Xenophobia

“You wanted to see me?”

I stood in front of Commander Ivanov, eyeing him as he turned around in his chair.

“Yes, regarding the relationship between Hansen and yourself.”

Show no emotion.

“What are you concerned about?”

“I have been receiving hints that your relationship with him is a little more than…‘friendly’."

Look him straight in the eye. Do not move a muscle.

“I assure you: there is no romantic relationship that exists between Zack and me, Sir.”

He stood up from his chair before slowly walking towards me.

“Alright then, I’ll take your word for it…for now.”
He started to circle around me, eyeing me like a shark.

Look straight ahead. Do not follow his movements. Do not move.

“Because, I’d hate to have to remind you that you’re still a Xeno. You are not a citizen of the Nation. You are property of the Nation’s Armed Force and Hansen was ordered to watch over you and keep you in line. If you so far as cross the line by a millimeter, I won’t hesitate to take action, because I’ll be damned if any sort of relationship leads to consummation between a Xeno and one of my men.”

He stopped walking to face me directly.

“But I do not have to remind you because you are a smart and talented young man. You know the rules, and you know what happens when you break them.”

He pat me on the shoulder before returning to his seat.

“You are dismissed, Holland.”

| x | x | x |

“Zack, we can’t do this…”

His lips were already on my stomach as he massaged my hips with his hands.

“I promise that I’ll go easy this time.”
“It’s not that…”

He looked up at me, eyes meeting mine, before he sat up.

“What’s bothering you?”
“Our relationship. It’s not…”

“This again…?”

He came closer, placing a hand on my shoulder.

“I’m property of the Armed Forces, Hansen. You were ordered to watch over me and keep me in line. Our relationship is violating that order. And…”

I bit down on my lip.

“I don’t want you to get hurt because of it.”

“First of all: you know how much I hate when you call me by my last name, especially at home. Second: I know what my orders were, but I’m not going to stop loving you because of them. You’re my boyfriend, and nothing is going to change that.”

And he pressed his lips against mine to prove his point.

“Just…Be careful about what you say around others, okay? Just continue to keep us a secret.”

Another kiss followed by a smile.

“I will.”
He lied down next to me, staring up at the ceiling.

“Are you going to sleep tonight?”
He shook his head.

“I’ve been thinking a lot lately, and I know that the future is hard to predict, but…I guess I just want to be optimistic for once…”

He turned on his side to look at me.

“Okay, imagine that in the future, the war is over and everyone is starting to live in peace together. Would you…Would you be willing to marry me?”

“Are you trying to propose to me early?”
“Y-You can say that…”

I let out a small chuckle.

“Yes. I would marry you, Zack.”

His eyes widened.

“R-Really?”
“Yeah.”

A huge grin before he turned to lie on his back again, closing his eyes.

“Awesome.”