zoa will have to learn about us. We can’t keep something as big as this from your sister forever.”
“You’re right. I knew the entire time that you are, Herc…” Zorran sighed, “But please…just give me a bit more time.”
“Anything for you, my love.”
“Thank you.”
Zorran could finally smile again and he reached up to place a loving kiss on Hercules lips, who gladly returned the gesture before they finally said good night to each other.
Another two weeks had passed and Zorran had still not given any updates on Zoa and Hercules would lie if he said he wasn’t growing impatient. Finally he decided to take matters into his own hands.
During break time, he wandered along the docks when he finally encountered the person he assumed he was looking for. He saw a tall woman with long black hair wearing a Zero Marine uniform and when he politely called out for her and she turned around he saw the striking similarities she and Zorran had. The twins were equally beautiful, Hercules thought, and if he wasn’t so endlessly devoted to Zorran, he would’ve taken a shot with her.
“Are you Zoa?” Hercules asked.
“You’re correct.” the new Z-Stack confirmed as she was analyzing Hercules, astonished by his immense height and good looks.
“And you are a Star aren’t you?” Zoa asked with a smirk when she identifies Hercules’ alliance by his bright yellow jacket and star pin on said jacket.
“And you are correct as well.” Hercules took off his hat and gave a polite bow, “I am Star Fleet helmsman number six, my name is Hardik Mahto but everyone calls me Hercules.”
In response Zoa mimicked a bow in where she would wear a dress,
“Well, well…are you spying on me because I am new here, Hercules?”
“By no means, m’dear.” Hercules put his hat back on, “I just finally wanted to meet a fellow number six here in Bigg City Port, especially because you’re Zorran’s little sister.”
“I’m sorry but you can't use me as leverage against our fleet’s leader. I am way tougher than I look.” her smirk turned into a cocky grin, trying to hide that she felt charmed by his deep and smooth voice.
“That was in no way my intention.” Hercules held his hands up in defense, sounding just as polite as before, “I was just interested in meeting you because Zorran and I have a history together that goes way back before I even joined Star Marine.”
“Oh?” all sass in Zoa vanished and got replaced by curiosity, “How are you and my brother acquaintanced?”
“It’s a long story, sweetheart.” Hercules was so delighted to talk about it that it almost came off as gloating, “despite us being in rival fleets, our bond transcends every business rivalry. Our friendship runs very deep and we unconditionally care about each other. If you want more details, I think asking your brother is the best person to go to.”
Zoa didn’t know if her eyes were fooling her or if she really saw Hercules blushing while he talked about her twin. Regardless, she was happy that Zorran was able to form such bonds despite coming off so antisocial all the time.
But before Zoa was able to say anything in response a familiar voice called out Hercules’ name and they sounded furious.
It was Zorran, who rushed towards them and when he arrived he had to catch his breath first as if his life depended on getting to them as fast as possible. Both Hercules and Zoa asked if Zorran was okay but it took him a few more heavy breaths before he turned to Hercules.
“What in the world are you doing?!” He dug his finger in Hercules’ chest.
“I just came by and saw your sister here and I thought ‘why not take the chance and introduce myself’ since you’re taking your sweet time ol’darling.” Hercules smugly replied, poking Zorran’s chest in return.
“Either you’re an asshole or you’re a moron, Herc!” Zorran turned away with his arms crossed and pouting, “Actively going against my request and making your own selfish plans, very typical of you…”
“Oh, come on nothing bad had happened. Zoa and I actually had a quite pleasant conversation, weren’t we?” he turned to Zoa, his smile unchanged.
The younger of the twins had completely lost track on what was going on and could just stare in confusion. Snapping herself out of it, she asked her brother if he would mind clarifying things for her.
“No need to do so now, dear sister.” he turned to her and tried to walk away with her but she was stubborn and would not move an inch, “Break is almost over Zoa and this matter is completely irrelevant.” he laughed nervously but Zoa was not having any of Zorran’s poor attempts of getting out of this situation.
“I am not an idiot Zorran.” Zoa exclaimed in annoyance. She placed her hands on her hips and took in an assertive stand, “You’re clearly trying and failing to hide something and it has to do with Hercules, who made this matter seem anything but irrelevant. Why are you insisting on not telling me?”
“I…I…uh…” Zorran became a stuttering mess…
“Are you being a coward again, Zorran?” Zoa’s glare drilled into him mercilessly.
“Okay! Okay! I give up!” Zorran shouted in defeat. “Zoa, Hercules, please come to my apartment after work so we can talk about everything in peace…”
“Will do, big brother!”
“Of course, m’dear.”
Both gave a little salute to his suggestion, “You two are going to be the death of me…” Zorran just groaned in exhaustion, “Anyway we all should get back to work right now, let’s leave Zoa. See you later, Herc.”
Zoa finally followed him and he heard Hercules say behind them:
“See you later, sweethearts.”
Zoa then whispered to her brother, “Was he trying to flirt with me with the way he called me pet names despite barely knowing me?”
“Certainly not, he calls everyone ‘m’dear’, ‘darling’ or ‘sweetheart’, that’s just the way Hercules talks.”
“A bit of a shame though.” Zoa giggled, “I wouldn’t complain, he’s very handsome.”
Her comment made Zorran grit his teeth, strongly resisting the urge to say: “No chance, little sister, he’s already mine!”
After quitting time on both the Zeds and the Stars, Hercules and Zoa followed Zorran to his apartment, talking about nothing too interesting.
When they arrived, Zorran requested the two to take seat at a table in the living room while he got drinks for all of them. It was obvious Zorran was very nervous and not looking forward to any of this.
In the kitchen he sighed to himself. One half of him was annoyed that the two most important people in his life had to be equally royal pains in the neck and the other one was filled with anxiety and prayed for a positive outcome.
After returning, he placed the drinks on the table and he sat down next to Hercules.
“So what do you want to tell me about, where you stalled so much before?” Zoa asked, her bright, gap-toothed smile was painful to watch for Zorran, he did not want to risk breaking it down by the news he was about to bring to his sister.
“The thing is…Hercules and my relationship…Herc and I…”
“Everything alright?” Zoa looked at her twin with concern, strongly feeling his rising anxiety, “Please take your time, you seem very stressed…”
She was correct, Zorran was looking away, biting his lip, trembling and his hands were tightly grabbing the tablecloth.
He was able to calm down a bit when he felt Hercules’ warm hand placed over his own hand, the thumb gently stroking over his knuckles.
Zorran looked up to his precious partner, his eyes behind those tinted glasses were friendly and reassuring and when he heard those simple words, “It’s okay.” Zorran finally found the courage to tell his twin the truth.
“Hercules and I are not just friends. We are a couple. We’re lovers.”
Silence. This silence was suffocating. Zorran did not know how many seconds had passed since he finally said it and he just hoped Zoa would say something, anything or he would go insane.
“Congratulations!” Zoa finally said, her tone so cheerful it almost felt inappropriate to Zorran, “I’m so happy you were able to find a lovely partner for yourself, big brother, since you seemed like the one to struggle to find love.”
Zorran’s mouth was agape at that revelation and Hercules was just plainly amused. “What do you mean?” Was the only thing Zorran was able to bring out and he did not even register what he said.
“Literally what I just said.” Zoa emphasized, “That I am happy for you that you have a boyfriend.”
“So you don’t think that I am weird?”
“No.”
“That I am gross?”
“No.”
“That I am a sexual deviant?”
“No.”
“That I am a disgusting, heretic sinner against God?”
“Since when did you convert back to Christianity?”
“Darling…” Hercules stepped in to prevent the conversation from getting derailed, “She is not against two men being lovers as you can see, simple as that.”
When the realization finally hit Zorran he just let out a sigh of relief and took a sip from his drink.
“You feared I was going to be angry at you for being gay, right?” Zoa guessed which Zorran confirmed.
“Understandable, considering most people are very cruel towards gay people, unfortunately…” Zoa showed great disdain at that fact, “But you don’t have to be worried about me not accepting you and Hercules dating, I love that for you actually!”
“Thank you, Zoa…” Zorran smiled, “I would hate our bond to be destroyed again only because I happen to love a man. A very dashingly handsome one in particular.” Zorran looked up to Hercules while saying that last part. Their lovestruck gazes met and Hercules replied with, “I certainly won’t let myself be stopped from showing how much I love the cutest man in the world.”
The couple then shared a brief sweet kiss and Zoa had to prevent herself from audibly squealing from how adorable her brother and his boyfriend were together. This was the first time Zorran had the courage to kiss Hercules in front of another person.
“You two are so precious!” Zoa commented after their lips parted, “You are amazing Hercules for making my brother so happy.”
“Thank you.” Hercules’ smile widened, “Getting a compliment from my sister-in-law is a praise of the highest caliber.”
“Sister-in-law?!” Zorran repeated, his face red as a tomato, which made Hercules and Zoa laugh.
“Oh, please tell me about your love story, I am dying to learn about how you two met.” Zoa pleaded with her hands clapped together and the couple was happy to fulfill her request.
They did not go into heavy detail but they mentioned how Hercules used to be part of Zero Marine as the former number three and they fell in love at the workplace. Hercules gladly told Zoa how overly shy the young and scrawny Zorran was regarding everything romantic. Hand holding alone made him blush deeply and Hercules had to actively request a kiss for Zorran to finally initiate one.
They also went over the phase where they were broken up because of Hercules changing fleets and how they got back together and stayed that way since then. Telling her about their different kinds of love language and routines made Zoa’s hopeless romantic heart beat faster.
Zorran did not tell anyone but being able to openly talk about his relationship with Hercules and be met with nothing but support felt so liberating in a way he could not even describe. The fact that the person supporting him so much was his twin sister filled Zorran with a new kind of joy he never knew he could feel.
Zoa sighed in delight about everything about these two, “You are such a wonderful couple!” Then out of nowhere she looked down at the drink in her hand and became melancholic, “I hope I can find myself a partner to have a beautiful romance with sooner or later, despite my age…” she then looked up again, “Oh, my apologies, this is not about me here.”
They told her that it was okay and that she can also talk about her matters.
“The thing is…” Zoa chuckled awkwardly, “I’ve been very unlucky with relationships throughout the years. The men I’ve been with never stayed for long. Either they ditched me after getting what they wanted or I ditched them for being very bad partners throughout. And marriage was out of the picture for me entirely because Jackal prohibited it. Sometimes I’ve considered looking for women to date but I just could not find one to approach that was not scared of me…”
Hearing all of this made Zorran’s blood boil. How could he find happiness with a partner but she did not? Worse, even her partners were all dipshits that had no respect for her at all. Zorran felt like tracking down each and everyone of them and beating them to a pole.
“Your time will come.” Hercules said, “Zorran told me a lot about you. You’re a wonderful and caring woman with a lot of personality and energy. In addition, you’re still beautiful just like your brother. You can find your one true love as well, I believe in you, m’dear.”
“Thank you, Hercules.” Zoa gently smiled after hearing these encouraging words. Zorran wished he could be as good at comforting others as Hercules. But was there anything Hercules was not good at, except cooking?
“What he said.” Zorran added, “And when you finally find the right one for you, I will support you the way you support me. I will make sure they will treat you right.” ‘As long as it isn’t Zak’ A part he did not add.
“We both will in fact.” Hercules said, while wrapping his arm around Zorran, making Zoa even happier.
The three spend a wonderful evening together, talking about a multitude of things and Zorran even provided them with some snacks throughout. However, the time for Zoa to head home has arrived. Hercules offered to accompany her on her way home to keep her safe but she declined, claiming as a well-trained criminal she can take care of herself and that Hercules should have more time with his sweetheart.
At the doorstep Zorran came closer to Zoa and gave her a big hug.
“Thank you again for accepting me.” He said quietly to his twin.
“No big deal, big brother.” Zoa hugged him back.
“It is big for me.”
After they let go of each other, Zoa opened the door and before she left, she said: “Alright then, you two go and have a lovely and fun night, ta ta.”
They could hear her laugh when she left.
“God damn it , Zoa, you menace…” Zorran grumbled with a blushing face. His reaction made Hercules chuckle and pull his partner into his arms.
“You know…” Hercules began as he ran his fingers through Zorran’s hair, “we can follow your sister’s advice, the night is still young.”
Hearing that made Zorran let out a sly chuckle. He looked up and caressed his lover’s face, “All this reminiscing about us today really put me in the mood to be honest.”
“Then let’s not waste any more time, darling.” Hercules suggested and leaned down to Zorran for another kiss but this one was way more passionate.