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“Hey Zeta,” Beatrix began. “Commander Ilsa is back.”
Zeta looked up from her drink as she sat with Beatrix on the Grandcypher's deck, and turned over to the gangplank. There, Ilsa was returning from her mini-vacation with Heles. The face on Ilsa’s face was nothing like Zeta’s ever seen before. She’d seen the sergeant happy or teasing on occasion, moreso now that the Moondwellers were defeated. However, she’d never seen her like this.
Ilsa seemed positively glowing as she walked back onto the ship, hand intertwined with Heles'. She was lost in the princess’ eyes, her own full of tenderness, and didn’t pay any mind to Zeta and Beatrix as they passed them and headed inside the Grandcypher.
“Aww, the commander’s certainly cute like that, huh?” Beatrix said.
“Yeah…” Zeta replied. The two smiled for a bit seeing Ilsa so happy, and then frowned and sighed dejectedly.
The crew's captain, Djeeta, was passing by and noticed both of them looking downtrodden. “Yo, what’s up with you two? Not a fan of seeing happy couples?”
“It’s not that.” Zeta answered. “It’s just…we’ve made fun of the Commander plenty of times about how she couldn’t get a date, right? Well now here she is hooking up with a freaking princess, while the both of us are still single.” Her face turned annoyed. “Once she stops acting all lovey-dovey with Heles, she’s totally gonna make fun of us for it.”
Beatrix quickly nodded. “Oh I am so not looking forward to that.”
“The rest of the ship’s been getting pretty lovey-dovey too.” Zeta continued.
“What, you mean Stan and Aliza?” Djeeta asked. “But they’ve basically been together forever.”
“Not just them. Gran and Katalina have been pretty inseparable lately, Cupitan seems like a new woman after whatever happened with Tristette, and Meg and Mari even got a wedding ring!”
“I thought that was just a toy…” Djeeta muttered. “Okay, how’s your romantic prospects looking like?”
“You’d think that finally being done with the Foe and Moondwellers would give me more time to get a date, but I’ve got nothing.” Beatrix sadly answered.
“That sucks. How ‘bout you, Zeta?”
Zeta paused, and looked up at the Captain, letting her gaze linger for a bit. She couldn't deny that out of all the crew, she felt the most fondly for Djeeta. What started as just Zeta tagging along to try and recruit her to the Society, ended up turning into genuine trust and affection for her. She thought about how Djeeta’s been aiding the Society again and again, and had always been there for Zeta, whenever she needed her, even showing up to her on Valentine's day with dozens of boxes of chocolate to cheer her up. If she had to be perfectly honest, she would've liked to date Djeeta.
Then Zeta remembered how the Captain was there for everybody, and the sheer number of people vying for her attention. She shook her head. “Unlikely.”
Djeeta was silent for a moment before smiling. “Don’t worry, I’m sure things will work out for you, Zeta.” She left, leaving Zeta and Beatrix to wallow in their singleness.
After finishing her drink, Zeta retired to her room. She and the rest of the Society had a long mission starting tomorrow, so it'd be best to turn in early tonight. Once she got inside however, she spotted a letter on the ground, probably slipped underneath her door. She picked it up and noticed the really nice…and somewhat familiar handwriting on it.
Immediately, she was dreading whatever was in the letter. But Zeta put those fears aside and opened it up.
It was so much worse than she’d expected.
“My dearest Zeta,
I hope this finds you in good health. You must be wondering what prompted this random letter. Well, as I saw you today, and honestly for countless days past, I found myself burning with admiration, with affection, with love, all for you. Ever since we've met, you’ve been on my mind, through every battle and every adventure we’ve been on together.
You spark a fire of passion within me that I can never quell. When I think of you, I become overwhelmed that I can barely contain myself. You are my star, my light, all my desires in the world contained in one, incredible, beautiful woman.
I’d tell you my name, but honest to Bahamut, my hand shakes every time I try to sign this letter. As if revealing to you my identity would put these burning feelings for you out there in the world and make me vulnerable to a pain worst than any Primal can dish out. Rejection. That scares me. But, while I cannot give you my name, know that I am your devoted, albeit secret admirer, my princess.”
Zeta’s face was one of pure disgust as she read the letter. Even disregarding the handwriting, being called “princess” told her all she needed to know about who wrote the letter, and she immediately stormed out of her room to go confront them.
Djeeta was hard at work drawing up mission assignments for the month. Normally, this would be a job for her vice-captain, Gran, but even with him returned to the ship, Djeeta still insisted that she handle it this time to give him an extra break. Gran objected at first, but considering that Djeeta just spied him making out with Katalina in one of the ship's briefing rooms, she figured he was fine with it.
As she was finishing up, she heard a knock on the door. “Come in!” she called out. Immediately, Zeta walked into her room and Djeeta gave her a curt nod. “Hey Zeta. Give me a moment to wrap up the schedule and I'll be right with you. ” She returned to her writing, only pausing when she heard Zeta lock her door. She turned back to look at her guest, when suddenly, Zeta picked her up by the back of her shirt and pushed her against the wall.
Zeta slammed her right hand to the wall next to Djeeta’s face. “Explain this.” She growled while holding up the letter.
“Hmm?” Djeeta took a quick glance at the letter, seemingly confused at the whole thing. “Something in that letter I should know about?”
“You should know exactly what’s wrong with this letter, it’s your handwriting!”
A moment of silence. And then Djeeta smirked. “Oh? I thought I disguised it plenty by fancying it up a little.”
“You made the mistake of calling me 'princess'. Only a few people know about that whole deal, and you’re the only one among them brazen enough to still keep calling me that. Besides, I’ve read your reports and invitations plenty of times, Djeeta. I’d notice any variation of your handwriting.”
“So you’ve spent a lot of time reading my writing huh?” Djeeta said. ”Should I take that to mean anything?” Djeeta’s tone was smug, not caring at all that she was cornered against the wall. Zeta stuttered for a bit, and couldn’t find a comeback. “Calling you 'princess' was a mistake on my part admittedly. But Zeta…” Djeeta looked at Zeta with teasing eyes. “You’ve got a girl who confessed to you cornered in her room. How does a skilled member of the Society handle this?”
Dozens of ideas ran through Zeta’s mind on how she would go from here. But eventually, she figured out the simplest path. After killing off her last ounce of hesitation, she tossed the letter off to the side, used that hand to cup Djeeta's face, and kissed her. The captain’s lips were as soft as she imagined they'd be, and eagerly pressed back against Zeta's. Djeeta threw her arms around Zeta's neck, the sweet hums and sighs coming from her captain were enough to spurn Zeta further. She reached to Djeeta's leg to hook it against her waist, and pushed her harder into the wall.
The kiss deepened, and their tongues poked at each other's in a small duel. Zeta was gaining the upper hand and was set to completely overwhelm Djeeta, only for the captain to slip a hand to her rear and give it a light squeeze. The sudden sensation caused Zeta to gasp and break the kiss for a moment. Djeeta used the opportunity to push against the wall, sending Zeta backwards to the bed. As Zeta fell on the mattress, Djeeta crawled over her, one hand teasingly running down her stomach, while her lips peppered Zeta's neck in light kisses. "D-dammit, Djeeta..." Zeta cooed.
Djeeta giggled against Zeta's neck before pulling away. “I told you that it’d all work out for you, Princess Zeta.”
Zeta looked up at Djeeta, first with a scowl, but then with an embarrassed, affectionate smile. “Just shut up and keep kissing me.”
Djeeta was always happy to fulfill her crewmembers’ requests.
The next day, Zeta and Beatrix were again having drinks on the deck. The Grandcypher was flying to drop off the Society to their next mission, and they could see Ilsa making the most of her remaining time with Heles, sharing small kisses and whispering sweet nothings.
Beatrix sighed. “Again, really happy for Commander Ilsa, but man, really feeling the singleness right now.”
Zeta chuckled and took another sip of her drink. “Don’t worry Beatrix, I’m sure you’ll find someone eventually.”
“Yeah…wait…” Beatrix squinted in suspicion as she looked back at Zeta. “What do you mean I’ll find some eventually. Why aren’t you including yourself in that?”
Just then, Djeeta stopped by. “Hey, we’ll be reaching your drop off point in about 15 minutes so get ready.”
“Got it.” Zeta and Beatrix answered in unison.
Then, to Beatrix’s complete shock, Djeeta leaned down and placed a kiss on top of Zeta’s head. “Come back safe, okay Princess?”
Beatrix was even more thrown off by Zeta’s laughter. “Heh, you punk.” The former knight exclaimed before grabbing the front of Djeeta’s shirt and pulling her down for a kiss.
The two blondes held the kiss for a few moments before pulling away, and Djeeta shot Zeta a wink before heading over to Ilsa to brief her. Zeta then got up from her chair. “Well, we best get ready then. Come on, Bea.”
Beatrix, doing her best to recover from the shock, scrambled out of her own seat to follow behind her friend. “Wait Zeta, hold on! What was that all about!? Zeta explain!”